ISTANBUL

Polish lawmakers have approved a controversial bill to withdraw from an international treaty that banned the use and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and Nobel laureates alike.

The Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, passed the bill on Wednesday evening with an overwhelming majority, as 413 MPs voted in favor, 15 opposed, and three abstained, public broadcaster TVP reported.

The legislation paves the way for Poland to formally exit the Ottawa Convention, a landmark agreement signed in 1997 in Canada and ratified by Poland in 2012.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz defended the move as essential to national defense.

“Poland must not be put in a straitjacket that prevents the defense of our homeland," he said.

The vote came as several neighboring countries, including Finland and the Baltic states, are also considering withdrawal amid security concerns in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022.

While formal withdrawal from the convention requires notification to the UN, legislative procedures are either completed or underway in these states.

The Ottawa Convention, formally known as the Mine Ban Treaty, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines due to their devastating impact on civilians.

Meanwhile, a coalition of 100 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including former Polish President Lech Walesa, issued a joint statement this week urging Warsaw and its regional partners to reconsider their decision, warning that landmines are “relics of a bygone era” that “kill and maim indiscriminately.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also voiced concern, saying: “I am very concerned by announcements by several UN member countries to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention."

"We must uphold humanitarian norms & accelerate mine action. The protection of innocent lives depends on our collective action & commitment," he said on X.

The bill now proceeds to the Senate for further deliberation. If approved, it will be sent to President Andrzej Duda for final signature.