Rappresentanza Permanente d’Italia presso la Conferenza del Disarmo Ginevra

Main Statements

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa Convention), adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines. It also requires States Parties to destroy existing stockpiles, clear mined areas, and provide assistance to mine victims. To date, the Convention has 162 States Parties, following the recent accession of Lebanon. Among the States that remain outside the Convention are China, the Russian Federation, India, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States.

In recent years, the Convention has faced a profoundly changed international security environment. The use of anti-personnel mines has increased again in several armed conflicts and, for the first time since the Convention entered into force, five States Parties—Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland—have initiated their withdrawal from the Convention, raising concerns about the potential weakening of the international norm against anti-personnel mines. Additional challenges include allegations of mine use along the Thailand–Cambodia border, as well as issues arising from Ukraine’s suspension of certain obligations under the Convention.

The destruction of stockpiles, clearance of contaminated areas, requests for extensions under Article 5, transparency, and, above all, assistance to victims remain at the core of the Convention’s implementation. Particular attention is also being devoted to strengthening international cooperation and identifying new financing mechanisms, including the possible establishment of a Voluntary Trust Fund to support States Parties with limited resources in fulfilling their mine clearance obligations.

Implementation of the Convention is carried forward through the annual Meetings of the States Parties, the intersessional meetings of the Standing Committees, and the five-yearly Review Conferences. The Fifth Review Conference, held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in November 2024, adopted the Siem Reap–Angkor Action Plan 2025–2029, which serves as the principal framework for the implementation of the Convention during the current five-year period. The Twenty-Third Meeting of the States Parties will take place from 30 November to 4 December 2026 under the Presidency of Zambia.

Italy’s Participation in the Treaty

Italy continues to play a leading role in the implementation of the Convention. Through the adoption of Law No. 374/1997, which anticipated the Treaty obligations, Italy prohibited the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines and completed the destruction of its stockpiles as early as 2002, becoming one of the States that eliminated the largest number of mines.

Through the Humanitarian Demining Fund established under Law No. 58/2001, Italy supports mine clearance, victim assistance, and mine risk education programmes in the countries most affected by landmines and explosive ordnance contamination, confirming its position among the leading international donors in this field. Italian action is focused in particular on Libya, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Cambodia, promoting an integrated approach to humanitarian demining and local capacity-building.

Italy actively participates in the work of the Convention at both the diplomatic and operational levels, contributing to key discussions on international cooperation, victim assistance, universalization, and the strengthening of the international norm against anti-personnel mines. During the 2026 intersessional meetings, Italy also highlighted its longstanding commitment to humanitarian demining and supported the strengthening of international assistance mechanisms, including within the framework of European Union initiatives in Africa.

Main Statements

Intersessional Meetings – Geneva, 15-18 June 2026

Cons. Eugenio Poti