The recently published "Landmine Monitor 2024" reported at least 5,757 landmine casualties in 2023, an increase of 22% compared to 2022; 84% of the casualties were civilians and 37% were children.
Commenting on the results of this report, Handicap International said this high figure for the ninth consecutive year is mainly due to the increase in armed conflicts and the increasing use of improvised mines since 2015.
Casualties from anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of explosives were recorded in 55 states and other areas in 2023. The ten countries with the highest number of casualties in 2023 are Myanmar (1,003), Syria (933), Afghanistan (651), Ukraine (580), Yemen (499), Nigeria (343), Burkina Faso (308), Mali (174), Ethiopia (106) and Iraq (102).
Anti-personnel mines were used by Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia between mid-2023 and October 2024.
In 2023, Myanmar had the highest number of casualties. Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in Ukraine since it invaded the country in February 2022. This is the most widespread use of anti-personnel mines in decades. There are credible reports that Ukraine, a party to the Ottawa Convention, used anti-personnel mines in and around Izium in 2022, when the city was under Russian control.
Non-state armed groups in at least five states, namely Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Palestine (Gaza), have also used anti-personnel mines. In addition, new cases of mine use have been attributed to non-state armed groups in countries located in or bordering the Sahel region of Africa.
A total of 58 countries and other regions are still contaminated by mines, the report found.
Note that Luxembourg has undertaken efforts to support landmine clearance (demining) in countries such as Laos. For further details, see: https://chronicle.lu/category/abroad/48487-minister-bettel-in-laos-day-2-morning-mine-bomb-clearing
The Fifth Review Conference of the Convention took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from 25 to 29 November 2024. The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of the achievements and challenges of the Mine Ban Treaty, review the effective implementation of the Convention (in particular progress in mine clearance and destruction) and adopt an action plan for the next five years.
Handicap International invited two mine survivors to the conference: Emilie Vath, who was six years old when she lost her foot in a mine explosion in Cambodia and who became one of the first people to be fitted with a prosthesis by Handicap International; thirteen-year-old Srey Neang, who had a leg amputated after being injured by an improvised explosive device explosion at the age of four; she has received five prostheses and her rehabilitation is supported by Handicap International.
The Luxembourg branch of Handicap International added that the current situation on the ground is tense, not least after the US government agreed to provide anti-personnel mines to Ukraine.
Anti-personnel mines are devices activated by movement: they make no distinction between a soldier's or a child's foot, the NGO said. In 2023, 84% of the victims of these mines were civilians, and 37% were children.
Handicap International said it "strongly condemn[s]" the United States' decision, which "directly violates both the Ottawa Treaty and the Geneva Conventions". The Luxembourg branch added that "[t]he terrible situation in Ukraine, which our teams on the ground witness daily, does not change the fact that anti-personnel mines remain a deadly threat to Ukrainian civilians". It concluded by adding that "this situation should not set a precedent for other countries that are signatories to the treaty".
