Landmine report: number of mine victims increased significantly

More than 5,500 people were killed or injured by landmines in 2021 – three quarters were civilians. According to the landmine report, Russia alone uses seven different types of the internationally banned weapons.

On the “Place des Nations” in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva, a huge chair commemorates the victims of land mines every day: the “Broken Chair” – one leg of the chair is broken and only a torn off stub remains. As if the chair had been hit by a mine that, like the human victims, had ripped through its body.

At least 5,544 people were injured or killed by land mines last year. The number is in the new “Landmine Monitor”, the annual report of the international campaign to ban landmines. Syria had the highest number of dead and injured, leading the dismal mine casualty statistics for the third year in a row. Followed by Afghanistan.

Numerous mine victims in Ukraine

And in Europe, too, landmines destroy bodies and lives: in its war of aggression in Ukraine, Russia used at least seven different types of anti-personnel mines, according to the “Landmine Monitor”, which Marion Loddo presented as editor in Geneva: “Mine victims are victims always mainly people from the civilian population, half of them children. It’s the same in Ukraine. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression, the number of mine victims in Ukraine has quintupled compared to the previous year.”

164 countries have signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, the so-called Ottawa Convention. However, the signatures of 32 states are still missing, including Russia. The massive use of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine is not a breach of contract, but a breach of taboo.

Massive use of anti-personnel mines

The “Landmine Monitor” speaks of an “unprecedented situation”. Russia, a country that has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty, uses insidious weapons on the territory of one of the signatory states – Ukraine. “It’s dramatic,” says Loddo. “These mines are banned. These are banned weapons. And most importantly, they prevent civilians from moving safely around the country.”

Russia is not the only country to start using anti-personnel mines again on a massive scale. The report also mentions Myanmar. There, the military regime extensively mined land around mobile phone masts, pipelines and resource companies. According to the report, non-state armed groups are also increasingly using land mines – including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Colombia.

Hidden danger for decades

Landmines often remain a danger for decades after a war is over. They are laid just below the surface of the earth or hidden in plants. And they usually explode unintentionally at the touch of a human. In addition to the anti-personnel mines banned by the Ottawa Convention, there are also anti-vehicle mines. These do not fall under the ban, but they often affect innocent people.

According to the latest Landmine Monitor, mines continue to kill and injure people and destroy livelihoods in more than 60 states and territories. And despite international bans, anti-personnel mines are still being manufactured. The new report names eleven countries as active producers. Loddo explains: “These eleven countries have not joined the Mine Ban Treaty. It is very good news that the USA – which has also been on this list so far – has not been producing anti-personnel mines since June 2021. But we know that, for For example, India and Russia continued to produce mines.”

25 years after the creation of the mine ban treaty, the prospects are “challenging,” said Loddo. Also with a view to the chronically underfinanced budgets for victim assistance and mine clearance in contaminated areas: “There are fewer and fewer funds for mine clearance. That has to change. That is our demand for the annual conference of the contracting states next week in Geneva. What we need now, is immediate and coordinated action.”