Despite Ban, Landmines Again Become a Threat of War
Raheela Bibi was playing outside her home with her siblings when a landmine exploded. The incident occurred in August 2020. At the time, Bibi was 12 years old and living in Pakistan. Both her hands had to be amputated as a result of the blast. Her sister suffered severe leg injuries, while her brother’s eyes were also wounded. Speaking to DW in 2023, Bibi said that although doing homework was very difficult, she was determined to continue her education.
In 2025, more than 5,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded remnants of war, according to preliminary analysis by the non-governmental organisation Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor. In South Sudan, 90 per cent of victims last year were children.
Landmines are actually designed to injure adults, not kill them. A wounded soldier can be a greater burden on an enemy state’s resources than a dead one. In peacetime, however, landmines remain a deadly threat, not only to soldiers but also to civilians, especially children, who are often among the victims.
Decades after the brutal conflicts of the Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 2001, people are still being killed and injured by landmines in the former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Ottawa Treaty has been in force since 1999
In 1999, there were around 25,000 landmine casualties every year. This situation prompted international pressure to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines. In 1997, representatives of more than 120 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty, which became legally binding in 1999. A total of 166 countries have ratified the treaty, but China, India, Russia and the United States are not among them.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, five European NATO countries bordering Russia have withdrawn from the treaty. Ukraine has also decided to leave, although the decision legally takes effect only after the war ends.
‘This is a dangerous precedent being set by European countries,’ Simone Wisotzki of the Frankfurt-based Leibniz Peace Research Institute (PRIF) told DW. ‘Other parties to the Ottawa Treaty, which could also face similar extreme situations during conflict, could take the same step. We would then have to deal with more countries withdrawing, which would of course weaken the legitimacy of the treaty as a whole.’
Last year, Ukraine left the treaty and justified the move by pointing to Russia’s actions, as Russia has never ratified the treaty and has used mines on Ukrainian territory. ‘We cannot remain bound by rules when the enemy has no restrictions,’ said Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on national security, defence and intelligence.
If a country is not at war, its withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty should take effect six months after the announcement. However, if the country is at war, the withdrawal decision only takes effect after a peace agreement is signed. Despite this legal uncertainty, Ukraine is reported to have already used mines, albeit on a much smaller scale than Russia.
A quarter of Ukraine’s territory affected by landmines
According to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), by mid-2025 around 25 per cent of Ukraine’s territory was affected by landmines and explosive ordnance. This includes not only areas under Ukrainian control, but also Russian-occupied areas in the east and south-east of the country.
‘Since February 2022, more than 1,150 civilians have been killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW),’ UNMAS wrote on its website. The organisation estimates the cost of comprehensive mine clearance at just under US$35 billion (around Rp625 trillion) over a 10-year period.
Poland, Finland, which joined NATO after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, all of which have experienced Russian aggression and occupation in the past, also decided to leave the Ottawa Treaty last year.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated several times that his country wants to have the ability to lay mines on its eastern border with Russia quickly if necessary. Poland’s state-owned defence company, Belma, has been contracted to produce anti-personnel mines in large quantities. Lithuania has also announced it will resume producing and purchasing landmines.
The Finnish military has said that if mines are needed, they must be laid responsibly, accurate maps of mine locations must be made, and a clear plan for mine clearance must be available.
Wisotzki of PRIF said this represents progress compared with the past. However, modern anti-personnel mines are often equipped with sensors and smart technology that make them harder to find, remove and destroy.
‘That is why I am very critical of this development. Even new technology creates problems that ultimately make mine clearance more difficult. In practice, mines are always laid in areas that are also used by civilians. The mines then remain in those areas and disproportionately injure civilians.’
In its various reports, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor shows that although mines laid in past conflicts continue to be cleared, mines are still being laid in Ukraine and other countries such as Myanmar.
Arms control is weakening
This development comes as arms control around the world is weakening. In recent years, three important agreements between the United States and Russia have collapsed.