The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

Abstract This commentary interprets the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in accordance with the international law of treaties and describes State practice in its implementation. The Convention is an international disarmament treaty adopted in 1997 that binds 164 States. It obligates its States Parties to forgo all possession and use of anti-personnel mines, to destroy stockpiles, to clear mined areas, and to support assistance to mine victims. The commentary also identifies violations of the Convention by particular States. While relatively small in number, some, in relation to the prohibition on use and stockpiling, are extremely serious. The analysis of State practice since 1997 includes the war in Ukraine, which has seen use by Russia (which has not joined the Convention) and by Ukraine (which has). In 2023, the Convention’s formal compliance procedure was involved for the first time in the history of the Convention when a request was made to Eritrea by the United Nations Secretary-General to clarify its compliance with the obligation to destroy anti-personnel mines in mined areas.