Poland’s Withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty Takes Legal Effect: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate urges “Do Not Produce, Do Not Use”
Geneva, 20 February 2026 – The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) deplores Poland’s withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty, which takes legal effect today, shattering a decades-old consensus that these indiscriminate weapons have no place in modern arsenals. As of this date, Poland is no longer bound by the treaty's provisions prohibiting the use, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines. This highly unusual decision to leave a disarmament convention was taken jointly with Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania in mid-2025, and follows Lithuania’s decision to leave the Convention on Cluster Munitions in mid-2024. The legally mandated six-month waiting period for withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty is now final for all five states.
“Today is a dark day for those seeking to protect civilians in conflict. By deciding to bring back these antiquated and inhumane weapons, the five countries are undermining a global norm that has saved countless civilian lives,” said Tamar Gabelnick, Director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). “These governments claim they ‘need’ antipersonnel mines for their defense, but history shows their own people will suffer the most from their use - today and for decades to come.”
The Landmine Monitor 2025 shows that 9 out of 10 people killed or injured by landmines are civilians, and nearly half are children. This cascade of withdrawals has been repeatedly condemned by the ICBL and other leaders in the humanitarian sphere including in two major joint appeals signed by dozens of Nobel laureates and world leaders that warn of the grave humanitarian risks posed by such decisions.
Poland ratified the treaty in 2012 and destroyed its stockpile of over one million mines by 2016. The government has recently announced plans to resume production of antipersonnel mines, with state-owned company Belma aiming to produce 5 to 6 million mines for deployment along the eastern border as part of the "Eastern Shield" program. The ICBL is alarmed by the Polish government’s stated intention to produce and use these weapons, as well as its plans to export these mines. The same press report indicated plans to export locally produced mines to Ukraine, a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, raising serious concerns about compliance with its international obligations and raising the specter of new availability of antipersonnel mines in conflicts worldwide.
"Poland knows the curse of landmines better than most. After the Second World War, it was one of the most heavily mined countries in Europe. It took over a decade to clear its territory, and even then, landmines continued to kill and injure Polish citizens well into the 1970s," said Kasia Derlicka-Rosenbauer, ICBL Deputy Director.
Finland has similarly announced that it intends to restart domestic production and train its military forces in the use of antipersonnel mines, signaling a wider regional shift away from established humanitarian norms. Such decisions would lead to the first production of such weapons in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
“When I see these countries choosing to mine their own land, I do not see an effective defense strategy. I see governments planning to repeat a cycle of suffering that we survivors know all too well. That is not just a mistake; it is a betrayal," said Dejan Ivanovic, a landmine survivor, former soldier, and ICBL campaigner from Assistance Advocacy Access-Serbia.
While the governments may claim laying mines is inexpensive, the actual financial burden of this decision is immense. The cost of removing a single mine is hundreds of times greater than the cost of producing and laying it, and that expense will be borne by future generations. Additionally, by investing in new production of antipersonnel mines, Poland and the other withdrawing states are committing significant public funds to a weapon system considered obsolete, inhumane, and operationally ineffective.
The ICBL urges Poland, as well as Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania, to reverse course and quickly rejoin the Mine Ban Treaty. Until they do so, the ICBL calls upon these countries to respect their pledge to continue supporting the goals of the convention by renouncing any plans to produce, use, or transfer antipersonnel mines. Upholding this commitment is the only way to protect civilians and preserve their international standing as states committed to international humanitarian law.
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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.
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Contact Details:
Charles Bechara, Media & Communications Manager
Email: charles@icblcmc.org
Tel. +41 78 323 51 44
Tamar Gabelnick , Director
Email: tamar@icblcmc.org
Tel. +41 78 323 51 44