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The Finnish government’s decision to prepare for withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines risks weakening international law and damaging Finland’s global reputation, Amnesty Finland said on Monday.
The treaty, which prohibits the use, production, storage and transfer of anti-personnel mines, has been in force in Finland since 2012.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced last week that the government would begin drafting legislation to leave the agreement.
“This is a deeply inconsistent and dangerous move,” said Frank Johansson, Executive Director of Amnesty Finland. “There is no such thing as responsible use of landmines. Their very nature is indiscriminate and they continue to maim civilians long after conflicts have ended.”
Johansson said Finland’s withdrawal would set a harmful precedent for other countries and undermine the international rules-based system established after the Second World War.
“If we start chipping away at one treaty, what’s the next step?” he asked. “This government repeatedly claims to support multilateral rules and global stability. This decision contradicts that completely.”
The Ottawa Treaty currently has 165 state parties. Notable non-signatories include Russia, the United States, China, India, and Israel. No country has ever withdrawn from the treaty. The only withdrawal from a comparable arms treaty occurred when Lithuania exited the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Finland’s move follows similar announcements by Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, who have all signalled their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty due to regional security concerns, though none has done so yet.
In defending the decision, the Finnish government has argued that Finland would use mines in a “responsible” way, citing the changing security landscape in Europe. Johansson rejected this argument outright.
“There is no justification for labelling landmines as responsible. They are banned because they continue to kill and injure, primarily civilians,” he said.
According to the Land Mine Monitor, over 5,700 people were killed or injured by landmines in 2023. Of those victims, 84 percent were civilians.
Johansson said the move would also be difficult to implement in practice. Many countries that are not party to the treaty still do not produce anti-personnel mines, meaning Finland could struggle to obtain them. Producing such weapons domestically would further isolate the country, he warned.
“If Finland were to start manufacturing weapons banned by international norms, we should seriously question the direction in which this country is heading,” he said.
The decision has also drawn international criticism. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, condemned Finland’s decision and called for it to be reversed.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, speaking to Reuters, said the move was “regrettable” and reaffirmed Norway’s commitment to the treaty.
Finland’s own defence committee had concluded in 2023 that landmines were not essential to national defence, and warned that withdrawal could damage Finland’s reputation.
Despite these concerns, the Orpo government has indicated it intends to proceed with the legislative process.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
