UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk gravely alarmed by steps to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban convention

I am gravely alarmed by the steps taken or being considered by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine to withdraw from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.

The Ottawa Convention, with over 160 State parties, is a crucial tool in responding to the devastating impact of anti-personnel mines on civilians. These weapons kill and maim civilians and combatants indiscriminately and affect people's freedom of movement, access to agricultural land, and right to development, even decades after the end of hostilities.

The persistent and long-term risks of serious harm to civilians, including children, caused by these weapons far outweigh any military advantage that could be obtained by their use. Like other international humanitarian law treaties, the Ottawa Convention was principally designed to govern the conduct of parties to armed conflicts. Adhering to them in times of peace only to withdraw from them in times of war or for newly invoked national security considerations seriously undermines the framework of international humanitarian law.

With so many civilians suffering from the use of anti-personnel mines, I call on all States to refrain from leaving any international humanitarian law treaty, and to immediately suspend any withdrawal process that may be underway. I also call on all States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Ottawa Convention to do so as soon as possible.