Against the background of the Three Years’ War in Russia in Ukraine, Poland and the Baltikes are preparing to leave Ottawa’s contract, the pioneering agreement in which 164 countries destroyed their arsenals of landmines and prohibit future use.
Critics of the decision, including the Canadian who developed and promoted the agreement, warn that this harms civilians and economies of the four countries more than a successful weapon in warfare.
In a joint explanation published on Tuesday, the Defense Minister Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to withdraw from the Landminenbanbot, referred to the increasing threat of Russia and its ally Belarus.
Although a final decision has not yet been coordinated by its respective parliaments, the message in Europe, Canada and among the human rights representatives who warn this departure, undermined the life -saving contract in 1999 and have a domino effect with other global agreements.
Latvia as a case study
Latvia signed Ottawa Treaty in 2005 and undertook to destroy his existence of anti-personnel mines (APMS). The Baltic Land would enable the agreement to add APM to its weapons again.
Like Poland and its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia shares a border with Russia. In the joint explanation this week, the defense ministers of the four countries stated that the contract is left to the armies to use “flexibility and freedom of choice” to use weapons like APMs if necessary.
The declaration is carried out months after the US administration under Joe Biden had approved the sending of landmine to Ukraine. The decision is a military decision because Russia used more foot soldiers in front of tanks or other mechanical devices. Although Ukraine also signed the Ottawa Treaty, she informed the other signatories that they could make exceptions for occupied areas After Russia’s annexation of the CrimeaThe BBC reported.
The rhetoric from Moscow and her invasion of Ukraine triggered the recommendation, said that IMants, diplomatic advisor to the Minister of Defense Latvia, Andris Sprūds, noticed that leaving the contract in his country had public support.
“The situation has not improved the question of the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, the hybrid attacks in Russia and the general aggression of Russia against European and other countries,” he said. “In addition, there were certain concerns in Latvian society after the new administration came into office in the United States.”
A decision to leave Ottawa’s contract would not be made lightly, Lieis told CBC News.
Red cross reacts
In their joint declaration, the defenders of the four countries undertook to maintain the humanitarian law of international law and to ensure that civilians are protected from damage if their parliaments have a decision to withdraw from the contract.
But the Red Cross has questioned how it is possible to do two things in direct conflict.
The organization, which works especially in war zones and sees the effects of land mines first-hand, said that the recommendation is an important setback for the Ottawa Treaty.
US President Joe Biden agreed to send anti-personnel country mines to Ukraine in the second major foreign policy shift of this week. Andrew Chang explains what we know about these country mines and why they are so controversial.
In a recent interview, the chief spokesman for Red Cross, Christian Cardon, questioned the tactical decision from a military point of view to use APMs because they disproportionately harm civilians and not enemy soldiers.
“In 2024, the assessment was that 80 percent of the people affected by APMs were civilians … and among these 80 percent half of them were children,” he said. “This is the main problem.”
The use of landmines, the effects of which remain after the end of a war, have long -term consequences, said Cardon. In addition to the threat of human health, the unexploded devices become economic obstacles, since they make large rural swaths for agriculture or tourism unusable.
The Red Cross fears that other Poles and the Baltic States can follow if they withdraw from the contract and set a precedent for the federal states to also give up other humanitarian contracts. That is why Cardon and his colleagues ask the states to reaffirm their commitment.
The Canadian connection
It is not surprising that an agreement called the Ottawa contract has in his DNA Canada. The country’s former foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, played a crucial role in creating, promoting and implementing the agreement.
He told CBC News that he was dismayed by the potential withdrawal of Poland and the Baltikes from the contract. But the experienced diplomat partially accused the USA for the decision of the Minister of Defense and said that the trigger was “drawn” when bids agreed last year to make Ukraine available to Landmine – and then deteriorated by the president of the President from foreign aid and historical military support.
“For the first time, this really smashed the standard, the standard that had been determined,” said Axworthy. “Back then I predicted that there would be a snowball effect, a knock-on effect.
“And of course Donald Trump emphasized that, which means that security guarantees for countries that border on Russia have now basically withdrawn.”
Axworthy, why Poland and Baltike APMs want to play in their arsenale, like the Red Cross. He also doubts her military effectiveness and is committed to alternatives such as early warning systems and drones to address Russian aggression instead.
Perhaps more worrying is that the Canadian, who has contributed to creating this life -saving global agreement, is the potential withdrawal of the four countries as part of a wider trend that undermines the international legal system.
