Members of the de-mining department of the Ukrainian Emergency Services survey an area of farmland and electric power lines for land mines in Korovii Yar, in the Eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, in March, 2023.VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA/Reuters
Four European NATO members announced on Tuesday they will withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty, marking the first time any country has left the agreement outlawing anti-personnel landmines since it was inked in Ottawa nearly three decades ago and prompting concerns about the treaty’s future.
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia issued a statement announcing their planned exit, citing a security situation they say has “fundamentally deteriorated” and an increase in threats to NATO members bordering Russia and Belarus – as these four countries do – since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The decision has to be formally approved by each country’s parliament.
In November, then U.S. president Joe Biden agreed to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine, despite the fact that Ukraine is a signatory to the agreement. Russia, which is not a signatory, has used landmines extensively in Ukraine.
The Mine Ban Treaty was signed in 1997 by 122 states that gathered in Ottawa at the initiative of then-foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy. Today, there are 164 signatories to the agreement, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines, which are landmines meant to explode when a person’s presence is detected.
Mr. Axworthy told The Globe and Mail that the countries’ decision to withdraw from the treaty is “tragically” what he predicted would happen when Mr. Biden agreed to the use of landmines in Ukraine.
He noted that the countries’ exit makes it particularly challenging for Canada because of Canadian troops in Latvia.
“Latvia’s use of landmines means that Canadian troops stationed there as part of the NATO Multinational Brigade would face a complex legal and operational dilemma,” Mr. Axworthy said.
“If Latvia were to employ landmines, Canadian forces could not participate in or support such actions without violating the treaty. If compliance with the treaty becomes impossible due to Latvia’s actions, Canada might have to reassess its role in the mission,” he said.
Last week, Mr. Axworthy and Anne Delorme, executive director of Humanity and Inclusion Canada, wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, saying that countries leaving the treaty “could lead to a domino effect of non-compliance and the abandonment of hard-won gains for the protection of civilians, and leading to a very uncertain and dangerous world.” Mr. Axworthy and Ms. Delorme asked for a meeting but did not receive a response.
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Neither Global Affairs Canada nor the Department of National Defence responded to a request to comment.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some Eastern European countries have discussed withdrawing from the treaty. In December, Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said his country was considering leaving the agreement because Russia was using landmines in Ukraine.
Those who champion the treaty as crucial to sparing civilians from serious injuries and death say that Ottawa needs to do more to advocate for what was once hailed as a major foreign-policy achievement.
Mr. Axworthy said when Mr. Biden agreed to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines, it created the first break in the norm, resulting in a knock-on effect.
“All of a sudden you see the unravelling of a very important restraint on the use of a weapon that is very, very dangerous and long lasting.”
Mr. Axworthy said Ottawa needs to do more publicly to press signatories to stay in the agreement, and to get European partners to apply the pressure as well.
“The fundamental issue is that the mines will stick in the ground way after the war is over,” he added.
Mr. Axworthy said that since the treaty was signed, about 250,000 people have been saved from either being killed or seriously injured. He said the process in Ottawa – and its signing – was Canada demonstrating leadership on security issues.
“I think it is a demonstration that we have the capacity as a country to take leadership, to use resources, to get diplomatic achievements and that we don’t simply have to always be sort of asking ourselves: ‘What are the Americans doing?’”
Organizations that are among those which co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines echoed Mr. Axworthy, raising concerns and saying Canada should do more.
Mary Wareham, deputy director of the crisis, conflict and arms division at Human Rights Watch, said that as one of the architects of the Mine Ban Treaty, Canada should be doing “all it can” to restore faith in the convention and convince state parties to stay on board.
“What we’ve seen unfortunately from Canada over the last decade is less interest in the Ottawa Treaty, which they worked so hard to create back in 1997,” she said.
Ms. Wareham said Canada should be raising concerns with the U.S. administration and holding talks with Ukraine to help them understand it shouldn’t resort to using anti-personnel landmines.
Mines Action Canada said in a statement that it is appalled by the joint decision to abandon the Ottawa Treaty. “Security concerns for these countries are legitimate – however, landmines are a weapon of the past. They have been banned by the majority of the world because of their humanitarian impact and because of their lack of military utility.”
Ms. Delorme said she’s concerned about the fact these countries are withdrawing from the agreement.
“Is this indicative of a broader trend of a complete disregard of the international rules-based order?”
“The other concerning change is that while Eastern European nations are leaving the Ottawa Treaty to use weapons that we know primarily kill and injure civilians, major donor countries in Europe and the United States are also drastically cutting aid,” she said, adding the cuts reduce their ability to respond to civilian casualties and injuries, as well as to undertake de-mining efforts.
“Landmines aren’t just killing civilians during the conflict. They’re going to continue to kill civilians for decades to come.”