UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched a global campaign to defend the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention following plans by several countries to withdraw from the landmark treaty, warning that civilian lives are at risk.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday announced the launch of a new international campaign aimed at reinforcing the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, amid growing concerns over potential withdrawals by several UN Member States.
The move follows recent announcements by five European countries – Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland – indicating their intentions to exit or review their commitments to the treaty. The decisions are reportedly linked to heightened security concerns stemming from Russia's actions in the region.
In a strongly worded statement, Guterres expressed grave concern over the development, warning that such moves risk undermining a treaty that has “led to a virtual halt in global production of anti-personnel mines, a drastic reduction in their deployment,” and the destruction of over 40 million stockpiled mines, according to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
“At a time when civilians face heightened risks from widening conflicts, it is imperative that we strengthen the frameworks that protect human life and dignity,” Guterres said, without naming specific countries.
He called on all states to “adhere to humanitarian disarmament treaties and immediately halt any steps towards their withdrawal,” and urged the 32 countries that have yet to join the treaty — including China, Iran, Israel, Russia, and the United States — to do so without delay.
Guterres said the campaign, set to run for the next six months, will focus on three key areas: upholding the norms of humanitarian disarmament, accelerating mine action as a driver of human rights and sustainable development, and promoting a vision of a mine-free world.
“The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated,” he said. “The protection of innocent lives depends on our collective action and commitment.”
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One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined high school students protesting outside a school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday, as a wave of student demonstrations continues across France.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a newly opened defence museum displaying weapons developed under his leadership, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
Southeast Asian foreign ministers are set to discuss measures to tackle transboundary haze during preparatory meetings ahead of the ASEAN summit in November, as forest and land fires in Indonesia continue to affect air quality across the region, the Philippines said on Tuesday.
Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the United Kingdom believes Iran was likely behind an alleged plot connected to RAF Fairford, a military airbase in Gloucestershire in England that has played a role in U.S. operations against Iran, escalating tensions between London and Tehran.
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