Nobel Peace-Prize Winner Denounces Baltic Countries’ Official Announcement of Withdrawal from Life-Saving Landmine Ban Treaty PRESS RELEASE Geneva 1 July 2025 – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have formally notified States Parties of their intention to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty, according to a statement by the President of the 22nd Meeting of States Parties, Ambassador Ichikawa Tomiko, […]
Geneva, 2 July 2025 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 […]
(Published on ReliefWeb on 16 June 2025) The global bans on anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions are two of the most significant humanitarian achievements of the post-Cold War era and have saved tens of thousands of lives. The victims of these weapons are predominantly civilians, their families and communities. The 1997 Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on […]
MAY 30, 2025We are deeply concerned by disturbing developments that are again putting civilians at greater risk of harm from antipersonnel landmines and explosive remnants of war, notably cluster munitions.We support the work of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was jointly awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize together with its then-coordinator Jody […]
In coordination with the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings later this month in Geneva, ICBL and Handicap International (HI)-Switzerland have installed the banner you see attached, now displayed on the iconic Broken Chair in front of the UN in Geneva. The banner hanging coincides with the launch of ICBL/CMC public campaign calling on Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to stop their […]
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), 1997 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, condemns Lithuania’s decision to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty, approved today by a parliamentary vote. This irresponsible move marks Lithuania’s second abandonment of a humanitarian disarmament treaty in six months, following its unprecedented withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions in March […]
At a time when states are considering leaving the treaty, we are reminded of the words of Pope Francis and his support for the efforts to rid the world of these indiscriminate weapons which too often claim the lives of innocent civilians including children. While marking the anniversary of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, Pope […]
Japan’s Leadership Needed to Ensure No More Landmine Victims Published in: The Asahi Shimbun Globe+ Mary Wareham, Deputy Director, Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division, Human Rights Watch Kanae Doi, Japan Director, Human Rights Watch Mine Ban Treaty – an international treaty developed to protect civilians in conflict April 4 is International Mine Awareness Day, a […]
Transforming Minefields into Vineyards, Orchards, and Fields of Flowers – “Mines to Vines” Movement Expands Worldwide Roots of Peace, the global humanitarian nonprofit committed to turning “Mines to Vines”; proudly commemorates UN International Landmine Awareness Day with the launch of its international White Rose for Peace campaign. The initiative, unveiled this week at the UK Parliament, marks a renewed […]
Geneva, 4 April 2025—On International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) warns of an alarming backslide in global efforts to eliminate one of the deadliest legacies of war. As the world celebrates the people working tirelessly to free communities of life-threatening antipersonnel mines and assist […]