Finland can now reintroduce anti-personnel landmines.
Open image viewer
Image: Marcus Lillkvist / Yle
Finland’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines comes into force on Saturday.
The Finnish government formally renounced the treaty on 10 July last year. This followed similar moves by countries such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
Under the terms of the convention, a withdrawal takes effect six months after the United Nations secretary-general has received the instrument of denunciation.
Finland justified its decision on defence grounds, citing the deterioration of the security environment. Leaving the treaty allows Finland to reintroduce anti-personnel landmines into its military toolkit.