Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions

Government Communications Unit
Press release 358/2010
3.12.2010

On Friday, 3 December, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed Finland's accession to the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines in 2012. In line with the Government Report on Finnish Security and Defence Policy published in 2009 Finland will join the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. By joining the convention, Finland pledges to destroy any mines referred to in the convention by the end of 2016.

This requires the destruction of all fragmentation mines and anti-personnel mines M65 currently used by Finland. The Ottawa Convention covers anti-personnel land mines but not anti-tank or anti-vehicle mines. A government proposal is expected to be submitted to Parliament in spring 2011.

Finland has played an active role in humanitarian mine action in developing countries. In 2010, Finland contributed EUR 5 million to humanitarian demining.

The meeting also discussed the implementation of the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty which entered into force on 1 August 2010. The results of the NATO, OSCE and EU-Africa summits were also discussed.

Inquiries: Teemu Tanner, Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5032 and Pentti Olin, Adviser, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 9 1608 8242.