Baltic: UN alarmed at exit from mine ban treaty

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed “grave alarm” at the decision of the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reported. Türk stressed that the international convention, which has over 160 state parties, was a crucial tool in “responding to the devastating impact of anti-personnel mines on civilians.” He pointed out that such mines killed and maimed civilians and combatants indiscriminately and hampered people’s freedom of movement, access to agricultural land, and right to development. He insisted that the long-term risks caused by landmines far outweighed any military advantage gained from their use. Russia is not a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty.