The Mine Ban Treaty (also known as the Ottawa Treaty) is an international law that bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

Countries choose whether to accede to this Treaty. By joining the Mine Ban Treaty, states commit to respect all the obligations it contains.

The Treaty was opened for signature in Ottawa, Canada, in December 1997. Since then, 158 states have signed it, more than 75 percent of the world's countries.

Obligations for states

Article 1: General obligations
Each State Party undertakes to never:
- use, produce, stockpile and transfer anti-personnel mines;
- assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party.

Article 4: Destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel mines
Each State Party has to destroy all its stockpiled anti-personnel mines that are under its jurisdiction or control, as soon as possible but not later than four years after the entry into force of Treaty for that state. “To ensure no-one ever uses landmines again, all existing stocks must be destroyed.”

Article 5: Demining
Each State Party must clear affected areas of anti-personnel mines that are under its jurisdiction or control, as soon as possible but not later than 10 years after the entry into force of the Treaty for that state. “Every country joining the Treaty has to clear its own land.”

Article 6: International cooperation and assistance
Each State Party in a position to do so shall provide assistance for the care, rehabilitation and social and economic reintegration of mine victims and for mine-risk education activities. This assistance also relates to mine clearance and the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel mines.

Article 7: Transparency measures
Each State Party must report on the implementation of the Treaty as soon as possible, and at the latest 180 days after the entry into force of the Treaty for that state. “States must tell the rest of the world what they have done and what they still have to do.”

Article 9: National implementation measures
Each State Party shall 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 undertaken by people or on territory under its jurisdiction or control.

Key facts (as of July 2010)

• 37 countries have yet to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. The United States, China and Egypt are among those countries.

• 156 states – more than three quarters of the countries in the world – are party to the Mine Ban Treaty. 158 countries have signed the Treaty but two have not yet ratified it.

Accidents

Despite the difficulties with collecting data, Landmine Monitor has recorded at least 73,576 accidents due to anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices in 119 states and territories between 1999-2009.

Demining areas at risk, along with risk education for local communities, have helped achieve a significant reduction in the number of accidents. The number is well below previous estimates of 20,000 accidents per year, with fewer than 5,200 recorded casualties in 2008.

Sadly, every new victim joins the several hundreds of thousands of mine victims from previous years – victims who need support for the rest of their lives.

Clearance of contaminated areas

Since 1999, at least 11,840 sq ft of contaminated areas and 22604 sq ft of battle areas have been cleared in more than 90 states and other areas. This activity has resulted in the destruction of over 2.2 million anti-personnel mines in situ, 250,000 anti-vehicle mines and 17 million explosive remnants of war. As of August 2009, more than 70 states were believed to be mine-affected.