Latest news with #LandmineMonitor
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia
HELSINKI — Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 830-mile land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'
Euronews
a day ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Finland votes to withdraw from landmine treaty due to Russia threat
Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to withdraw from an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, citing the threat posed by Russia. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 in favour of a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Treaty. The 1997 agreement, which prohibits the use, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines, has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 countries. NATO member Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre land border with Russia, has said landmines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Russia has not joined the Ottawa Treat, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned the war-torn country into the world's most mine-laden nation, according to analysts. Several other European and NATO nations bordering Russia — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — have recently pulled out of the treaty or announced plans to do so. Finland's President Alexander Stubb defended the decision. "The reality in the endgame is that we have as our neighbouring country an aggressive, imperialist state called Russia, which itself is not a member of the Ottawa Treaty and which itself uses landmines ruthlessly," he said. Earlier this week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launched a global campaign to boost support for disarmament and mine action. He said he was "very concerned" by announcements and steps by several UN member countries to leave the Ottawa Treaty. In response, Finland's Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said the "government and parliament have a duty to take measures that reduce Finland's risk of being attacked." "Protection against the Russian threat takes priority," he wrote on X on Tuesday. Under the treaty's rules, the withdrawal will take effect six months after Finland formally notifies the UN, at which point the country will be permitted to stockpile landmines. The US, China, India, Pakistan and South Korea are among the major nations to not have joined the pact. According to NATO, nearly 70 countries and territories are still affected by the presence of some 110 million land mines, which can remain dormant under the ground for many years before being triggered. At least 5,757 people — mostly civilians — were killed or wounded by landmines and unexploded ordnance in 2023, the NGO Landmine Monitor said.
a day ago
- Politics
Finland votes to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses
HELSINKI -- Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defences against Russia
A notice warning about land mines is attached to a tree as a Ukrainian specialized team searches for mines in a field in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) HELSINKI — Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defences against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'
