IPPNW and ICAN have a meritorious history in opposing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Anti-personnel landmines can be considered everyday weapons of mass destruction. They have killed more than 120,000 people from 1999 to 2017, and in 2023 more than 5,700 casualties have been recorded.
Anti-personnel landmines are totally inhumane weapons. They do not distinguish between soldiers and civilians; thus, they violate the Geneva Conventions. Over 80% of casualties are civilians, and 40% of those are children. Landmines also continue to kill and maim people for years after the end of conflict.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines was launched in 1991 and contributed significantly to the agreement of the Convention to Ban Anti-personnel Landmines (Ottawa Treaty) in 1997. IPPNW joined the ICBL in the mid-90s and produced a comprehensive report called Landmines: A Global Health Crisis. The campaign and its leader, Jody Williams, got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.
The Ottawa Treaty, signed by 165 countries, is one of the widest international agreements concerning disarmament. Many of the countries that have not signed the treaty (such as the US) have stopped manufacturing landmines. Only Russia, Myanmar, Iran, and North Korea use landmines, and Ukraine probably has recently. Landmines are also manufactured in India, Pakistan, and South Korea.
The Ottawa Treaty is a good example of an agreement that has strengthened customary international law. Anti-personnel landmines are nowadays generally regarded as nasty, shameful, and unusable weapons. It has been estimated that the Ottawa Treaty has saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions human lives.
After the unlawful Russian attack on Ukraine, several countries in Europe with a border with Russia have working to equip themselves against possible Russian invasion. Militarisation, fear, and even panic have captured the media and public opinion. The fear, of course, is not totally unjustified. We in Finland have experienced a Russian invasion during the Winter War in 1939. After World War II, the Soviets invaded the Baltic countries and made many others satellites.
So, in this atmosphere, Finland and other border countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are considering withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty. This is very sad and a totally wrong signal to the world. When Finland joined the Ottawa Treaty (not until 2012), our military forces got extra resources to compensate for this, and all the landmines were destroyed. Even a few years ago they assured us that Finland does not need landmines for military purposes.
It looks like this lust for landmines is motivated more by politics than by military purpose. Our politicians want to appear like responsible leaders who do their utmost to ensure Finland’s security. They act as though security were only a military concept having nothing to do with diplomacy, negotiations, trust, and wellbeing of the citizens.
There are three clear arguments for Finland and other countries to stay in the treaty:
As said above, anti-personnel mines are inhumane and kill and maim mainly civilians. Even with the new self-destructive mines there will always be some percentage of mines which stay operational. Would you let your children pick berries and mushrooms in a forest with even 2% operational landmines around?
Finnish officials are trying to tell us, that Finland would be a “responsible” user of mines. We would mark them clearly and use only self-destructive landmines. But even in the previous peacetime exercises, the conscripts have had difficulties in marking the minefields. In the Gulf War, several US soldiers died because of their own mines. Mines can also move in the ground because of floods or ground frost. Maps can vanish, and if you use virtual maps, the GPS harassment (which happens frequently in our eastern border) can make these maps totally useless.
The most dangerous results of Finland and other border countries leaving the Ottawa Treaty are the message it gives to the world and the damage it does to the structure of the international agreement system. In this insecure world, Finland has so far emphasised the importance of diplomacy, treaties, and international agreements. These are the best security guarantee, especially for small countries, even as we also maintain our capability for military defence.
If Finland, the Baltic countries, and Poland withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, this will give an alarming signal to the rest of the world. It would mean these presumably responsible countries claim that using landmines is just fine. You don’t have to mind the international agreements, if you calculate it’s not in your narrow selfish interest. This would again be one nail to the coffin of international agreement system.
Landmines must be kept banned. There is no “responsible” use of anti-personnel landmines. International treaties are not like a Danish Smørgåsbord (buffet with many small dishes) where you can pick just your favourite.
[IPPNW has joined other Nobel Peace Prize laureates in an appeal to Finland and other “border countries” to remain in the Ottawa Treaty.]
Kati Juva is a physician, co-president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and former Helsinki City Councillor (Greens).
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