The Verkhovna Rada has passed a law temporarily suspending Ukraine’s participation in the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their destruction.
This was announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
Legislative initiative No. 0329 was supported by 299 MPs.
The document was adopted in view of the need to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities in the context of full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation, which has been ongoing since 2022.
As noted in the explanatory memorandum, Ukraine, exercising its inherent right to self-defense guaranteed by Article 51 of the UN Charter, is forced to review its international legal obligations in order to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
One of the reasons for this decision is the asymmetry of conditions: the Russian Federation is not a party to the 1997 Convention, which creates advantages for the aggressor and limits Ukraine’s ability to defend itself effectively, particularly in the field of engineering barriers.
According to the adopted law, the Convention will be suspended for Ukraine until Russia’s armed aggression ceases completely. The basis for this step was the provision of Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which allows for the suspension of international obligations in the event of circumstances that radically change the situation in which the treaty was concluded.
Once the law comes into force, Ukraine will officially notify the participating states, the depositary of the document, and the UN Security Council of the suspension of the Convention.
This step also opens up the possibility for Ukraine to receive additional military-technical assistance from states that are not parties to the convention, as well as to expand the arsenal of defensive means necessary to deter the enemy.
As reported by Ukrinform, on June 29, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines.
On July 11, the Verkhovna Rada received a draft law on suspending the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Anti-Personnel Mines for Ukraine.
Source: Ukraine withdraws from Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention as Parliament passes law
