Twenty years after the Mine Ban Treaty was negotiated and signed, it continues to be a tremendous life-saving success. Landmine Monitor 2017 details progress toward the goal of a mine-free world, with 162 countries implementing the Mine Ban Treaty and most of the 35 countries that remain outside it nonetheless abiding by its key provisions. A small number of states and non-state armed groups use antipersonnel mines, including improvised mines, which contributed to a very high number of casualties recorded in 2016. Many countries continue to clear mine contamination, and international funding for mine action increased in 2016. However, very few States Parties appear to be on track to meet clearance deadlines, and support to victims remains inadequate.

Use

From October 2016 through October 2017, Landmine Monitor has confirmed new use of antipersonnel mines by the government forces of Myanmar and Syria, neither of which are party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

• Antipersonnel mines have been used by government forces of Myanmar throughout the past 20 years and by government forces of Syria since 2012.
• There have been no allegations of the use of antipersonnel mines by States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in the reporting period.

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) used antipersonnel mines in at least nine countries, including States Parties Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Yemen.

• There was no new use of antipersonnel mines by NSAGs in Colombia for the first time since Landmine Monitor began publishing in 1999.
• The extensive use of improvised mines by the Islamic State has resulted in new casualties and contamination.

Casualties

2016 was the second year in a row with exceptionally high numbers of people recorded as killed or injured by landmines—including improvised types that mostly act as antipersonnel mines, cluster munition remnants, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW).

• In 2016, the Monitor recorded 8,605 mine/ERW casualties, of which at least 2,089 people were killed.
• The high total was mostly due to casualties recorded in armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, and Yemen. Accurate data gathering for active conflicts, however, remains challenging.

• Following a sharp increase in 2015, the casualty total in 2016 marked the highest number of annual recorded casualties in Monitor data since 1999 (9,228), the most child casualties ever recorded, and the highest number of annual casualties caused by improvised mines.

Casualties were identified in 52 states and four other areas in 2016, of which 35 are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.

• The vast majority of recorded landmine/ERW casualties were civilians (78%) where their status was known, which is similar to the past three years.
• In 2016, children accounted for 42% of all civilian casualties where the age was known.
• Women and girls made up 16% of all casualties where the sex was known, a slight increase compared to 2015 and recent years.
• The Monitor has recorded more than 110,000 mine/ERW casualties since its global tracking began in 1999, including some 80,000 survivors.

Contamination and Clearance

Sixty-one states and areas are contaminated by antipersonnel mines as of November 2017.

• This includes 33 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, 24 states not party, and four other areas.
• Algeria declared completion of clearance in February 2017. Mozambique, which had declared completion in 2015 but subsequently found previously unidentified antipersonnel mine contamination in 2016 and 2017, completed clearance in May 2017.
• Massive antipersonnel mine contamination (more than 100 km² total per country) is believed to exist in Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Iraq, Thailand, and Turkey.

About 170 km² of land was reported to be cleared of landmines in 2016, almost the same amount as in 2015.

• In 2016, more than 232,000 antipersonnel mines and some 29,000 antivehicle mines were destroyed. This represented a significant increase from 2015 results.
• The largest total clearance of mined areas in 2016 was achieved in Afghanistan, Croatia, Iraq, and Cambodia, which together accounted for more than 83% of recorded clearance.
• Over the past five years (2012–2016), approximately 927 km² of mined areas have been cleared. Some 1.1 million antipersonnel mines and more than 68,000 antivehicle mines have been destroyed in the context of mine and battle area clearance.

Twenty-eight States Parties, one state not party, and one other area have completed clearance of all mined areas on their territory since the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force in 1999.

• One state, Ukraine, is in violation of Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty due to missing its 1 June 2016 clearance deadline without having requested and being granted an extension.
• Jordan and Nigeria, where antipersonnel mine contamination is found, should declare that they have obligations under Article 5 and request a new deadline to complete clearance.
• Three States Parties were granted extended clearance deadlines at the Fifteenth Meeting of States Parties in 2016: Ecuador, Niger, and Peru. Five States Parties requested extended deadlines for approval at the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties in December 2017: Angola, Ecuador, Iraq, Thailand, and Zimbabwe.
• Only four States Parties appear to be on track to meet their treaty-mandated clearance deadlines: Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, and Peru.

Support for Mine Action

Donors and affected states contributed approximately US$564.5 million in international and national support for mine action in 2016, an increase of $39.3 million (7%) from 2015.

Thirty-two donors contributed $479.5 million in international support for mine action to 40 states and three other areas. This represents an increase of almost $85.5 million (22%) from 2015.

Eleven affected states reported providing $85.0 million in national support for their own mine action programs, a decrease of $46.2 (35%) million compared with 2015. More than $35 million of this decrease occurred in one country, Angola.

After three years of declining support (a 26% decrease between 2012 and 2015), total international support provided in 2016 represents the third-highest level of the past decade—after the $498.9 million provided in 2012, and the $480.4 million in 2010.

• The top five mine action donors—the United States (US), the European Union (EU), Japan, Germany, and Norway—contributed 70% of all international funding, with a combined total of $335.6 million.
• Twenty donors increased their funding in 2016, with the EU and Germany accounting for $55 million (64%) of the global increase.
• The top five recipient states—Iraq, Afghanistan, Croatia, Cambodia, and Lao PDR—received $258.7 million, or 54% of all international support in 2016.
• Iraq received more funding than any other country and from the largest number of donors.

Victim Assistance

In 2016–2017, most States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty with significant numbers of mine victims suffered from a lack of adequate resources to fulfill the commitments of the 2014–2019 Maputo Action Plan. Findings below relate to the 31 States Parties with significant numbers of mine victims.

• Although approximately two-thirds of the States Parties had active coordination mechanisms, survivors’ representatives participated in just 17 of the coordinating processes among those 20 States Parties; even then this often did not result in their contributions being taken into account.
• States Parties still need to demonstrate what they are doing to increase the capacity of survivors’ organizations and to enhance their meaningful participation in all relevant matters.
• In many states and regions, facilities providing rehabilitation services were limited, were often not available in all remote areas where needed, and sometimes prohibitively expensive. However, construction of several much-needed prosthetics centers was reported in 2016–2017.
• Access to employment, training, and other income-generation support activities was reduced noticeably in many of the States Parties over the past few years, leaving significant gaps where opportunities for livelihoods were most needed.

Stockpile Destruction, Production, and Transfer

Collectively, States Parties have destroyed more than 53 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines, including more than 2.2 million destroyed in 2016.

• Belarus completed the destruction of its stockpiles in April 2017 after being in violation of the convention since 2008.
• As many as 31 of the 35 states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty stockpile antipersonnel landmines.
• In 1999, states stockpiled about 160 million antipersonnel mines, but today the global total may be less than 50 million.
• NSAGs and criminal groups in Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and Western Sahara were reported to possess stocks.

Eighty-six States Parties have declared that they do not retain any antipersonnel mines, including 34 states that stockpiled antipersonnel mines in the past.

• In September 2017, Algeria destroyed the 5,970 antipersonnel mines it retained for training purposes after completing its landmine clearance program.

Forty-one states have ceased production of antipersonnel mines, including four that are not party to the Mine Ban Treaty: Egypt, Israel, Nepal, and the US.

• Eleven states claim a right to produce antipersonnel mines, unchanged from the previous report: China, Cuba, India, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.
• While most of these countries are not believed to be actively producing mines, new information emerged that active production is on-going in India.

The use of factory-produced antipersonnel mines in conflicts in Ukraine and Yemen, where declared stockpiles had been destroyed, indicates that some transfers, either internally among actors or from sources external to the country, are occurring.

• Companies from Egypt and India exhibited sales brochures offering antipersonnel mines, or components for them, at an international arms fair in February 2017 in Abu Dhabi.
• At least nine states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty have formal moratoriums on the export of antipersonnel mines: China, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and the US.

Treaty Compliance

In general, States Parties’ implementation of and compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty has been excellent. The core obligations have largely been respected, and when ambiguities have arisen they have been dealt with in a satisfactory manner. However, there are remaining compliance concerns regarding a small number of issues.

• One state, Ukraine, is in violation of Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty due to missing its 1 June 2016 clearance deadline without having requested and being granted an extension.
• Yemen previously confirmed that its forces violated the treaty by using antipersonnel mines in 2011. As of November 2017, investigations were still pending.
• Greece and Ukraine have missed their deadlines to complete stockpile destruction. Ukraine has 4.9 million antipersonnel mines remaining to be destroyed, while Greece has 643,267.
• A total of 71 States Parties have reported that they retain antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes, of which 37 retain more than 1,000 mines. Finland, Turkey, and Bangladesh each retain more than 12,000 mines.
• Only 48% of States Parties have submitted annual reports for calendar year 2016, a slight increase from the previous year (45%). A total of 83 States Parties have not submitted a report for calendar year 2016. Only one State Party has not submitted an initial report: Tuvalu (due 28 August 2012).