Anti-personnel mines

Anti-personnel mines have caused widespread and acute humanitarian problems internationally.  Because they are ‘victim-activated’ they are indiscriminate – killing and injuring men, women and children long after the conflict.  Contamination or even the suspicion of contamination with landmines can deny people access to community resources such as water sources and agricultural land, creating or worsening poverty.  Landmine survivors, in countries with weak medical infrastructure and limited capacity for social or economic rehabilitation, can face serious physical, emotional, social and economic challenges.

Abhorrence at the civilian impact of anti-personnel mines precipitated civil society protest and a strong partnership between civil society and a group of committed States.  The failure of Amended Protocol II to the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons to adequately reflect international opinion in opposition to these weapons resulted in the 1997 anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty.

Anti-personnel mine contamination continues to be addressed through landmine clearance, education projects and other activities under the umbrella of mine action.

Through research and advocacy, Landmine Action continues to work for the full implementation and universalisation of the anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty, and for effective implementation of mine action projects.  Through field work Landmine Action is clearing anti-personnel mines in areas of forgotten conflict.