Towards Ottawa: A Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Landmines

This research paper examines the international debate and various forums regarding the banning of anti-personnel landmines (APMs), specifically focusing on the tension between security and humanitarian perspectives and the role of the Ottawa Process.

• The use of anti-personnel landmines (APMs) over the last fifty years has caused widespread suffering and instability, creating long-term obstacles to socio-economic development. These impacts include the incapacitation of individuals, increased strain on health facilities, the loss of access to infrastructural sites and large areas of land, and the prevention of refugee returns.
• A primary challenge in formal international discussions on landmines is a duality of interpretation: whether the issue should be viewed as a security matter with a humanitarian dimension, or a humanitarian matter with a security dimension.
• Several international forums and initiatives have addressed the landmine issue, including the Conference on Disarmament (CD) at the United Nations—preferred by those with a security perspective—the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), and the Ottawa Process.

APA

Naidoo, V., & McMillin, P. (n.d.). Towards Ottawa: A Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Landmines. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/towards-ottawa-a-total-ban-treaty-on-anti-personnel-landmines

Chicago

Naidoo, Vinothan, and Penny McMillin. Towards Ottawa: A Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Landmines. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/towards-ottawa-a-total-ban-treaty-on-anti-personnel-landmines.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Naidoo |first1=Vinothan |last2=McMillin |first2=Penny |title=Towards Ottawa: A Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Landmines |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/towards-ottawa-a-total-ban-treaty-on-anti-personnel-landmines |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naidoondtowards, author = {Naidoo, Vinothan and McMillin, Penny}, title = {{Towards Ottawa: A Total Ban Treaty on Anti-Personnel Landmines}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/towards-ottawa-a-total-ban-treaty-on-anti-personnel-landmines}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }