Nobel Laureates Back the Ban on Antipersonnel Landmines

Finland, Poland, and Baltic states should stay in Mine Ban Treaty
 

(Geneva, 17 June 2025) Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia should heed the call of 100 Nobel Laureates who have called on these countries reconsider their moves to withdraw from the international ban on antipersonnel landmines. In a joint statement issued today, the Nobel laureates warn against withdrawal due to the possibility of civilian harm and to avoid undermining longstanding legal and humanitarian norms.

“Landmines do not stop an invasion or influence the outcome of a war. All they do is mutilate or kill your own people.” said Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate and founding chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. “Governments looking to re-embrace antipersonnel landmines should think again as these weapons are far more likely to cause civilian than military casualties, both now and in the future.”

Antipersonnel mines are designed to explode in response to a person’s presence, proximity, or contact. They are typically placed by hand, but can also be scattered by aircraft, rockets, and artillery or dispersed from drones and specialized vehicles. They cannot distinguish between soldiers and civilians.
The Mine Ban Treaty, ratified by 165 countries, comprehensively prohibits antipersonnel mines and requires parties to destroy stockpiles, clear mined areas, and assist victims.

The Nobel laureates praise the Mine Ban Treaty for making “a significant and positive difference in reducing the casualties and suffering caused by antipersonnel mines.” They express deep concern at the moves by five European countries to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty and at the Trump administration’s suspension of funding to mine clearance around the world. They criticize the actions of Russia and the United States for “undermining these norms and putting civilians at risk.”

The Nobel laureates’ statement draws attention to widespread civilian harm and displacement caused by Russia’s extensive use of antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They note that Ukraine, a party to the Mine Ban Treaty, also used these weapons in 2022 and that the United States supplied Ukraine with antipersonnel mines in late 2024, despite widespread opposition.

A total of 100 Nobel laureates have endorsed the joint statement: 19 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, 26 Nobel Medicine Prize laureates, 24 Nobel Physics Prize laureates, 21 Nobel Chemistry Prize laureates, five Nobel Economics Prize laureates, and five Nobel Literature Prize laureates.

Individual Nobel Peace laureates to endorse the call include include Nobel Women’s Initiative members Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman, Narges Mohammadi, and Oleksandra Matviichuk. They include the 14th Dalai Lama and former presidents Juan Manual Santos of Colombia, Oscar Arias Sánchez of Costa Rica, Lech Walesa of Poland, and José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste.
Institutional Nobel Peace laureates to endorse the statement include the American Friends Service Committee, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, International Peace Bureau, and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

The statement was prepared by Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureates for their efforts in helping to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty.

On 1 April 2025, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced Finland’s intent to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty and Finland’s lawmakers are currently debating draft legislation introduced on May 28 that would approve the withdrawal. Poland’s parliament is also considering a bill to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty, after Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the move to withdraw in March.

Since March 2025, the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania have approved leaving the Mine Ban Treaty. The Baltic countries appear poised to deposit their formal notifications of denunciation of the treaty as a group at the United Nations in the coming weeks.

“At this time of geopolitical insecurity, Russia and the United States deserve condemnation for their dedicated efforts to bring back antipersonnel landmines from the rubbish bin of history,” said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the Geneva-based International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition. “Using weapons that predominantly kill and injure civilians cannot safeguard any nation’s security.”

Background 

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a global civil society coalition of hundreds of organizations working for a world without landmines. In 1997, the ICBL was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with its founding coordinator Jody Williams. The campaign includes national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across many disciplines including demining, human rights, development, refugee issues, and medical and humanitarian relief.


Useful Links
Statement From Nobel Prize Laureates on Antipersonnel Landmines
www.icblcmc.org/about-icbl


Contact Details
Charles Bechara, Media & Communications Manager
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
Email: charles@icblcmc.org
Tel. +41 78 323 51 44

Tamar Gabelnick , Director
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
Email: tamar@icblcmc.org

Tel. +41 78 323 51 44