ICRC president: Civilians will pay the price if global commitment to ban landmines allowed to fracture

Geneva (ICRC)—The following statement is attributable to Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ahead of the intersessional meetings of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) that will begin in Geneva on 17 June.

The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture. After decades of progress, we are witnessing a dangerous shift: states that once championed disarmament are now considering . This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) began raising the alarm over anti-personnel mines in the late 1980s when our medical teams treated a growing number of civilians injured by these horrific weapons. The ICRC at the time called it a “worldwide epidemic” and estimated that approximately 24,000 people, mostly civilians, were being killed and wounded each year by landmines. 

The 1997 adoption of the APBMC marked a turning point. To date, 165 states have joined the treaty. Its results are undeniable: over 55 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed, vast areas of land cleared, and the production and transfer of these deadly weapons significantly reduced. These efforts led to the number of casualties dropping by over 75 percent from its peak in the late 1990s. 

The momentum around the Convention also helped bring attention to mine survivors and the appalling long-term consequences of these indiscriminate weapons. More than 80 percent of victims are civilians. Survivors often suffer from lifelong disabilities and require services like prosthetics. Many of the victims are children. 

For example, last year in Cambodia, nearly 50 percent of the patients visiting the two physical rehabilitation centres supported by the ICRC are mine survivors—more than two decades after hostilities ended. In Afghanistan, ICRC teams see a similar pattern: in 2024 we cared for over 7,000 mine victims with support like prosthetic limbs, physiotherapy, and other treatment. 

There is no such thing as a “safe” mine. Even so-called “non-persistent” mines that self-deactivate still pose lethal risks while active, often fail to self-destruct, and require significant clearance efforts. Non-persistent mines existed before the adoption of the APMBC and were deliberately encompassed by the prohibition. No mine can distinguish between a soldier and a child. 

Promises of cheap, fast clearance are also misleading. Bosnia is still haunted by mines nearly 30 years after the conflict ended. Despite the ability to identify mined areas, full clearance may still take decades.

The APMBC stands as one of the most successful disarmament treaties ever negotiated. Weakening or abandoning it not only endangers lives—it undermines the integrity of international humanitarian law.

This week, states will gather in Geneva for the intersessional meetings of the APMBC. It is a critical moment to confront these worrying trends, recommit to the treaty, and stand firm against a return to weapons that have brought so much indiscriminate harm.

Now is not the time to back down. It is the time to reaffirm our collective commitment to protect civilians and uphold the principles that define our humanity.