Thank you Madame President,
We are of course deeply disturbed by massive use of AP mines by states not party, most notably Russia and Myanmar. But as this session is on compliance, this statement will focus on States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Since its entry into force in 1999, states parties have overall shown a strong commitment to comply with their obligations, with only a small number of cases of known or alleged non-compliance. But recent years have brought new compliance challenges that must be addressed in a fair, consistent, and transparent manner.
One of the most significant of those challenges is related to possible use of AP mines by state party Ukraine, starting with the serious allegation of use of PFM mines in 2022. Ukraine committed publicly in 2023 to investigate these allegations, but we still do not have any updates. In late 2024, the United States announced two transfers of antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, which the government of Ukraine appeared to welcome, and news reports showed Ukrainian soldiers handling those mines in early 2025.
There are also indications from multiple sources that antipersonnel mines continue to be used by Ukraine since 2024, although the scale of this use is unclear. Multiple sources of publicly available information, including Ukrainian military units’ social media, suggest that antipersonnel mines are currently being manufactured by entities and individuals in Ukraine and used by armed forces.
If confirmed, these actions would represent clear and significant violations of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Madame president, at the 22nd Meeting of States Parties, states parties reaffirmed that Ukraine remains a state party, despite its attempt to suspend its obligations. As a state party, it must be subject to the same standards as any other member, even if it is not present at convention meetings. We therefore ask the compliance committee and other states parties to request Ukraine to immediately investigate these reports, communicate their findings to other states parties, and, most importantly, to immediately stop any use, acquisition, or production. We also call on Ukraine to re-engage with the convention and to return to full compliance.
Second, states parties Greece and Ukraine both still possess stocks of antipersonnel landmines. They therefore remain in violation of Article 4 of the Treaty, having failed to complete stockpile destruction by their deadlines in March 2008 and June 2010 respectively. We are pleased to see that Greece made significant progress in transferring stocks to Croatia for destruction in 2025. We look forward to a further update on its stockpile destruction process during the next session.
We note with concern that Ukraine has not submitted its annual Article 7 report and we therefore do not have an update on its stockpile. We continue to call on Ukraine to account for—and secure—its remaining stockpiles of AP mines until they can be safely destroyed to ensure these are not making their way to the battlefield.
Third, since July 2025, state party Thailand has accused neighboring state party Cambodia of repeatedly using antipersonnel mines along their disputed border. Cambodia has denied these allegations. We call on both states to collaborate on investigating the allegations in a transparent manner and in the collaborative spirit of Article 8.1, including neutral third party actors as appropriate. In particular, it will be important to establish if antipersonnel mines are indeed in circulation along the border, and if so, to find and destroy them immediately. We also call on both parties to use the coordination mechanisms they have jointly developed to advance humanitarian demining along their border so that this heavily contaminated area can be surveyed and cleared without further delay.
In closing, we call on all states parties to do everything in their power to protect and uphold the integrity and the norms of the Mine Ban Treaty—including treating all compliance issues with the seriousness they deserve—and to continue to work with all states to prevent any use or new production, or any acts that would facilitate use or production of these indiscriminate, inhumane weapons.
Thank You.
