MAY 30, 2025
We 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 Williams for their work in starting a process which “in the space of a few years changed a ban on anti-personnel mines from a vision to a feasible reality.” The 1997 Mine Ban Treaty has made a significant and positive difference in reducing the casualties and suffering caused by anti-personnel mines.
Yet the actions of two countries that have not prohibited these weapons—Russia and the United States—are undermining these norms and putting civilians at risk. Since its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces have used antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions extensively across Ukraine, causing thousands of
casualties, contaminating agricultural land, and contributing to displacement. Ukraine, a party to the Mine Ban Treaty, also used these weapons in 2022 and despite widespread opposition, the United States sent Ukraine anti-personnel mines in late 2024.
The war in Ukraine is raising serious concerns over the security of the rest of Europe – especially those states bordering Russia and Belarus. Regrettably, this is also contributing
to undermining belief in the utility of international humanitarian law – the laws of war.
We deeply regret Lithuania’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions in March. We urge Lithuania as well as Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Poland to reconsider their current moves to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty.
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These deadly weapons have effects that are far more harmful than any war benefit. One argument put forward for using anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions is that it will be possible to swiftly clear and destroy them when conflict ends. Yet clearance is always a long, costly, and dangerous process. Moreover, since January, the trump administration has undertaken foreign aid cuts that have halted or severely disrupted work to survey and clear areas of mines and explosive remnants of war as well as programs providing risk education and assistance to victims.
We welcome the first human rights council resolution on the human rights impacts of antipersonnel mines, adopted on April 4.
We call on Russia, the United States, and other states that have not yet done so to join and fully implement the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions. We also strongly encourage non-state actors to abide by the norms these conventions represent.
Jody Williams,
1997 Nobel peace prize (co-laureate)
LIST OF SIGNATORIES
NAME/CATEGORY/ PRIZE YEAR
1 PETER AGRE CHEMISTRY 2003
2 AARON CIECHANOVER CHEMISTRY 2004
3 JOHANN DEISENHOFER CHEMISTRY 1988
4 GERHARD ERTL CHEMISTRY 2007
5 JOACHIM FRANK CHEMISTRY 2017
6 ALAN HEEGER CHEMISTRY 2000
7 RICHARD HENDERSON CHEMISTRY 2017
8 ROALD HOFFMANN CHEMISTRY 1981
9 BRIAN K. KOBILKA CHEMISTRY 2012
10 ROGER D. KORNBERG CHEMISTRY 2006
11 YUAN T. LEE CHEMISTRY 1986
12 ROBERT J. LEFKOWITZ CHEMISTRY 2012
13 MICHAEL LEVITT CHEMISTRY 2013
14 TOMAS LINDAHL CHEMISTRY 2015
15 DAVID W.C. MACMILLAN CHEMISTRY 2021
16 PAUL L. MODRICH CHEMISTRY 2015
17 WILLIAM E. MOERNER CHEMISTRY 2014
18 VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN CHEMISTRY 2009
19 JEAN-PIERRE SAUVAGE CHEMISTRY 2016
20 SIR M. STANLEY WHITTINGHAM CHEMISTRY 2019
21 KURT WUTHRICH CHEMISTRY 2002
22 DARON ACEMOGLU ECONOMICS 2024
23 SIR OLIVER HART ECONOMICS 2016
24 JAMES J. HECKMAN ECONOMICS 2000
25 FINN E. KYDLAND ECONOMICS 2004
26 CHRISTOPHER A. PISSARIDES ECONOMICS 2010
27 J. M. COETZEE LITERATURE 2003
28 ELFRIEDE JELINEK LITERATURE 2004
29 PATRICK MODIANO LITERATURE 2014
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30 ORHAN PAMUK LITERATURE 2006
31 WOLE SOYINKA LITERATURE 1986
32 VICTOR AMBROS MEDICINE 2024
33 J. MICHAEL BISHOP MEDICINE 1989
34 WILLIAM C. CAMPBELL MEDICINE 2015
35 MARIO R. CAPECCHI MEDICINE 2007
36 PETER C. DOHERTY MEDICINE 1996
37 ANDREW Z. FIRE MEDICINE 2006
38 LELAND H. HARTWELL MEDICINE 2001
39 JULES A. HOFFMANN MEDICINE 2011
40 H. ROBERT HORVITZ MEDICINE 2002
41 SIR MICHAEL HOUGHTON MEDICINE 2020
42 LOUIS J. IGNARRO MEDICINE 1998
43 ERIC R. KANDEL MEDICINE 2000
44 BARRY J. MARSHALL MEDICINE 2005
45 CRAIG C. MELLO MEDICINE 2006
46 EDVARD MOSER MEDICINE 2014
47 MAY-BRITT MOSER MEDICINE 2014
48 ERWIN NEHER MEDICINE 1991
49 SIR PAUL M. NURSE MEDICINE 2001
50 STANLEY B. PRUSINER MEDICINE 1997
51 SIR PETER J. RATCLIFFE MEDICINE 2019
52 CHARLES M. RICE MEDICINE 2020
53 SIR RICHARD J. ROBERTS MEDICINE 1993
54 MICHAEL ROSBASH MEDICINE 2017
55 GREGG L. SEMENZA MEDICINE 2019
56 JACK W. SZOSTAK MEDICINE 2009
57 DREW WEISSMAN MEDICINE 2023
58 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICES COMMITTEE PEACE 1947
59 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PEACE 1977
60 CENTER FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES PEACE 2022
61 SHIRIN EBADI PEACE 2003
62 LEYMAH ROBERTA GBOWEE PEACE 2011
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63 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO ABOLISH
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PEACE 2017
64 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES PEACE 1997
65 INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU PEACE 1910
66 INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE
PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR
PEACE 1985
67 TAWAKKOL KARMAN PEACE 2011
68 THE 14TH DALAI LAMA PEACE 1989
69 NARGES MOHAMMADI PEACE 2023
70 DENIS MUKWEGE PEACE 2018
71 DMITRY MURATOV PEACE 2021
72 JOSE RAMOS-HORTA PEACE 1996
73 OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ PEACE 1987
74 JUAN MANUEL SANTOS PEACE 2016
75 KAILASH SATYARTHI PEACE 2014
76 LECH WALESA PEACE 1983
77 JODY WILLIAMS PEACE 1997
78 HIROSHI AMANO PHYSICS 2014
79 BARRY CLARK BARISH PHYSICS 2017
80 J. GEORG BEDNORZ PHYSICS 1987
81 STEVEN CHU PHYSICS 1997
82 ALBERT FERT PHYSICS 2007
83 JEROME I. FRIEDMAN PHYSICS 1990
84 ANDRE GEIM PHYSICS 2010
85 SHELDON GLASHOW PHYSICS 1979
86 DAVID J. GROSS PHYSICS 2004
87 GEOFFREY E. HINTON PHYSICS 2024
88 GERARDUS ‘T HOOFT PHYSICS 1999
89 BRIAN D. JOSEPHSON PHYSICS 1973
90 TAKAAKI KAJITA PHYSICS 2015
91 WOLFGANG KETTERLE PHYSICS 2001
92 FERENC KRAUSZ PHYSICS 2023
93 ANNE L’HUILLIER PHYSICS 2023
94 JOHN C. MATHER PHYSICS 2006
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95 MICHEL MAYOR PHYSICS 2019
96 ARTHUR B. MCDONALD PHYSICS 2015
97 KONSTANTIN NOVOSELOV PHYSICS 2010
98 GIORGIO PARISI PHYSICS 2021
99 ROGER PENROSE PHYSICS 2020
100 H. DAVID POLITZER PHYSICS 2004
101 DAVID J. WINELAND PHYSICS 2012