HOME > 

Overview and Convention Text

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction is the cornerstone of the international effort to end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel (AP) mines. The Convention was adopted on 18 September 1997 and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. As of 1 September 2008, 156 states had joined the Convention.

The Convention provides a framework for mine action, seeking both to end existing suffering and to prevent future suffering. The Convention bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. In addition, states that accede to the Convention accept that they will destroy both stockpiled and emplaced anti-personnel mines and assist the victims of mines.
 

Convention Text | Official Language Versions

Convention Text | Unofficial Translations
On 3 December 1997, representatives of over 100 states signed the Convention in Ottawa, thereby expressing their determination to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines. In this picture, the then Foreign Minister of Canada, Lloyd Axworthy, can be seen signing the Convention on behalf of Canada. Witnessing this event are (from left to right): Ralph Lysyshyn (Canada); the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jody Williams; the then President of the ICRC, Cornelio Sommaruga; UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; and, the then Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien.
On 3 December 2004 -- exactly seven years after the Convention was signed in Ottawa -- high level representatives of over 100 states reaffirmed their commitment to achieve a world free of anti-personnel mines when they signed the 2004 Nairobi Declaration. In this picture, Nairobi Summit President Wolfgang Petritsch can be seen presenting a copy of the 2004 Nairobi Declaration to “representatives of the public conscience” Tun Channaret and Song Kosal of Cambodia. Returning to observe this presentation are Jody Williams and Cornelio Sommaruga. They are joined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kenya, Chirau Ali Mwakwere.