On November 19, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration intends to provide antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, breaking with its June 2022 policy that the United States would “Not assist, encourage, or induce anyone, outside of the context of the Korean Peninsula, to engage in any activity that would be prohibited by the Ottawa Convention" also known as 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines strongly condemns any use and transfer of internationally-banned antipersonnel landmines to any country or actor. We call on the Biden administration to reverse this decision and not transfer antipersonnel mines to Ukraine.

Antipersonnel mines are indiscriminate weapons that have been banned by 164 countries. According to the Landmine Monitor 2024 report, there were at least 5,757 new casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war in 53 countries and 2 other areas in 2023, including 1,983 deaths. Civilians made up 84 percent of all recorded casualties in 2023, while children were 37 percent of casualties when the age was recorded.

The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines has condemned Russia’s extensive use of antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. At least 580 people in Ukraine were killed or wounded by landmines in 2023, according to Landmine Monitor.

U.S. transfers of antipersonnel mines to Ukraine will lead to further casualties, including civilians. Antipersonnel mines are “designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person.” They cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. They do not follow ceasefires or peace processes – lying dormant for decades and continuing to inflict suffering on civilians long after a conflict ends.

The U.S. State Department has provided more than $5.09 billion to conventional weapons destruction from FY93 to FY23, making it the world’s leading donor to mine clearance efforts, including over $182 million to Ukraine since 2022. This transfer will only exacerbate global mine contamination and undermine clearance efforts already ongoing in Ukraine.

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U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines

The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines is the U.S. affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate together with Jody Williams. The campaign works to end the suffering caused by landmines, which cause unacceptable harm to civilians both at their time of their use and for decades after.

Media Contacts:
Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch: Tel. (646) 203-8292 or wareham@hrw.org.
Elizabeth Johnson Sellers, Humanity & Inclusion: e.johnson@hi.org