Home
  English
  Arabic
  Russian
  Chinese
Help the victims of war: make a donation to the ICRC today!

Section
Landmines and international humanitarian law
Although the use of landmines is restricted by the general principles of international humanitarian law and more specifically by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, these weapons continue to pose a threat to individuals and communities worldwide.
Eighth Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Convention , Dead Sea, Jordan, 18 – 22 November 2007



In response to the humanitarian crisis caused by anti-personnel mines, the international community supported a ban on these weapons.
This led to the adoption in 1997 of the Mine Ban Convention which completely prohibits anti-personnel mines and calls for their destruction.

Main treaties

  • Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-personnel Mines
  • Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

    Related sections

  • Anti-personnel landmines and explosive remnants of war,
  • Explosive remnants of war and IHL
  • Development of national legislation
  • ICRC Preventive Mine Action Operations

    NB. Other documents, particularly those concerning the preparatory work for the Mine Ban Convention , are available in this site's archives. You can find them by using the "advanced search" : select "Landmines" and a "before" date (for example "before 01-01-1998").
  • Key document
    Treaties and States party
    Atlas
    ICRC Publication
      20-8-2004
      Ending the landmine era: achievements and challenges
      This leaflet provides an essential overview of the achievements and challenges of the Ottawa Convention to date and includes a time-line detailing the progess made by the international community so far. As preparations are made for the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World in December 2004, this brochure also outines the steps that should now be taken to ensure that the anti-personnel mine epidemic is finally put to an end.
      (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law)
      ICRC Publication Includes PDF

      31-12-1997
      Anti-personnel Landmines. Friend or foe ? A study of the military use and effectiveness of anti-personnel mines
      This study examines the military case for continued use of anti-personnel landmines. Mines employed in conflicts since 1940, whether by professional armies, by insurgents or in counter-insurgency operations, have rarely been used in conformity with international law, and have little or no effect on the outcome of hostilities. These conclusions were unanimously endorsed by senior military commanders from various countries at a meeting on the subject held in Geneva in February 1996.
      (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law)
      ICRC publication Includes PDF

    International Review of the Red Cross
    Legal article
    Official Statement
      29-11-2007
      Ending the deadly legacy of war
      The Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (known as the Ottawa Convention) marks its tenth anniversary on 3 December 2007. While considerable progress has been made in the past decade towards eradicating these weapons worldwide, major challenges remain - not least addressing the lifelong needs of hundreds of thousands of mine victims. Moreover, landmines are not the only type of weapon that go on killing after conflicts. Philip Spoerri, the ICRC's director of international law, explains.
      (Focus\Landmines)
      Official Statement

      19-11-2007
      Eighth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines
      Eighth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, statement by Mr. Olivier Vodoz, vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dead Sea, Jordan 18 November 2007
      (Focus\Landmines)
      Official Statement

      19-10-2007
      Tenth anniversary of the mine ban Convention - from mines to cluster munitions
      Mobilising to stop weapons which keep on killing. Notes from the presentation by Peter Herby, Head of the ICRC Arms Unit, Oslo, 18 September 2007
      (Focus\Landmines)
      Official Statement

      18-9-2006
      Mine Ban Convention : Statement by the ICRC
      Statement on behalf of the President of the ICRC by Philip Spoerri, Director of International Law and Cooperation within the Movement. Seventh meeting of the States party to the Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction, Geneva, 18 September 2006
      (Focus\Landmines)
      Official Statement

      1-11-2004
      Engaging armed non-state actors in the effort to ban antipersonnel mines
      Keynote address by Jacques Forster, Vice-President of the ICRC, First Meeting of Signatories to Geneva Call's Deed of Commitment, October 31 – November 1 2004, Geneva, Switzerland.
      (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Landmines)
      Official Statement

    Press article
      31-3-2005
      Progress towards a mine-free world
      December 2004, over 1,400 delegates, including heads of state, government ministers, Nobel Prize laureates and mine survivors, as well as representatives of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, gathered in Nairobi, Kenya to assess the achievements to date and the challenges that remain on the road to a world free of anti-personnel mines – Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 1, 2005
      (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Landmines)
      Press article Includes Photo

      30-11-2004
      A crucial summit in Nairobi: Let's end the era of antipersonnel mines
      This article by Jakob Kellenberger, President of the ICRC, was published by the International Herald Tribune on 30 November 2004
      (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Landmines)
      Press article

    More in this section


    go to top of page
    © 2008  International Committee of the Red Cross
    13-05-2008