Mine ban policy overview

The Republic of Finland deposited its instrument of accession to the Mine Ban Treaty on 9 January 2012, becoming a State Party on 1 July 2012.[1]

Finland has amended its penal code to implement the convention’s provisions in domestic legislation, including penal sanctions for violations of a minimum of four months imprisonment to a maximum of six years.[2]

Finland submitted an initial Article 7 transparency report in 2013 for the second half of 2012 and provided an annual updated report in 2014, covering calendar year 2013.

Finland has regularly attended the Mine Ban Treaty’s Review Conferences, Meetings of States Parties, and intersessional meetings despite not joining until 2012. It participated in the Mine Ban Treaty’s Fourth Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2014 and the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2013. At both meetings, Finland informed States Parties of its progress towards stockpile destruction and reaffirmed its commitment to complete the destruction process by the end of 2015. Finland also reiterated pledges to promote the universalization and full implementation of the convention, and expressly commended the “important work of the United Nations, the ICRC and civil society organizations, in making the Convention work in an efficient manner.”[3]

Finland also attended intersessional Standing Committee meetings of the treaty in Geneva in April 2014, but did not make a statement.

Finland is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Finland has stated on numerous occasions that it has never used antipersonnel mines and does not have any mined areas, has not produced antipersonnel mines since 1981, and has never exported antipersonnel mines.[4] Finland has not acquired any antipersonnel mines since the early 1970s.

In 2010, information from the Ministry for Defence was released revealing for the first time the size and composition of Finland’s stockpile of antipersonnel mines.[5] This total was reaffirmed in mid-2012 when Finland disclosed that it stockpiled 1,029,763 antipersonnel mines banned by the treaty, comprising 801,618 Sakaramiina 65-98 blast mines as well as 228,145 Putkimiina 43-86 and Putkimiina 68-95 stake mines.[6]

Under Article 4 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Finland is obligated to destroy its stockpiled antipersonnel mines under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 July 2016.

At the Mine Ban Treaty’s Fourth Review Conference in June 2014, Finland informed States Parties that it had completed over 95% of its stockpile destruction and was on track to finish the destruction by 2015. It states that a total of 744,891 antipersonnel mines were destroyed in 2013, an increase from 200,000 destroyed in 2012.[7]

In its 2014 Article 7 report, Finland declared a remaining stockpile of 55,181 antipersonnel mines as of 2 November 2013: 8,893 Putkimiina 43-86 antipersonnel mines and 46,288 Putkimiina 68-95 mines. It reported the destruction of its entire remaining stock of 663,582 Sakaramiina 65-95 mines, as well as 75,549 Putkimiina 43-86 mines and 5,760 Putkimiina 68-95 mines, in the period from 2 November 2012 to 10 December 2013.[8]

Finland began destroying the stockpile by open detonation in August 2012 at a location in Finnish Lapland.[9] From August until 10 December 2013, destruction continued at the Ähtäri army depot in central Finland and at Kittilä, an area in the north of the country used for years for the destruction of old ammunition and explosives. Finland reported that blast mines were to be destroyed by removing the fuze and metallic parts for recycling, with parts to be used during fire and explosion training. The stake mines were to be destroyed by open detonation.[10] In 2011, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs estimated the cost of the stockpile destruction at approximately €220,000 (US$291,742).[11]

Finland said a key factor obstructing its accession to the treaty was the difficulty of procuring alternatives to antipersonnel mines.[12] The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has said a replacement for antipersonnel mines must be procured between 2009 and 2016 in order to maintain a credible defense.[13] The procurement of replacement systems started in 2009.[14] Finland’s 2009 Security and Defense Policy Review stated that “it is possible to replace a part of the landmines’ purpose with special munitions, Claymore mines and ground surveillance sensors as well as modern anti-tank mines.”[15] The Defence Committee concluded that a total of approximately €300 million (US$398 million) would allow adequate substitutions for antipersonnel mines to be procured and that it would be possible to remove these weapons without weakening Finland’s national defense.[16]

Retention

In its 2014 and 2013 Article 7 reports, Finland has declared retaining 16,500 antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes.[17] In 2011, Finland stated that the retained mines are necessary for the development of and training in destruction techniques, and will be retained for these purposes for the next 20 years.[18]

Contamination from explosive remnants of war

Finland has stated that it does not have mined areas. However, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, some areas may contain unexploded ordnance (UXO), which could include mines, left over from World War II. These areas with a risk of UXO are recorded.[19]

Policy

The Republic of Finland has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Finland continues to show interest in the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but does not appear to be actively considering accession in the near future. In a 27 April 2014 letter, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs informed the Monitor that “no such changes in conditions have taken place which would as yet enable accession to the Convention,” following an annual review of its Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy on military technology.[1]

After the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted, a 2009 government report on “Finnish Security and Defence Policy” found that the convention “significantly impacts Finland’s defence and its resource requirements” but announced that the convention would be reassessed annually by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy.[2] On 20 September 2013, the Cabinet Committee met together with the President of Finland to review the status of accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. A government press release issued after the meeting stated: “Finland considers the Oslo convention significant from the humanitarian point of view and participates in its implementation through humanitarian mine action. There have been no such changes in the circumstances that would enable Finland to join the convention.”[3] Finland has often expressed support for the humanitarian principles of the convention. In an April 2014 letter to the Monitor, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs reiterated “Finland considers it important to engage on a global level to alleviate the humanitarian consequences of cluster munitions” and acknowledges “the Convention’s role from the humanitarian perspective and its goals for universalization.” It also noted the value of “the good dialogue that we have with the civil society” and commended its role within the field of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.[4]

Finnish government officials have cited Ministry of Defence concerns about the costs of replacing stockpiled cluster munitions as an obstacle to its accession.[5] In an April 2014 meeting with the CMC, a Finnish official cited costs of implementing the convention’s provisions as well as security concerns as reasons for the lack of accession.[6] Finnish representatives have indicated that a plan for stockpile destruction within the mandated timeframe under the convention would have to be in place before Finland could join.[7]

In 2012, a Finnish official informed the CMC that the government’s top priority is to fulfill Finland’s obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty, which it joined in January 2012.[8]

Finland is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and in the past supported efforts to adopt a CCW protocol on cluster munitions. The 2014 letter from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs makes no reference to the CCW.

Finland participated throughout the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but consistently expressed reservations about the process and the convention text and was not supportive of a broad categorical ban on cluster munitions.[9] Finland joined the consensus adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in May 2008, but five months later announced that it would not sign the convention in Oslo in December 2008.[10] At the time, Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies stated, “cluster munitions play an important role in the credibility [and] autonomy…of Finnish defense.” The Finnish military claimed that due to costs and other factors it would not be possible to replace Finland’s stockpile of cluster munitions with alternative weapons within five to 10 years.[11] Finland has also cited security concerns over its border with Russia for its refusal to sign the convention.[12]

Despite not joining, Finland has continued to engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions since 2008. Finland has participated as an observer in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013. In April 2013, Finland attended the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva for the first time since 2011. Finland did not make any statements at these meetings.

Finland has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the Syrian government’s cluster munition use, including Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013 which expressed “outrage” at “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[13]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, “Finland does not produce cluster munitions nor has [it] used them.”[14]

In early 2005, Patria, a Finnish company, made arrangements to co-produce a 120mm cluster munition mortar bomb called MAT-120, then produced by the Spanish company Instalaza SA. The deal was canceled in 2009 by Patria and the Finnish Defence Forces after Spain signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. During the development of the program, Patria imported to Finland 305 “live” MAT-120 from Spain in 2005–2007 and also acquired 230 inert MAT-120 bombs. As of July 2011, a total of 136 “live” MAT-120 remained in the custody of the Finnish Defence Forces; none of the MAT-120 imported to Finland were exported.[15]

In 2010, a Ministry of Defence official stated that information on the size and composition of Finland’s stockpile of cluster munitions was confidential.[16] Finland has acknowledged possessing one type of cluster munition, the DM-662 155mm artillery projectile, which contains 49 dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions with self-destruct fuzes.[17]

In 2006, the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands announced the transfer of 18 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers to Finland.[18] It was reported that 400 M26 rockets (each containing 644 M77 DPICM submunitions) were to be included in the sale for qualification testing and conversion into training rockets.[19]

Contamination and Impact

Mines

In 1998, the Defense Staff of Finland stated in a press release that there were no peacetime minefields in the country.[1] In 2011, the Ministry of Defense informed the Monitor that there were no minefields along Finland’s eastern border, but acknowledged that both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines remained in the country from World War II.[2]

Cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war

There are no reports of contamination from cluster munition remnants. According to the Ministry of Defense, “as far as they know,” no cluster munitions were used on Finnish soil.[3] However, other explosive remnants of war (ERW) remain from World War II as a result of action by German, Soviet, and Finnish military forces.[4] Most of the contamination is found on the former eastern battlefields and especially in the north of the country. Known battlefields and other dangerous areas are recorded in a database maintained by the defense forces. When former military areas are handed over for civilian use they are first cleared by the defense forces, if needed.[5]

Mine Action Program

There is no civilian mine action program in Finland. All clearance is conducted by the military, with occasional help from the police. No private companies are used for clearance.[6]

Land Release

In its latest annual transparency report in accordance with Article 10 of Protocol V on explosive remnants of war of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), Finland reported that, between April 2011 and April 2012, Finland destroyed more than 17,000 items of explosive ordnance in 290 interventions.[7]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Finland is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 July 2022. Finland’s initial Article 7 transparency report, which is due by 28 December 2012, will help to clarify whether Finland has any clearance obligations under the treaty.

In 2012, the Republic of Finland contributed €5,600,000 (US$7,201,040)[1] in mine action funding. As in previous years, the largest contribution in 2012 went to Afghanistan (€1,500,000/$1,928,850), with two additional states—Cambodia and Angola—receiving the equivalent of more than $1 million each.

In addition to global support, Finland provided support to six states and one other area through NGOs, the ICRC, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), and the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action.

Contributions by recipient: 2012[2]

Finland allocated 71% of its mine action support in 2012 for clearance activities while 11% went to victim assistance in Chad, Lao PDR, and South Sudan. The other 18% went to the UN Mine Action Service and GICHD for core funding.[3]

Contributions by thematic sector: 2012

In 2008–2012, Finland’s contribution for mine action totaled more than €25 million (over $35 million), with an annual contribution averaging just over €5 million ($7.1 million).

Summary of contributions: 2008–2012[4]