Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential humanitarian consequences of the decisions made by the governments of Poland and Finland to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention and facilitate renewed production and possible use of anti-personnel mines.

The UK regrets the decisions by some States to withdraw from the Treaty. We nonetheless recognise the security concerns raised by allies who have decided to withdraw as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and acknowledge their sovereign right to do so. We have welcomed statements made by each withdrawing State stressing their continuing commitment to humanitarian mine action, International Humanitarian Law and the norms promoted by the Treaty. We continue to encourage universalisation of the Treaty and adherence to established international norms.. The UK remains a leading supporter of the Treaty, including through the Global Mine Action Programme, which since 2023 has helped release 34 million square metres of land and delivered life-saving risk education to over one million people across ten countries.