Anti-vehicle mines (AVMs), sometimes called anti-tank mines, are munitions emplaced on or under the ground or roadway to damage wheeled or tracked vehicles. They generally contain larger explosive charges than anti-personnel mines and are engineered to require greater activation pressure, though some variants use tilt rods, magnetic sensors, infrared sensors, or break-wires.
Unlike anti-personnel mines, AVMs are not prohibited by the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty). They are instead regulated primarily under Amended Protocol II (1996) to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which applies to mines, booby-traps, and other devices. Amended Protocol II imposes rules on marking, recording, clearance, and the transfer of mines, and requires that parties take feasible precautions to protect civilians.
A long-running policy debate concerns mines with sensitive fuzes — particularly tilt rods, tripwires, or low-pressure plates — that can be detonated by a person and therefore function as de facto anti-personnel mines. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a group of states have advocated for stricter rules on detectability, active life, and fuze sensitivity, but negotiations within the CCW framework have not produced a dedicated AVM protocol.
Humanitarian concerns center on the long-term contamination of roads, agricultural land, and humanitarian access routes. AVMs have caused significant casualties to civilians in vehicles, aid convoys, and demining personnel in contexts such as Afghanistan, Angola, Mali, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. The Landmine Monitor, produced annually by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), tracks reported AVM incidents alongside anti-personnel mine casualties.
Clearance is handled by national mine action authorities and operators such as the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and Norwegian People's Aid, often coordinated through national mine action standards aligned with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).
Example
In 2023, the UN Mine Action Service reported that anti-vehicle mines along supply routes in northern Ukraine had disrupted humanitarian deliveries and damaged demining vehicles operated by the HALO Trust.
Frequently asked questions
No. The 1997 Ottawa Treaty bans only anti-personnel mines. Anti-vehicle mines are regulated by Amended Protocol II to the CCW, which imposes rules on use, marking, and clearance but does not prohibit them.
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