Latest news with #JodyWilliams
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Estonian parliament votes to withdraw from landmines treaty
By Andrius Sytas VILNIUS (Reuters) -The Estonian parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines amid concerns over the military threat posed by neighbouring Russia. Eighty-one members of the 101 parliament supported the motion, its press office said. All five European Union and NATO countries which border Russia – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland - have said they plan to exit the international treaty due to the military threat from their much larger neighbour. Russia is not a member of the Ottawa Convention and has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine. The Estonian vote follows those in Latvia and Lithuania, where parliaments have already approved the withdrawal. The countries would be able to stockpile and lay landmines six months after informing other treaty members and the United Nations of their decision. None of the five countries have done so yet. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams, who was awarded the distinction in 1997 in recognition of her work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines, has criticised the decisions of Russia's neighbours. "Landmines don't influence the outcome of a war... All you get is a mess afterwards that threatens your own population," she told the Guardian newspaper in April.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Estonian parliament votes to withdraw from landmines treaty
VILNIUS - The Estonian parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines amid concerns over the military threat posed by neighbouring Russia. Eighty-one members of the 101 parliament supported the motion, its press office said. All five European Union and NATO countries which border Russia – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland - have said they plan to exit the international treaty due to the military threat from their much larger neighbour. Russia is not a member of the Ottawa Convention and has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine. The Estonian vote follows those in Latvia and Lithuania, where parliaments have already approved the withdrawal. The countries would be able to stockpile and lay landmines six months after informing other treaty members and the United Nations of their decision. None of the five countries have done so yet. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams, who was awarded the distinction in 1997 in recognition of her work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines, has criticised the decisions of Russia's neighbours. "Landmines don't influence the outcome of a war... All you get is a mess afterwards that threatens your own population," she told the Guardian newspaper in April. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
6 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Estonian parliament votes to withdraw from landmines treaty
VILNIUS, June 4 (Reuters) - The Estonian parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines amid concerns over the military threat posed by neighbouring Russia. Eighty-one members of the 101 parliament supported the motion, its press office said. All five European Union and NATO countries which border Russia – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland - have said they plan to exit the international treaty due to the military threat from their much larger neighbour. Russia is not a member of the Ottawa Convention and has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine. The Estonian vote follows those in Latvia, where parliaments have already approved the withdrawal. The countries would be able to stockpile and lay landmines six months after informing other treaty members and the United Nations of their decision. None of the five countries have done so yet. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams, who was awarded the distinction in 1997 in recognition of her work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines, has criticised the decisions of Russia's neighbours. "Landmines don't influence the outcome of a war... All you get is a mess afterwards that threatens your own population," she told the Guardian newspaper in April.
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘So much gratitude in West Bank for Irish solidarity': How Nobel Prize-winners are raising Palestinians' plight
The head of an advocacy organisation created by women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize has expressed support for the proposed Occupied Territories Bill , following a trip to the occupied West Bank where she witnessed 'the expansion of militarised violence of the apartheid system, and the system of dehumanisation and domination of Palestinians'. Maria Butler, executive director of the Nobel Women's Initiative, highlighted 'the dispossession and expansion of settlements, people losing land, the checkpoints, the economic pressures ... the consistent everyday realities', which she said had worsened for Palestinians in the last year-and-a-half. Butler, from Kill, Co Kildare, was travelling with a delegation including American Jody Williams, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on the international campaign against landmines. They visited East Jerusalem, the city of Ramallah and nearby Al-Mughayir village. Butler said those they met included a 19-year-old Palestinian woman who had been shot in the leg by an Israeli settler and a man who had just been served with a demolition order for his home. READ MORE 'This is a systematic policy, and this is a system of violence and impunity, total impunity,' Butler said. In the West Bank, she said, Palestinians had 'been totally dispossessed. They have no legal recourse. They don't have access to equal rights, and there is no accountability for violence'. Following the visit, Butler said the Nobel Women's Initiative supported 'all concrete action towards accountability' and that Ireland's long-stalled Occupied Territories Bill would be 'a clear and principled step for Ireland to uphold its own obligations under international law and to stand against injustices'. The Bill, originally introduced by Senator Frances Black, would have the effect of banning trade between Ireland and Israel 's illegal settlements in Palestine . In the West Bank, Butler said, 'people have such gratitude about the understanding of the Irish people. I felt that really deeply in each of the interactions, whether it's meeting doctors or nurses or carers or mothers'. Palestinians 'felt and understood not only the solidarity ... but the action, the mobilisation and the moral courage of Irish people to support not only Palestinians, but our own values of humanity and international human rights', she said. The Nobel Women's Initiative was created in 2006 to support women's groups campaigning for peace and justice around the world. International human rights organisations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long accused Israel of imposing a system of apartheid against Palestinians in areas under its control. A representative for the Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment on this and other points. A recent report by the United Nations Human Rights Office found there has been significant expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Hamas -led attack on Israel in October 2023, saying 'steps have been taken towards implementing plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem alone'. Last July, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory ruling declaring Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank illegal, saying it must withdraw and end settlement activity, and pay Palestinians reparations. Butler said her delegation met Palestinian women from East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and women who live in what are known as '1948' areas. 'Each of them face different but very systemic barriers to their rights across all levels,' she said. 'Obviously, in Gaza, it's very different. The genocide, the ongoing bombardment and siege, is at a different level ... it's 17 months of relentless bombardments of a siege where families are under unbelievable pressures, violence, pain.' She said her delegation spoke to women in Gaza online, as well as meeting families with children who had been evacuated from the territory. 'There is a huge exhaustion and trauma among those working in Gaza. I think that was evident.' Israel has killed more than 52,000 people in its war on Gaza since October 7th, 2023, says the Hamas-run health ministry there, and is facing a genocide case in the International Court of Justice. In its annual report, on April 29th, Amnesty International called the bombardment of Gaza a 'live-streamed but unheeded genocide'. Butler said a permanent ceasefire for Gaza and the ending of Israel's blockade of the enclave were of critical importance. 'This hell of not having any aid enter Gaza is horrific, and the pressure must continue on Israel and on Israel's allies to have basic food, water, healthcare services enter Gaza.' At the same time, Butler said she had heard stories of 'women helping women in Gaza today and upholding their own humanity. And that's what we also saw in the West Bank: the resilience of Palestinian women, of human rights defenders, of organisations; despite every single barrier that comes, every single violent action they face, they continue to work. And I think it's upon us to support their work, to uplift it, to make it visible, to provide funding for it.'
Telegraph
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Unravelling of landmine treaty a ‘major challenge to arms control'
Other demining charities The Telegraph spoke to were similarly sympathetic to the security concerns of countries bordering Russia. 'We recognise there are no easy choices when a state feels under threat of armed aggression,' said Riccardo Labianco, an international policy manager for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), another major UK-based charity. 'But International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including the Ottawa Convention, is designed precisely for times like these. 'For decades, military and humanitarian experts alike, have agreed, with evidence, that landmines are so dangerous for civilians that the only good choice is to never use them.' The Ottawa Treaty was hailed as a breakthrough in efforts to eradicate the use of anti-personnel mines – smaller mines designed to kill people rather than blow up vehicles. Since it was signed in 1997, 164 countries have ratified or acceded to it. Jody Williams, who in 1997 became one of only 12 women ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize for leading the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), warned that the departure of several European countries from the treaty could spur others to leave. 'With a handful of countries leaving, it makes it easier for others to think about it too,' she told The Telegraph. 'Couple that with all the mines being used by both sides with Putin's invasion of Ukraine and [Elon] Musk's slashing of foreign aid money, which includes support for mine clearance operations, and things look bleak in that part of the world.' Mr Labianco echoed Ms Williams's concerns about the potential proliferation of landmines, noting that 'the Ottawa Convention has had a role in tackling the global circulation of these weapons, preventing their acquisition by irresponsible actors and entities'. High-tech territorial defence Despite the setback to arms control efforts, there is hope that the countries leaving the treaty will use landmines responsibly. Announcing Finland's decision, Alexander Stubb, the country's president, said the move was 'based on a thorough assessment by the relevant ministries and the Defence Forces. 'Finland is committed to its international obligations on the responsible use of mines,' he said. Keir Giles, a Senior Consulting Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia programme at the Chatham House think tank, said: 'There's a huge difference between weapons like landmines and cluster munitions when they are used and deployed by responsible countries that are governed by international humanitarian law, or when they used by countries like Russia.' Anti-personnel mines, if they are used, will be deployed as part of a complex system of defences including trenches, natural barriers like forests and rivers, as well as fortifications like the 'dragon's teeth' obstacles seen in Ukraine. The way they are used will differ from country to country, Mr Giles said, noting that the Baltic states, due to their small size, 'need to defend all of their territory, because as soon as they run out of space, they're out of time'. Even the demining charities are sanguine about developments in technology that could reduce the risks associated with the weapons. Newer landmines can be detonated or deactivated remotely, said Maj Gen Cowan, making them much easier to remove and control than older 'dumb' weapons, that 'stay in the ground, meant to kill a soldier, but actually it will kill a civilian, a child, decades after the event'. 'The Americans, with the mines that they gave to Ukraine in November, stated that the mines they had given can do that,' he said. 'So the technology is emerging that allows that to happen, and we need to have a conversation about what technology could keep the treaty current, live and still meeting its humanitarian remit.'
