Statement on Compliance to the Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meeting

Delivered by Mary Wareham, Deputy Director

Thank you President,

Over the past 26 years since the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force, compliance with its core provisions has generally been impressive. This is due in large part to the strong commitment of States Parties to implementing the treaty’s provisions and to pioneering the concept of cooperative compliance, which emphasizes transparency, continued dialogue, and practical measures.

There have, of course, been exceptions. There have been reports and allegations of antipersonnel mine use in the past by members of armed forces of States Parties Sudan and Yemen, who we have heard from today. We appreciate Sudan and Yemen’s statements today and their commitments to abide the Mine Ban Treaty.

Then, there are the missed deadlines. Two states parties – Greece and Ukraine - have stockpiles remaining that still need to be destroyed, and both are long past their deadline.

We also face compliance challenges concerning Ukraine, but before addressing that, wish to strongly and unequivocally condemn the widespread use of antipersonnel landmines by Russian forces on Ukrainian soil, as well as other horrific attacks by Russia against the civilian population of Ukraine.

In this session, however, we must address the situation in Ukraine, a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. In November 2024, the United States announced that it would transfer an unspecified quantity of three types of antipersonnel mines to Ukraine. Accepting this transfer would clearly put Ukraine in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty. We appreciate Ukraine’s statement today, which indicated it has “no information” on these mines. This raises questions for us, we reiterate that antipersonnel mines are prohibited regardless of their features or method of production.

Reporting from Human Rights Watch and others showed that Ukraine used antipersonnel mines in and around Izium during 2022 when the city was under Russian occupation and it has promised to investigate and prosecute those involved. We acknowledge Ukraine’s update today, which indicates the concerns are taken seriously and the pre-trial investigation is still ongoing.

We very much appreciate the openness that Ukraine has shown and its willingness to meet with civil society as well as the treaty’s Cooperative Compliance Committee. We again urge Ukraine to respect its obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty and to provide as much clarity and transparency as possible regarding the ongoing investigation, its efforts made to secure remaining stocks under their control, and to ensuring its soldiers are trained and aware that any use of antipersonnel mines, including improvised mines, is strictly prohibited.

The actions in recent weeks taken by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty are gravely concerning and also raise compliance challenges. We have heard disturbing statements made by lawmakers and politicians in those countries that verge on crossing the line by advocating for new production, transfers, and, most critically, use of antipersonnel mines.

We remind all States Parties that Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty prohibits any State Party from assisting, encouraging or inducing, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under the treaty. Dozens of States Parties have enacted national laws and regulations that make it a criminal offence for any person to assist, encourage or induce anyone to undertake these prohibited activities with respect to antipersonnel mines.

In closing, the ICBL urges all States Parties to adhere to the commitment they made in the Siem Reap-Angkor Declaration “to uphold, promote and strengthen the norms established by the Convention.” And to the Action Plan’s pledges to “take all necessary measures to investigate and address alleged or known non-compliance” and to “prevent further instances of non-compliance.”

Thank you.