Today, the Riigikogu passed an Act repealing the provisions on banning the transport of anti-personnel mines from the Strategic Goods Act. The amendment harmonises our legal space with the legal situation after Estonia has withdrawn from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.
This means repealing the provision in the Strategic Goods Act that currently prohibits the transport of anti-personnel mines and the related services in Estonia, except where strictly necessary for the purposes of training or mine disposal.
The Chairman of the National Defence Committee Peeter Tali sees this amendment as necessary to enhance Estonia’s defence capability.
“The war in Ukraine has profoundly changed the security environment in Europe. Withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention gave Estonia the go-ahead to advance towards the use of anti-personnel mines and now we are removing the domestic legal restriction as well,” Tali said. “It is important that Estonia could work together with USA, Finland, Latvia, and other allies around the Baltic Sea. Finland has already decided to commission one million anti-personnel mines from its own producers. We must also use every means to keep war away from Estonian soil,” the Chairman added.
The Riigikogu decided to withdraw from the convention banning anti-personnel mines in June 2025 and Estonia’s withdrawal took effect at the end of December the same year. Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland withdrew at the same time.
64 Members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Act on Amendments to § 5 of the Strategic Goods Act (958 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee.