Once ground zero for landmines, Cambodia now leads the global fight to ban them, hosting delegates in Siem Reap to mark 25 years since an international mine ban treaty came into force and push for a mine-free world in a conflict-laden era.
The week-long “Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine-Free World”, or the fifth review conference for the Ottawa Treaty – the informal name for the treaty banning anti-personnel mines – kicked off on November 25 following an advocacy march around the famed Angkor Wat complex the day before.
Hundreds of delegates representing the 164 nations that ratified or acceded to the 1997 treaty gathered to assess progress on the convention and elect Cambodia as chair for the review.
Despite a hopeful tone, the summit has been partly shadowed by the United States’ recent decision to send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. A silent protest during the second day of the convention and measured NGO responses – some falling short of outright criticism – highlighted the strain between geopolitical realities and the treaty’s vision.
Against this backdrop of geopolitical tensions and lingering challenges, Cambodian leaders emphasized the transformative impact of the treaty during the summit’s opening ceremony.
“The work of this convention has cleared more than just land; it has cleared a path to a future where fear no longer rules,” Cambodian Senior Minister Ly Thuch, and first vice president of the Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, told delegates, landmine victims, and Prime Minister Hun Manet during the convention’s opening ceremony.
“It has allowed farmers to once again sow their fields, children to walk freely to school, and communities to flourish,” he said.
The convention, formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, has long aimed to eliminate anti-personnel mines globally in response to their devastating humanitarian toll.
While the treaty’s significant number of signatories has led to a global downturn in the production and use of landmines, key military powers and landmine manufacturers such as the US, China and Russia have not ratified the agreement, citing national security and military concerns.
“For 25 years it [the convention] has driven important progress, with over 55 million anti-personnel devices destroyed across 13,000 square kilometers in over 60 countries – and thousands of people receiving life-saving awareness education and victim assistance services,” a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, shortly before the prime minister’s speech.
Despite the significant progress, Cambodia remains one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, with millions of landmines and unexploded ordnance killing over 60,000 people since the 1970s and contributing to one of the highest per capita rates of amputees globally.
Landmines and ordinance left from the country’s decades-long civil war and the spillover from the US-Vietnam war continue to harm around 50 people annually.
While this marks a sharp drop from the nearly 100 casualties a year in the 2010s, the danger persists, especially for farmers and rural communities in western provinces. More than 530 square kilometers (204 square miles) of land remain uncleared, according to the Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, or the CMAA.
As one of the first signatories of the mine ban treaty, Cambodia quickly became a leader in demining efforts, clearing more than 4 million landmines and unexploded ordnance over the past 30 years with help from NGOs.
“The Cambodian mine action community has continued to share our best practices, transferring our hard expertise to those facing similar challenges,” Prime Minister Hun Manet said during his keynote address.
While the crisis still seems far from over – most recently, a farmer was killed this month when a landmine exploded in Oddar Meanchey province – Cambodia remains committed to clearing all mines and unexploded ordnance by 2025.
The Siem Reap review conference began just days after the Biden administration announced it would provide anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in a reversal of its own policy – a decision condemned by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and other human rights groups.
On the second day of the convention, the Ukrainian delegation was met by over 100 protesters from the ICBL and landmine victims, silently opposing the mine transfer while reaffirming Kyiv’s commitment to the treaty.
Other attendees to the convention and mine clearing organizations also issued statements in condemnation or regret.
Tun Channareth, an ICBL ambassador and double amputee from a landmine in Cambodia, said he was “really upset” by the US decision to send landmines to Ukraine, calling it a betrayal of the progress promised during his meeting with former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
“I hope one day, they [US] will join, but I don’t know when,” he said.
Notably, Cambodia, with Japan’s support, has launched a joint project to share landmine removal knowledge and technology with countries worldwide, including Ukraine.
A side event at the convention highlighted the project’s expansion to Africa and shared lessons learned.
As the summit wraps up, stakeholders will tackle mine action strategies, review progress, and secure financing – capping it off with a farewell tour of Angkor Wat.
