French media: Several countries are gradually withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, causing deep concern for international disability assistance organizations
With several countries recently announcing their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines, the international non-governmental organization "Handicap International," which is committed to helping the most marginalized and vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, issued a statement on July 8, warning the international community about the danger of these anti-personnel mines making a comeback.
The concerns of Handicap International are not unfounded. In 2025 alone, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland have successively announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also signed an executive order in late June to announce Ukraine's withdrawal. Finland followed closely behind, officially promulgating the decision passed by its parliament in early July.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 appears to be the main reason for these European countries' successive withdrawals from the convention. In a statement, the Finnish president pointed out that Finland shares a long border with Russia, which is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention. In late June, the Estonian Foreign Ministry, when informing the United Nations of this withdrawal, stated in a press release that the decision to withdraw from the convention was due to the deteriorating security situation in the region caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and was a necessary consideration for national security.
Handicap International is concerned that the gradual withdrawal of these countries from the Ottawa Convention means that these countries are considering redeploying such mines along their borders. The statement pointed out that since 2015, the number of victims injured or killed by these mines has been increasing every year. Among these civilian victims, 40% to 50% are children.
The organization warned all parties about the danger of the resurgence of this weapon. The threat posed by these mines often persists for a long time after military conflicts end. They are usually detonated by the victims themselves upon contact. These mines cause long-term physical and psychological trauma to the victims.
Previously, the International Red Cross had also criticized these withdrawal decisions as a dangerous regression in the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.
The efforts of the international community to ban anti-personnel mines (also known as infantry mines) that cause indiscriminate killing of civilians made substantial progress in 1997, culminating in the so-called Ottawa Convention at a meeting in Ottawa in December of that year. The convention comprehensively prohibits the use, production, transfer, and storage of anti-personnel mines and requires the destruction of stockpiles within one year of the convention's entry into force.
As of August 2022, 16 countries had signed and ratified the treaty.
Source: rfi
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837394490039360/
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