Finland withdraws from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines

Finland officially withdraws from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines

Finland has taken a serious step in the field of military policy: the country formally denounced the 1997 Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, official sources said. Finland's decision joins similar steps taken by a number of Eastern European countries.

About the solution

The Ottawa Convention, signed by over 160 countries, aimed to ban the development, production, use and storage of anti-personnel mines. However, key military actors such as China (PRC) and Russia, From the very beginning, they ignored the treaty and did not participate in its implementation.

The Finnish authorities explained their decision by the need to adapt their defence policy to modern security threats and challenges, in particular in the context of the ongoing war in Europe.

Context.

In recent years, several countries in the region have announced that they are reconsidering their membership in the Ottawa Convention, arguing that they need more freedom in defence procurement and tactical options.

A significant number of the parties to the treaty stressed the need to preserve international mine safety and humanitarian standards, while critics stressed that the realities of modern conflicts make some provisions of the convention difficult to implement.

Significance for the region

Finland's withdrawal from the convention could have an impact on regional security and defence strategies, given its geopolitical location near the Russian border. Experts point out that the changing positions of individual countries on mine treaties reflect broader shifts in security relations in Europe.