Europe’s backward step on landmine ban

According to The Guardian, landmines are among the most brutal weapons in the world. Nevertheless, five European countries are attempting to justify their decision to withdraw from the international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines by making various claims.

Human rights groups and organizations have expressed concern about a “slippery slope” toward the reacceptance of one of the world’s most dangerous weapons, warning that this decision marks the first instance among the 165 signatories of the international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, representing a shocking step backward.

Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have supported the idea of withdrawing from the international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, which was adopted in 1997 and prohibits the use, production, and stockpiling of landmines designed for use against humans.

The director of UDAS, a Bosnian organization supporting landmine survivors, said: “This feels like a punch in the face. Anti-personnel landmines do horrific things to innocent people. They belong to a small group of weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, that are so abhorrent they should never be used again.”

Having been injured by a landmine at age 21 and left permanently disabled, he added: “The point is, when you place a landmine in the ground, you never know what will happen. Will it wait for soldiers, civilians, or your enemies?”

Statistics confirm the perspective of this landmine survivor: each year, 70 to 85 percent of those killed or injured by landmines worldwide are civilians, with nearly half of the victims being children, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of anti-personnel landmines.

A member of Humanity & Inclusion, an organization working to assist disabled and vulnerable people worldwide, said: “Activists long believed there was little chance that countries would reverse their stance on landmines. We genuinely thought this kind of movement could never happen with landmines. Who wants landmines?”

He added: “This is truly a turning point for us. It’s not just about landmines; it’s about the norms written for wartime conditions. We fear this could trigger a wave of weakening international humanitarian law, whose primary commitment is to protect civilians.”

According to him, the willingness of some countries to embrace these banned weapons is likely due to misinformation about “smart landmines” supposedly capable of reducing harm to civilians. “There is no smart landmine that can think for itself and say, ‘Oh, civilians, we won’t detonate now.’”

While some landmines have self-destruct mechanisms that allow them to detonate after a set period, they still cannot distinguish between civilians and soldiers, and their failure rate can be as high as 10 percent, meaning a significant number may not self-destruct as designed.

A legal advisor for the arms and hostilities unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said: “From the ICRC’s perspective, these potential changes are considered highly concerning.”

He emphasized: “From our viewpoint, which is also endorsed by military authorities, any limited military value that anti-personnel landmines may still have in modern conflicts is far outweighed by their horrific and long-term humanitarian consequences.”

While the widespread use of landmines has increased in conflicts worldwide, mine-clearance projects globally face uncertainty due to reduced funding.

Landmines kill or injure thousands annually, with 84% of casualties in 2023 being civilians, including 37% children. They remain active for decades, posing risks long after conflicts end. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, 3 million unexploded mines from the 1990s continue to kill and maim.