Article 4 destruction

Article 4 destruction refers to the stockpile-destruction obligation contained in Article 4 of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction — commonly called the Ottawa Convention or Mine Ban Treaty. The provision requires every state party to destroy, or ensure the destruction of, all anti-personnel mines in stockpiles that it owns or possesses, or that are under its jurisdiction or control, no later than four years after the Convention enters into force for that state.

This obligation is distinct from Article 5, which deals with the clearance of mines already emplaced in the ground in mined areas. Article 4 is about pre-emplacement stockpiles: warehoused munitions held by armed forces, security services, or other state agents. A limited exception allows the retention or transfer of a "minimum number absolutely necessary" of mines for training in detection, clearance, or destruction techniques, and for the development of such techniques.

Reporting on Article 4 progress flows through the Article 7 transparency mechanism, under which states submit annual reports to the UN Secretary-General detailing stockpile size, destruction methods, facilities used, and completion dates. Most states parties have met the four-year deadline; the Landmine Monitor, produced annually by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, tracks compliance and identifies states in breach.

Failure to complete destruction within the four-year window constitutes non-compliance and is typically addressed through cooperative compliance procedures at Meetings of States Parties and Review Conferences rather than punitive enforcement. Several states — including Belarus, Greece, and Ukraine in past years — have publicly missed the deadline, citing financial, technical, or environmental hurdles related to the destruction of large PFM-1 and similar stocks. Destruction methods commonly include open detonation, open burning, and industrial demilitarisation in specialised facilities.