8. Considering these multiple and cumulative factors, it is clear that landmines and unexploded ordnancehave both immediate and long-term effects on the displacement of populations, raising also the crucial issueof a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return to homelands.

9. The Assembly welcomes the treaties and customary international humanitarian law dealing withdisarmament and ban of arms and weapons, as well as those dealing with the repatriation of forciblydisplaced populations. It also welcomes the domestic laws issued by member States aimed inter alia atclearing their territories of landmines and unexploded ordnance.

10. Welcoming the start of the border delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on the1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, the Assembly recalls the absolute necessity to “negotiate a process ofdelimitation and demarcation of the border and examine the possibility of creating a demilitarised zone” asunderlined in Resolution 2391 (2021) “Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia andAzerbaijan / Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.

11. The Assembly welcomes the establishment of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression ofthe Russian Federation against Ukraine, which has started receiving claims for damage, loss or injury causedsince 24 February 2022.

12. The Assembly notes with satisfaction that victims of landmines and unexploded ordnance will therebybe able to submit claims to the Register, including claims related to violations of personal integrity (such as thedeath of an immediate family member or serious personal injury) and loss of property, income and livelihood,including claims related to the inability to use agricultural land contaminated by landmines and otherexplosives. The Assembly also appreciates that “demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance” is anapproved category for the submission of claims for compensation by the State of Ukraine (including itsregional and local authorities, State-owned or controlled entities) for expenses related to the removal oflandmines and unexploded ordnance, as well as other related categories, such as environmental damage anddepletion or damage of natural resources.

13. The Assembly hails the good practices put in place by several member States to remove landminesand unexploded ordnance, and the related policies aimed inter alia at informing populations on how torecognise and react to the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance. These can serve as examplesfor other States grappling with the presence of such remnants of war.

14. The Assembly draws the attention of member States to the Council of Europe’s expertise on issues ofhuman rights of displaced populations and migrants, and particularly the reports, country visits andrecommendations of the Commissioner for Human Rights and of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on Migration and Refugees.

15. Conscious of the existing barriers for ensuring a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return ofpopulations, the Assembly calls on member States to enact appropriate legislation and develop clearguidelines aimed at ensuring that both rural and urban territories are cleared of explosive remnants of war,and more specifically to:

15.1. consider ratifying anti-personnel landmines and anti-cluster munitions conventions when not yet done so, inter alia:

15.1.1. the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects and all its additional protocols (I to V) (Geneva Convention, 1980);

15.1.2. the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and their Destruction (Ottawa Convention, 1977);

15.1.3. the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Oslo Convention, 2008);

15.2. adopt and fully implement legislation prohibiting investments in the cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines industries;

15.3. adopt and effectively implement legislation that prohibits under any circumstances the use, development, production, stockpiling or transfer of anti-personnel mines and of cluster munitions, and that obliges the safe and verified destruction of existing stocks of such ordnance.

Resolution 2564 (2024)

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