In News:

In a major shift that challenges global disarmament efforts, NATO members Poland, Finland, and the three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—have announced their withdrawal from the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines. These countries cite growing security threats from Russia amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as the primary reason for exiting the treaty.

Ottawa Convention (1997)

• Objective: To prohibit the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines, and to mandate the destruction of existing stockpiles within four years.
• Adoption and Enforcement: Finalized in Oslo on 18 September 1997, it came into force on 1 March 1999.
• Scope: The treaty bans anti-personnel mines but not anti-vehicle mines.
• Membership: 164 states are party to the convention. However, major powers like the US, Russia, China, and India have not signed or ratified it.
• Humanitarian Impact:
  • Over 80% of landmine victims are civilians (ICRC).
  • Ukraine has been declared the most mined country in the world (UN, October 2024), with 1,286 civilian victims reported as of August 2024.
• Victim Assistance: The Convention includes obligations to assist mine victims, many of whom suffer permanent disabilities.

Motivations Behind Withdrawals

• The withdrawing countries argue that their security environment has fundamentally changed, especially with the threat of Russian aggression.
• They fear that any ceasefire in Ukraine might allow Russia to regroup and pose a direct threat to bordering nations.
• By exiting the convention, these states aim to achieve military parity with Russia, which is not a party to the treaty.
• Poland has already indicated interest in resuming landmine production.

Impact on Global Demining and Humanitarian Efforts

• The move risks reversing decades of global advocacy and humanitarian work.
• Compounding the problem, global demining efforts are under stress due to sharp US funding cuts. The US had been the largest donor, contributing over $300 million annually, or 40% of global demining funds (Landmine Monitor 2024).
• Though the US has resumed some humanitarian demining programs (March 2024), specific details remain limited.

Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008)

• Purpose: Bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions.
• Mechanism: These weapons disperse bomblets over large areas, posing serious risks to civilians long after deployment.
• Membership: 112 state parties and 12 signatories.
• Recent Withdrawal: Lithuania has signaled its withdrawal from this treaty.
• Non-Signatories: India, the US, Russia, China, Ukraine, and Israel have not joined the convention due to strategic and military considerations.
• Recent Usage: In 2023, the US supplied cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of its defense against Russian invasion.