Government proposal on withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention submitted to Parliament

On 28 May 2025, the Government approved a proposal on withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. The proposal will now be submitted to Parliament. The withdrawal also necessitates the consent of Parliament, approval of the President of the Republic and submission of the instrument of withdrawal to the UN Secretary-General.

It is proposed that Parliament give its consent to Finland’s withdrawal from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, adopted in Oslo on 18 September 1997 (also known as Ottawa Convention or Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention). Finland acceded to the Convention in 2012.

On 1 April 2025, the Government decided to begin the preparations for withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. The Government’s decision was based on a report by the Defence Forces and on preparatory work by officials at the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The government proposal includes a bill on repealing the Act on the enforcement of the Ottawa Convention and on its application.  It is also suggested in the proposal that amendments resulting from the said withdrawal be made to the Criminal Code, the Coercive Measures Act, and the Act on Military Discipline and Combating Crime in the Defence Forces.

The proposal also assesses the impacts of the withdrawal, especially on Finland’s national defence and its foreign and security policy. It also assesses the impacts of the introduction of anti-personnel mines as part of Finland's defence system.

The proposal will now be submitted to Parliament. The President of the Republic will decide on Finland’s withdrawal from the Convention after Parliament has given its consent. The withdrawal will take effect six months after the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who serves as the Depository of the Convention, has received Finland’s instrument of withdrawal.

The government proposal has been prepared by a working group led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Comments were invited on the draft proposal on the Lausuntopalvelu.fi website from 17 April to 16 May 2025. Comments were received from 42 entities and six private individuals, and the government proposal was then finalised on the basis of them. The government proposal, the comments received and a summary of them are available on the project page of the government proposal.

• Project page of the government proposal 
• Report of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the foreign and security policy assessment of the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention of Ottawa (UTP 22/2025 vp) 
• Memorandum of the Ministry of Defence on supplementing the Defence Forces' capabilities with anti-personnel mines