(Adnkronos) – Polish deputies have approved a bill to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, the agreement banning the use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines. The decision has drawn harsh criticism from numerous Nobel Peace Prize winners, but Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz defended the choice, deemed essential for national defense: “Poland cannot be caged in a straitjacket that prevents the defense of our homeland.”
The Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, approved the bill last night, with an overwhelming majority: 413 deputies voted in favor, 15 against and three abstained, as reported by public broadcaster Tvp. Meanwhile, a coalition of 100 Nobel Peace laureates, including former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, issued a joint statement urging Warsaw and its partners to reconsider the decision, warning that anti-personnel mines are “relics of a bygone era” that “kill and maim indiscriminately.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed concern: “I am very concerned about the announcement made by several UN member states that they intend to withdraw from the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines – Guterres wrote on X – We must uphold humanitarian norms and accelerate action against mines. The protection of innocent lives depends on our commitment and collective action.” The law must now pass to the Senate, before final ratification by the President of the Republic.
