Finnish MPs approve withdrawal from anti-mine treaty

Finnish MPs approve withdrawal from anti-mine treaty
by AFP Staff Writers
Helsinki (AFP) June 19, 2025
Finnish lawmakers on Thursday voted to leave a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, which four other countries in the region also plan to withdraw from, citing security threats posed by neighbouring Russia.

The decision was approved by a wide majority with 157 voting in favour and 18 voting against.

In early April, Helsinki announced it would begin preparing to withdraw from the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, which the country acceded to in 2012, citing a fundamentally changed security environment with neighbouring Russia posing a long-term threat to Europe.

The Nordic country shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.

Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement that the quick process to exit the treaty "sends a strong signal that Finland is acting swiftly and coherently in defence-related matters".

This spring, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Poland, have also announced plans to exit the treaty.

Signatories are prohibited from using, stockpiling, producing and transferring anti-personnel mines, while also required to destroy remaining stockpiles.

Designed to be buried or hidden on the ground, the mines often mutilate victims, who are not immediately killed, with aid groups decrying their long-term impact on civilians.

Finland's president is expected to approve the decision in the near future, which will come into effect six months after Finland formally notifies the United Nations.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Monday that he was "gravely concerned by recent announcements and steps taken by several member states to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention" urging states to "immediately halt any steps towards their withdrawal".

"These announcements are particularly troubling, as it risks weakening civilian protection and undermining two decades of a normative framework that has saved countless lives," he stated.

Guterres added that he plans to launch a global campaign "to uphold the norms of humanitarian disarmament, accelerate mine action as an enabler of human rights and sustainable development, and drive forward the vision of a mine-free world".