Almost thirty years after Humanity & Inclusion was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) for helping secure a global ban on anti-personnel mines, one of the most significant treaties in civilian protection is facing a serious threat. Anti-personnel mines have re-emerged in conflicts including Syria and Ukraine. The United States delivered mines to Ukraine in late 2024, while several countries bordering Russia have moved away from the Ottawa Treaty (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Ukraine) or announced plans to expand mine production. The treaty has helped drive a dramatic reduction in mine casualties and the destruction of more than 55 million stockpiled mines. But decades of progress in stigmatising these indiscriminate weapons could now unravel piece by piece. In response, HI is launching “The Nobel Piece”, a global campaign calling on governments and the public to defend the treaty. A reproduction of HI’s 1997 Nobel Peace Prize medal has been fractured, with fragments symbolising countries leaving the treaty being sent to key world leaders, including the UK Prime Minister.
The Nobel Piece campaign: Repairing peace together
Humanity & Inclusion, in partnership with the ICBL (International Campaign to Ban Landmines), is launching a global campaign to call on governments and public opinion entitled "The Nobel Piece: Repairing Peace Together".
This campaign is a response to the worrying resurgence of anti-personnel mines in recent armed conflicts, the unprecedented withdrawal of five European states bordering Russia from the Ottawa Treaty in 2026, and the increase in the number of civilian mine victims observed in recent years.
The campaign uses the symbol of the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in 1997 to the ICBL, of which HI is a founding member, in recognition of its many years of relentless campaigning to ban anti-personnel mines.
Putting the issue of mines back on the political agenda
The silence of the international community and States Parties risks an extremely worrying setback for the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law. It paves the way for a renormalisation of these weapons, which kill civilians in 90% of cases and are contrary to international humanitarian law because they are incapable of distinguishing between civilians and military personnel.
The main objective of the campaign is to call on states at national and international levels to face up to their responsibilities.
Thirty states called upon to respond
Around 30 states will be called upon as part of the campaign, with specific and concrete demands:
1. The five states that have withdrawn from the Treaty
- Make a public commitment never to use, produce or transfer anti-personnel mines.
- Rejoin the Mine Ban Treaty.
2. Allied states and strategic partners
- Demonstrate renewed and visible leadership.
- Use diplomatic, political and multilateral tools to prevent further withdrawals.
- Intervene proactively to prevent any further use, production or transfer of anti-personnel mines.
3. Parliamentarians
- Exercise oversight to ensure strict compliance with the Convention at the national level.
- Highlight the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines in debates, resolutions and media interventions.
- Engage constituents, including affected communities and young people, through public hearings, events and debates.
4. Current users of mines
- Immediately cease the use of anti-personnel mines, ensure rapid demining and support survivors. Join the Mine Ban Convention without delay.
This campaign also aims to mobilise public opinion in order to put the issue of landmines and the defence of the Ottawa Treaty on the political agenda.
The history of the Ottawa Treaty
In 1997, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), of which Handicap International is a co-founding member. That same year, the Ottawa Treaty marked a historic victory for disarmament and the protection of the most vulnerable.
Since the treaty came into force in 1999, nearly 50 countries have produced anti-personnel mines; today, there are only about ten. In total, more than 55 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed and the States Parties have cleared at least 1,114.82 km² in 20241 .
"The Ottawa Treaty came into being because citizens, NGOs, survivors and diplomats refused to give up. Today, their mobilisation, our mobilisation, is still essential," says Anne Héry, Director of Advocacy at HI.
When an international standard is shattered
Twenty-eight years after it came into force, the Ottawa Treaty is under unprecedented threat. The five countries that have withdrawn from the treaty – Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia – have all cited security concerns to justify their decision.
"Countries have legitimate security concerns, particularly along disputed borders or in conflict zones. But [...] the use of anti-personnel mines is not a rational military solution. [...] It is essential that modern armies turn to alternatives that comply with international humanitarian law."
The Ottawa Treaty, like other disarmament treaties, is binding in times of peace and war. Once ratified, it has the force of law and must be enforced. While the ban on use applies mainly in times of war, the obligations to destroy stockpiles, refrain from production and refrain from transfer also apply in times of peace.
