International Landmines: more victims and a weakened ban treaty
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines warns of regression. Last year, 6,279 people worldwide were injured or killed by anti-personnel mines and ammunition remnants, as the campaign (ICBL-CMC) announced in Geneva.
01.12.2025, 10:11
SDA
The number of victims has risen to its highest level since 2020, according to the annual report of the organization, which is made up of non-governmental organizations from around the world.
The report was presented in Geneva, where the states parties to the Ottawa Convention against anti-personnel mines are meeting this week. The current wave of withdrawals from this international treaty poses a threat, warned ICBL-CMC.
Wave of withdrawals by neighboring Russian states
Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland officially initiated their withdrawal last summer. These states border Russia. They justified their move with Moscow's military aggression and the resulting threat situation. Ukraine has also declared its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, but belligerent countries are not permitted to do so under the agreement.
ICBL-CMC Director Tamar Gabelnick called on other states to prevent further withdrawals and to ensure that landmines are no longer produced, procured and used. "Withdrawal is not an option. We have already achieved too much and the human cost is simply too high," she said about the fight against these weapons.
Military powers and conflict states left out of the mine ban
A total of 166 countries have joined the landmine ban so far, including Germany. Around 30 countries, including the USA, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel, have not.
Landmines are laid to stop the advance of enemy forces. They explode on contact. Last year, around 90 percent of the victims were civilians, many of them children.
Of the 6,279 victims last year, almost half were killed or injured in Myanmar and Syria. These two countries have not yet signed the landmine ban either.
