International context and recent recommendations

On 18 February, the defence ministers of four European countries recommended abandoning the Ottawa Convention so that, in an unstable international context, they could use landmines and cluster munitions against the threat posed by their Russian neighbour.

The use of landmines: contested effectiveness

According to a study by the International Committee of the Red Cross covering 26 conflicts between 1940 and 1996, the use of landmines has limited military value.

Main findings of the study

  • Military impact judged low in many conflicts
  • Lasting effects on combat zones
  • Difficulty of controlling and neutralising them once used

Weapons with major humanitarian consequences

The use of these weapons is banned across most of the world because of their disastrous humanitarian impact and the dangers they pose to communities for generations.

Impacts on civilians

  • High risk of injury and death
  • Explosive devices left behind in civilian areas
  • Casualties mostly civilian, often children

Social and economic consequences

  • Farming brought to a halt
  • A brake on local economic development
  • A negative impact on education and on people's ability to move around
  • Lasting insecurity in contaminated areas

A humanitarian position

“The long-term consequences of this kind of munition are catastrophic; explosive devices can kill and maim for decades. Eighty per cent of those affected are civilians, and the great majority are children. These unspeakable weapons make all economic activity impossible, they condemn farming and education, and they put people's safety at risk, children above all, for years and years,” says Martine Gernez, president of HAMAP-Humanitaire.

HAMAP-Humanitaire's commitment

Since 1999, the year of the Ottawa Treaty, HAMAP-Humanitaire has worked along two main lines:

Awareness raising

  • Informing communities about the risks of explosive ordnance
  • Prevention and risk education programmes

Clearance and making land safe again

  • Identifying and clearing contaminated areas
  • Handing land back to local communities in complete safety
  • Rehabilitating land for farming and everyday activities

Concern at a possible step backwards

For the NGO, rolling back the ban on landmines would be a major regression in international humanitarian law, particularly in Europe, where commitments to protecting civilians have long been a pillar of defence policy.