Reacting to news that the Finnish government has initiated the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa convention, a landmark treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe, said:
“The Finnish government’s move to leave the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention is a disturbing backward step that further undermines the global consensus aimed at minimizing civilian harm during armed conflict.
“Anti-personnel landmines are inherently indiscriminate weapons. They have devastating effects on civilians, sometimes decades after they are deployed, while unexploded anti-personnel landmines can blight whole regions for generations. The use of weapons which are by their nature indiscriminate is prohibited under customary international humanitarian law.
“This move, which follows the recent withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions by Lithuania, goes against decades of progress on eliminating the production, transfer and use of inherently indiscriminate weapons. As the world prepares to mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action this week, we call on the Finnish government to reverse this decision that will inevitably put civilian lives at risk.”
Background
The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (the Ottawa treaty) bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines and currently has 164 states parties.
The Ministers of Defence of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland recently recommended withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.
The International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance in Mine Action is on 4 April.
