. ABSTRACT
With the negotiation and adoption of the Ottawa Convention in 1997, the international community embarked upon the global non-proliferation of anti-personnel landmines. The Ottawa Convention also formally titled Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction was signed in 1997 and entered into force in 1999. It is a landmark treaty prohibiting the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines. The convention also focuses on reduction of landmine uses, clearance of mine contaminated areas, stockpile destruction and assistance to victims. This article scrutinizes and evaluates the impact of the Ottawa Convention for almost three decades in achieving its intended purposes with emphasis on selected case studies of State Parties who made substantial progress and also analyses the role of international civil society and non-state actors. The object is to focus on data on landmine clearance and victim assistance along with legal analysis. The study will also emphasize on significant challenges that persist and emerge including the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), active deployment by non-state armed groups, underfunding for victim assistance and proposes forward-looking optimistic recommendations aiming at strengthening compliance, victim assistance framework and universalization of the convention, drawing on The 2025 Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan.
- INTRODUCTION
2.1 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
A landmine is an explosive device intended to disable vehicles or to kill or injure persons, often designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or vehicle. Mines are triggered by pressure, contact, and proximity or by a timed mechanism, and may detonate when stepped on, struck, or otherwise disturbed[1]. “Mine” means a munition designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or a vehicle[2]. Landmines are used as defensive weapons to hinder the movements of an adversary or opposing military forces. Landmines are always set up in a hidden and camouflaged way to match their surroundings and making it difficult to be located by anyone[3]. Currently, there are over 600 types of mines and one among them is the anti-personnel mine which is designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and is intended to incapacitate, injure or kill one or more people through detonation activated by stepping on trigger, tripwire, passage of time or by controlled means[4].
The early usages of mines can be traced back to the American Civil War, and its deployment and usage increased rapidly in World War I and World War II. Anti-personnel mines were first widely used in World War 2, and later they were used in various conflicts like the Korean War, Vietnam War, the first Gulf War and other conflicts[5]. These landmines used as weapons of war have caused profound humanitarian, economic and environmental consequences. The mines that were deployed in conflict zones were often left behind causing injury, incapacitation and deaths of people even after the hostilities were ceased. These mines would remain active for decades, causing indiscriminate casualties of the victims. Landmines not only created direct loss of life but also created long term economic and psychological consequences. Survivors of landmine explosion would face permanent disabilities and traumatic amputations making them unable to perform any work thereby creating an economic burden and psychological effects. Unfortunately, most mine accidents occur in countries with limited medical facilities and rehabilitative resources and limited access to medical care[6].
In addition to devastating impact on individuals, mines also have severe social and economic impact on a nation, particularly trying to rebuild after an armed conflict where land covered with mines renders it unusable for the construction of roads, railway lines or even use the land for cultivation and agriculture[7].
[1] United Nations (2015) LANDMINES, EXPLOSIVE REMNANTS OF WAR AND IED SAFETY HANDBOOK. 3rd edn, UNMAS. 3rd edn. Edited by T. Enke. Available at: https://unmas.org/sites/default/files/handbook_english.pdf (Accessed: 07 September 2025).
[2] Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, art. 2(2), Sept. 18, 1997, 2056 U.N.T.S. 211.
[3] United Nations (2015) LANDMINES, EXPLOSIVE REMNANTS OF WAR AND IED SAFETY HANDBOOK. 3rd edn, UNMAS. 3rd edn. Edited by T. Enke. Available at: https://unmas.org/sites/default/files/handbook_english.pdf (Accessed: 07 September 2025).
[4]Ibid
[5]A history of landmines, ICBLCMC (2023), https://icblcmc.org/our-impact/a-history-of-landmines (last visited Sep 15, 2025).
[6] Banning anti-personnel mines: The Ottawa Treaty explained, (1998).
[7]Ibid.