PHNOM PENH – With global momentum behind the landmine ban under strain, Cambodia has stepped forward once again to help steer international action, co-drafting a new UN resolution urging states to join the Ottawa Convention and strengthen support for mine victims worldwide.

Prepared jointly by Japan—current president of the 22nd Meeting of States Parties—alongside Cambodia, last year’s chair, and Zambia, which will assume the presidency next year, the draft resolution was adopted by 159 UN member states on December 1, reaffirming a collective commitment to eliminating anti-personnel mines and the suffering they continue to inflict.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the measure calls on all non-party states to accede to the Convention without delay and stresses that its impact depends on full, effective compliance.

It urges governments and partners to expand victim assistance, rehabilitation and social reintegration programs, as well as intensify mine-risk education, mine-reduction efforts, and the destruction of stockpiled or newly discovered mines.

The statement noted that comprehensive action is essential to address the continued threat posed by anti-personnel mines.

Border Tensions Cast a Shadow Over Cambodia–Thailand Ties

The renewed global push comes as landmines have resurfaced as a volatile flashpoint in the Cambodia–Thailand border dispute. Thai officials have repeatedly accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the Convention—an allegation Phnom Penh dismisses as politically driven and unsupported by evidence.

Tensions flared in mid-July when three Thai soldiers were injured by mine explosions along the frontier. Bangkok claimed the devices had been freshly planted by Cambodian forces, prompting sharp exchanges between the two sides.

Cambodia rejected the allegations as “baseless” and called for an impartial, evidence-based investigation. Cambodian authorities, noting the country remains one of the world’s most heavily mine-affected, have urged Thailand to pursue a jointly verified inquiry or use existing bilateral mechanisms to clarify the incident.

A more recent case involved a Chinese national, identified by Thai authorities as Shi Jingui, who reportedly stepped on a mine near the border. Thailand said he had crossed from Cambodia; Phnom Penh countered that no such name appears in its immigration database.

Global Retreat From the Mine Ban Treaty Raises Alarm

The Ottawa Convention—formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction—was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999. It currently has 166 States Parties.

Cambodia, which hosted the Fifth Review Conference of the Convention in Siem Reap in November 2024—the first Asian country to do so—has been a vocal advocate for universalizing the treaty and accelerating clearance of legacy minefields.

But the international landscape is shifting. Major powers including the United States, Russia and China remain outside the Convention. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States supplied Kyiv with anti-personnel mines in 2024 as part of its military assistance—widely seen as contradicting the treaty’s norms.

As the war dragged on, Ukraine signaled its own departure from the global ban. In June, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree initiating withdrawal; the proposal is now before the Ukrainian parliament.

Security anxieties in Europe have driven others to consider similar steps. In early June, the parliaments of Finland and Poland approved proposals to leave the treaty, with formal withdrawal instruments expected soon.

On June 27, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania deposited their withdrawal documents with the UN; their exit will take effect six months after submission.