Disarmament in Review
The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction is the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines. It is usually referred to as the Ottawa Convention or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty.
The Convention was concluded by the Diplomatic Conference on an International Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Land Mines at Oslo on 18 September 1997.
In accordance with its article 15, the Convention was opened for signature at Ottawa, Canada, by all States from 3 December 1997 until 4 December 1997, and remained open thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until its entry into force on 1 March 1999.
Landmines come predominantly in two varieties: anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines. Both have caused great suffering in the past decades and continue to kill and injure civilians and by-standers long after conflicts have ended. Anti-personnel mines are prohibited under the Ottawa Convention.
Since its inception more than two decades ago, the Convention has led to a virtual halt in global production of anti-personnel mines, and a drastic reduction in their deployment. More than 40 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed, and assistance has been provided to survivors and populations living in the affected areas. Vast numbers of mined and suspected hazardous areas have been declared free of landmines and released for productive use. As a result of these efforts, the number of casualties has sharply declined. Other welcome trends include: increases in national capacity to manage complex mine action programmes; the great progress in framing victim assistance in the wider context of disability; and the development of improved risk-reduction tools. The Mine Ban Convention has been a central framework for States in conducting mine action activities that led to all these remarkable achievements.
The Convention is signed by 133 States. Today it has 164 States parties. To see its accession status, please click here.
The text of the Convention is available for download in the six official UN languages: English, Español, Français, русский, عربى, 中文
