Switzerland

Switzerland ratified the Convention on 24 March 1998, and the Convention entered into force for Switzerland on 1 March 1999.

Obligations under the Convention

Article 3 (Mines Retained)

Switzerland does not retain mines for permited purposes under Article 3.

Article 4 (Stockpile Destruction)

In its initial transparency report submitted on 4 August 1999, Switzerland reported that it had completed the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines.

In total, Switzerland reported having destroyed 3,850,212 mines.

Article 5 (Mine Clearance)

Switzerland reported that there were no mined areas under its jurisdiction or control.

Article 6 (Cooperation and Assistance)

Article 6 of the Convention indicates that “Each State Party in a position to do so shall provide assistance for mine clearance and related activities […], the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims and for mine awareness programs […], the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel mines, […] with a view to ensuring the full and prompt implementation of agreed assistance programs.”

On April 4 2023, Switzerland unveiled its 2023-2026 Action Plan for Mine Action. This Action Plan serves to implement the Arms Control and Disarmament Strategy 2022-2025 with regard to Mine Action. It sets out the fields of actions, objectives and measures to be put into place by 2026. The Action Plan was adopted by the FDFA and the DDPS and is situated at the third level of the cascade of key foreign policy documents:

Switzerland's Action Plan 2023-2026

In this regard Switzerland routinely engages in such cooperation and assistance. The latest statement on Article 6 for this State Party can be found on this page.

Article 7 (Transparency)

Annually and no later than 30 April, each State Party is to update information covering the previous calendar year. The latest Article 7 reports for this State Party can be found on this page.

Article 9 (National Legislation)

Each State Party is to take all appropriate legal, administrative and other measures, including the imposition of penal sanctions, to prevent and suppress any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention undertaken by persons or on territory under its jurisdiction or control.

Switzerland has reported having established national implementation measures or that it considers existing legislation to be sufficient.