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:
- Cambodia: GMAC mobilising support for mine clearance
October 28, 2022
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) has pledged to mobilise support from around 700 of its member companies for demining work in Cambodia, with a fund-raising event scheduled for November 17. The pledge came at a meeting between Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), ...
- Iraq: Two UN employees killed by landmine at explosive ordnance clearance site near Basra
October 24, 2022
Two Iraqi UN employees were killed and a third person injured in an accident on Monday near the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The staff members were part of a team working for the UN’s Mine Action Service (Unmas) at an explosive ordnance clearance site at the Shatt al Arab port. “The incident occurred in the early ...
- Nigeria: 775 killed, 1,321 injured by remnant of explosive ordnance in Northeast
October 22, 2022
The Federal Government has disclosed that 755 civilians have been killed and 1,321 injured by the remnants of Explosive Ordnance (EO) in the Northeast in the last six years. The Federal Government also said the figure indicates that at least one civilian dies every day from explosive ordnance. Majority of the victims, according to the government, are ...
- Mali: Two MINUSMA peacekeepers killed in IED blast in Tessalit, Kidal region
October 17, 2022
Two MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed today, 17 October, when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device during a search and detection patrol of mines in Tessalit, Kidal region. This incident also resulted in 4 serious injuries among peacekeepers. Since the mission began in 2013, IEDs have claimed the lives of 74 MINUSMA personnel. https://twitter.com/UN_MINUSMA/status/1581979101413330944 Source: MINUSMA ...
- The US Army is spending $353 million on a suitcase-size weapon that can ‘hear’ and fire armor-piercing slugs at enemy tanks
October 14, 2022
The US Army is developing a smart anti-tank mine that detects the sounds of enemy vehicles and then destroys them with an armor-piercing slug. Gone are the World War II-era buried mines that resembled dinner plates or Frisbees. The XM204 looks like a large suitcase, and instead of clothes it carries four top-attack submunitions that pop ...
- Germany once again allocates 95.000 Euros to support Mine Victims in BiH
October 13, 2022
The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Thomas Fitschen signed an agreement yesterday with the local non-governmental organization “Mine Detection Dog Center” (MDDC) on the provision of funds in the amount of 95,000 euros for victims of mines in BiH. As part of the embassy’s humanitarian project, the German Embassy ...
- Ukraine: Combine harvester blown up on enemy mine in Kryvyi Rih district
October 8, 2022
In the Kryvyi Rih district, a combine harvester was blown up after it ran over an enemy mine. The driver is alive. Yevhen Sytnychenko, the head of the Kryvyi Rih District Military Administration, said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports. “Near the settlement of Velyka Kostromka, the combine driver, while harvesting sunflowers, drove over an enemy ...
- Cambodia: About 70 pct of mine clearance work completed in Tboung Khmum
October 5, 2022
Senior Minister Ly Thuch, First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), announced that 70 percent of the mine clearance work in Tboung Khmum. On October 5, Senior Minister Thuch, inspected the demining activities in Choam Kravien commune, Memot district launched under “Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action” with the theme ...
- Rohingya Teen Killed in Land Mine Blast on Myanmar-Bangladesh Border
October 3, 2022
A Rohingya teenager was killed and another man injured when a land mine exploded on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border adjacent to Bandarban district, Bangladesh on Sunday morning, officials said Monday. The victim, Omor Farok, 17, was a resident of Konarpara Rohingya camp in no man’s land, said community leaders. They named his injured companion as Abdu Yah. Gumdhum ...
- Ukraine: Car with four men inside drives over landmine in Chernihiv Oblast
October 2, 2022
A car and four dead bodies in it have been found in Chernihiv Oblast; the vehicle probably drove on a landmine. Source: Viacheslav Chaus, head of Chernihiv blast Military dminsitration; Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Office of President of Ukraine, on Telegram Quote from Chaus: “A car with 4 local civilians hit a mine in the ...
- Estonian EFP PK-14 Directional Mines In Ukraine
October 2, 2022
Recently another interesting anti-tank mine was spotted in use in Ukraine. The Estonian PK-14 or M14 directional mine appeared in photographs which were shared online around 9 September. The PK-14 is a directional mine capable of penetrating about 50mm of armour at a distance of 50 meters. Unlike the German DM22, which is also in service with ...
- Canada could lead global demining efforts in Ukraine
September 29, 2022
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky invited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to become a leader in the global demining efforts in the country. “The conversation with the Prime Minister of Canada was, as always, very specific and focused primarily on how Canada can increase support for Ukraine. Among other things, we discussed demining. Canada has both ...
- UK: Manchester charity gets funding to clear landmines in Ukraine
September 28, 2022
A UK charity has received a two million dollar grant to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine and to deliver risk education to communities caught up in the conflict. The funding has been awarded to Manchester-headquartered MAG (Mines Advisory Group) by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). MAG, which employs some 5,800 people in 27 ...
- Cambodia turned minefields into “the land of gold” over 30 years
September 26, 2022
The head of Cambodia’s mine authority said that Cambodia has achieved incredible success by having transformed minefields, once spread all over the Kingdom, into “the land of gold” after 3 decades of demining actions. During an event on Thursday, Senior Minister Ly Thuch, CMAA First Vice-President, said the issue of the threat posed by landmines and ...
- GICHD Explosive Ordnance Guide for Ukraine – Second Edition
September 23, 2022
The second edition of the GICHD Ukraine Ordnance Guide is intended to provide a basic explosive ordnance recognition guide for qualified EOD operators in Ukraine conducting mine action activities. It may also be used by trained survey staff. While an improvement on the first edition, with the addition of over 70 new entries, as before ...