Ukraine's Parliament votes to withdraw Ukraine from Ottawa Convention

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) has voted in favour of a draft law to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

Source: Roman Kostenko, an MP from the Holos (Voice) party, on Facebook

Quote: "The Verkhovna Rada has just voted to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention. This is a historic decision that restores our right to use and produce anti-personnel mines – a vital element of engineering defence on the battlefield."

Details: Kostenko reiterated that Russia is not a party to the Convention and continues to widely use mines against both Ukrainian troops and civilians on a daily basis.

"We can no longer fight with our hands tied," said the MP, who is a colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine and former special forces commander. Prior to becoming an MP, he took part in numerous special operations and defended Donetsk Airport.

Kostenko stressed that the decision is especially important in the context of Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute, as the government "must ensure not only physical but also legal protection for Ukrainian servicemen".

For reference: The Rome Statute is an international treaty that established the International Criminal Court. It defines the Court's procedures and lists crimes under its jurisdiction: aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Background:

• On 29 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree withdrawing Ukraine from the Ottawa Convention. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry emphasised that Ukraine ratified the Convention in 2005 and had faithfully fulfilled its obligations ever since. Meanwhile, Russia, which is not a party to the Ottawa Convention, launched armed aggression against Ukraine and has extensively used anti-personnel mines as a method of warfare since 2014. The ministry stated that the Convention had placed Ukraine in an unjust position by limiting its ability to defend itself.
• At the end of April, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs signed a law withdrawing his country from the Ottawa Convention. On 8 May, Lithuania’s Seimas also denounced the Convention.
• Norway has stated that it will not withdraw from the treaty, believing that its current defence systems are sufficient in the event of foreign aggression.
• On 19 June, the Finnish parliament voted to exit the Ottawa Convention. Poland withdrew from the treaty at the end of June.
• The Baltic states, Poland and Finland reportedly made these decisions in response to the Russian threat.

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