Five States Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention have recently submitted instruments of withdrawal, citing national security and military necessity, while at least one other has taken steps to “suspend” the Convention.
These developments raise important questions about whether anti-personnel mines retain any meaningful military utility in contemporary conflict. In this post, Erik Tollefsen, Head of the ICRC Weapon Contamination Unit and Pete Evans, Head of the ICRC Unit for Arms Carriers and Prevention examine this question from an operational perspective. They argue that advances in technology and the realities of modern warfare have significantly reduced the military relevance of anti-personnel mines, while their humanitarian consequences remain severe.
Read more…
Source: ICRC Blog
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Iraq: Old artillery shell kills two, wounds others in Halabja
August 31, 2026
Two people were killed and others injured on Monday when an old artillery shell exploded near Kani Maran village in Iraq’s Halabja province, police and health officials said. Halabja Police spokesperson Akam Qutb Al-Din said the shell detonated while it was being handled. Farhan Hama Khan, spokesperson for Halabja’s General Directorate of Health, told Shafaq News ...
- Cambodia to launch new 10-year Mine Action Policy
August 29, 2026
Cambodia will officially launch its National Policy on Mine Action 2026-2035 on September 2, providing a 10-year roadmap for mine action and victim assistance. The policy was approved by the Council of Ministers during its plenary session on April 23, according to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA). The launch ceremony will be held ...
- Vietnam: Quang Tri approves 22.4-million-USD landmine clearance project
August 27, 2026
The project “Landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance in northern Quang Tri, 2026-2030”, funded by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), is expected to clear more than 38.8 million sq.m of land for community development in accordance with current standards, while removing and destroying cluster munitions and other explosive remnants posing threats to people’s lives and daily ...
- Azerbaijan: Tractor hits mine in Khojavand, driver injured
August 21, 2026
A tractor hit a mine in the village of Dudukchu in Azerbaijan”s Khojavand district, injuring the driver, according to a joint statement by the press services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General”s Office and the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA). The incident occurred on August 21. The tractor hit a mine in an ...
- DR Congo: UNMAS destroys explosive remnants of war in Ituri Province
August 21, 2026
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) of MONUSCO destroyed several explosive remnants of war on August 18 in the town of Bule, located in Djugu Territory, Ituri Province. The operation eliminated a direct threat to civilians while also strengthening community awareness of the dangers posed by mines and other explosive remnants of war. The devices ...
- Russia develops first combat robot that disarms mines with laser
August 21, 2026
Russian specialists have developed a laser device for remote mine clearance based on a robotic platform that renders munitions harmless at a distance of up to 500 meters by burning away the explosive material without detonation. The laser is mounted on a ground robotic system. The system offers several advantages: it is completely safe for bomb ...
- Azerbaijani President thanks UK for assistance with mine clearance
August 18, 2026
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed gratitude to the UK government for its assistance with mine clearance efforts. According to Report, the head of state made the remarks during a meeting with the new Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Azerbaijan, Duncan Norman. The president noted that Azerbaijan needs closer international cooperation in ...
- Ukraine: A shadow market for demining has emerged
August 18, 2026
In Ukraine, which is currently one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, most land is cleared of shells, mines, and other ordnance through illegal means. According to unofficial estimates from those surveyed LIGA.net according to farmers, between 50% and 70% of the demining work carried out for farmers in 2023–2024 was done informally. The Ministry ...
- Afghanistan: 500-kilogram Russian bomb discovered and safely destroyed in Ghazni
August 13, 2026
A 500-kilogram unexploded bomb was discovered in the courtyard of a house in the Askar Kot Bazaar area of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province and was safely removed from the area before being destroyed. The Mine Action Coordination Directorate of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said a resident had reported a potential threat through the ...
- Azerbaijan: Landmine blast injures one in Kalbajar district
August 13, 2026
A mine incident occurred in the village of Sariyel village of the liberated Kalbajar district, on August 13, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) said in a joint statement. According to the statement, Suleymanov Kamran Shukur oghlu, a resident of the Gaynag village of Tartar ...
- Sri Lanka: Only 20.8 sq km left for demining
August 12, 2026
Sri Lanka’s mine-clearance programme has been highly successful, according to the International Mine-Clearance Ambassador Rosamund Pike. Pike made the remarks during a meeting with the Housing, Construction and Water Supply Minister Dr Susil Ranasinghe. She commended Sri Lanka’s mine-clearance efforts, noting that operations are being carried out in accordance with international standards. Officials said that approximately ...
- Syria: Two men killed in landmine explosion near al-Nasiriyah Airbase
August 11, 2026
Two young men from the town of Jayrud were killed early Tuesday after a landmine exploded while they were riding a motorcycle near al-Nasiriyah Airbase in the northeastern countryside of Damascus. Mohammad Anwar Saleh Nasser, director of the Emergency and Disaster Management Center in Jayrud, said in a statement to SANA that the center’s teams immediately responded ...
- Norway strengthens efforts against landmines and explosives globally
August 6, 2026
Norway commits NOK 580 million to humanitarian efforts aimed at protecting civilians from landmines and explosive remnants of war. The funding will also cover victim assistance and advocacy to strengthen international norms and legal instruments, including the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. “All weapons kill and maim, but in most cases, this happens while a war is ...
- Vietnam prioritises post-war recovery cooperation with US
August 5, 2026
Affirming that Vietnam regards the US as one of its important partners, Cuong said defence cooperation between the two countries has developed positively and been implemented effectively across a range of areas, including post-war recovery, dialogue and consultations, training, United Nations peacekeeping, cooperation between military services and branches, military medicine, defence industry, and humanitarian assistance ...
- Azerbaijan: Two injured in Aghdara mine blast
August 3, 2026
Two men injured in an explosion that occurred today (August 3) at around 10:40 in the village of Chardagly in Azerbaijan’s Aghdara district were admitted to the emergency department of the Tartar Central District Hospital. The incident took place during a humanitarian demining operation when NGO employee Alzamin Surkhayli (born in 1994) triggered an anti-personnel mine. Read ...