{"id":2149,"date":"2026-11-02T14:47:53","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/?p=2149"},"modified":"2026-11-02T14:47:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:47:53","slug":"international-campaign-to-ban-landmines-calls-on-global-leaders-to-prevent-renewed-production-of-antipersonnel-mines-by-poland-and-finland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/?p=2149","title":{"rendered":"International Campaign to Ban Landmines Calls on Global Leaders to Prevent Renewed Production of Antipersonnel Mines by Poland and Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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October 2026 \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the global civil society coalition working for a world free of landmines and a\u00a0co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, has written to senior United Nations officials, heads of humanitarian organizations, and foreign ministers, urging them to intervene as Poland and Finland move towards renewed production and potential use of antipersonnel mines following their withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In letters co-signed by Jody Williams<\/a>, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and ICBL founding coordinator, and Tamar Gabelnick, ICBL Director, the campaign urges international leaders to engage both governments at the highest appropriate level to prevent renewed production, use, and transfer of antipersonnel mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters call on Poland and Finland to cancel their production plans; commit not to use or transfer antipersonnel mines; pursue militarily effective alternatives; maintain transparency regarding their intentions; and ultimately return to the Mine Ban Treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appeal was addressed to the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and the heads of UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP, UNMAS, the European Union, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Letters were also sent to the foreign ministers of countries with long-standing commitments to humanitarian disarmament, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Holy See, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as Zambia, which holds the current presidency of the Mine Ban Treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appeal comes amid an unprecedented setback for the Mine Ban Treaty. Five European states\u2014Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland\u2014have withdrawn from the treaty since December 2025, citing deteriorating regional security and the threat posed by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland\u2019s<\/a> withdrawal took effect on 20 February 2026. On 2 March, its Armaments Agency initiated market consultations for the acquisition of 14.7 million operational antipersonnel mines. If these plans are realized, Poland could become one of the world\u2019s largest stockpilers of antipersonnel mines. Polish officials have indicated that mines could be deployed along the country\u2019s eastern borders in the event of a threat, while a senior defence official has suggested that excess production could be supplied to allies, including Ukraine and the Baltic states. Ukraine remains a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty and is prohibited from using antipersonnel mines under any circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finland\u2019s<\/a> withdrawal took effect on 10 January 2026. That same month, it announced plans to acquire antipersonnel mines, with the aim of manufacturing them domestically and making the first new mines available in 2027. A senior Finnish Army officer has indicated that up to one million mines could be procured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renewed interest in antipersonnel mines is also raising questions about European Union funding. Latvia<\/a>, which left the treaty in December 2025 to regain the option of using antipersonnel mines, has said it plans a \u20ac28.3 million mine purchase under the EU\u2019s SAFE programme. It has not said what type of mines it intends to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-two EU member states remain bound by the Mine Ban Treaty. Under Article 1, they are committed never to assist, encourage, or induce anyone to engage in activities the treaty prohibits, whether or not the other state remains a party to it. The EU funds they approve should not be used to pay for the production or purchase of a weapon they have banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ICBL recognizes the serious security concerns facing both countries. However, renewed production, potential use,and transfer of antipersonnel mines risk reversing nearly three decades of humanitarian progress and encouraging the wider proliferation of weapons that the international community has spent decades working to eliminate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antipersonnel mines cannot distinguish between a soldier and a civilian, and they continue to kill and maim long after conflicts end. According to Landmine Monitor 2025, civilians accounted for more than 90% of globally recorded casualties from mines and explosive remnants of war in 2024. Children represented 46% of civilian casualties where age was recorded.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPoland and Finland have already withdrawn from the Mine Ban Treaty, but they have not yet crossed every line. The decisions to produce, transfer, and use antipersonnel mines can still be stopped. We are calling on international leaders to act now, before these choices unleash a new wave of proliferation and leave future generations paying the price,\u201d said Tamar Gabelnick, ICBL Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ICBL stresses that withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty does not make renewed production, transfer, or use inevitable. These remain separate policy decisions that Poland and Finland can still reconsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign is calling for proactive international engagement before these decisions lead to further proliferation, long-term landmine contamination, and civilian suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Landmine Monitor 2026 report, to be launched on 25 November, will provide the latest data on the global use, production, transfer, and humanitarian impact of antipersonnel mines.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 2026 \u2014\u00a0The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the global civil society coalition working for a world free of landmines and a\u00a0co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, has written to senior United Nations officials, heads of humanitarian organizations, and foreign ministers, urging them to intervene as Poland and Finland move towards renewed production […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2151,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149\/revisions\/2151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wvcbl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}