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The Invisible Enemy - The Fight to Eliminate Landmines

August 20, 2024

More than 160 countries have signed what’s known as the Ottawa Treaty. It prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

https://p.dw.com/p/4jAww
Dokumentation "Der heimtückische Tod – Der schwierige Kampf gegen Landminen"
Image: Illegitime Defense

Nevertheless, the number of civilian victims of landmines continues to rise.

A mine warning sign in Ukrainian and a pile of unexploded ordnance next to it
Ukraine: unexploded ordnance collected during demining operationsImage: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/picture alliance

Experts estimate that in Ukraine alone, a quarter of the country’s territory is now polluted by landmines or the remains of cluster bombs. And Ukraine is not alone.

A mine detector in Colombia in a protective suit at work
In Colombia, humanitarian workers go out every day to search for and defuse mines.Image: Illegitime Defense

The film shows humanitarian workers in countries like Senegal and Colombiaas they attempt to clear mines. It also hears from lobbyists and analysts and asks: What has been achieved by the Ottawa Treaty, signed on 18 September 1997, and enforced starting in 1999?

Six flat landmines lie on a white sheet in front of a soldier.
Despite the Ottawa Convention of 1997, landmines still kill civilians every day. Image: Illegitime Defense

164 nations have ratified the treaty to date. Yet major military powers such as China, Russia and the US have not yet signed it. After 1999, the ban on mines did initially result in a drastic reduction in the number of victims. But that number has now started to increase again, particularly due to conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, along with the use of improvised explosive devices.

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