The legal and operational responsibilities regarding the landmines planted by Armenia in the formerly occupied Azerbaijani territories constitute a critical issue that directly affects the post-conflict security architecture in the South Caucasus. Only 25% of the mine maps provided have been verified, which carries significant weight in terms of Armenia’s obligations under international humanitarian law.[1] Armenia’s responsibilities in terms of mine clearance or map sharing within the context of international law, and the operational implications of low-accuracy maps, must be evaluated alongside the challenges Azerbaijan faces during its large-scale demining efforts and the extent to which the international community has contributed to this process at technical, financial, and diplomatic levels. At the same time, the mechanisms of sanctions and monitoring that multilateral actors such as the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) could implement in similar situations should also be among the key points of assessment.
Articles 51 and 57 of Additional Protocol I to the 1977 Geneva Conventions, one of the foundational documents of international humanitarian law, impose clear and binding obligations on warring parties to protect civilians. According to these norms, avoiding attacks that could harm civilians and removing the effects of war from civilian areas are among the fundamental principles. In this context, withholding information about landmines laid during conflict—especially when such mines are located in areas inhabited or being repopulated by civilians—constitutes a grave international violation. Although Armenia is not a party to the 1997 Ottawa Convention, the placement of explosives in densely populated civilian areas and the intentional delay or concealment of information regarding them is regarded as a willful act under customary international law and humanitarian responsibility principles. Such behavior leads not only to legal but also diplomatic erosion of trust and deeply affects peacebuilding and reconstruction processes.
Following the tripartite declaration of November 2020 that marked the end of the war, only 25% of the mine maps provided by Armenia upon Azerbaijan’s request were confirmed to be accurate, which clearly indicates a violation of the principle of good faith. Moreover, the unreliability of the maps not only hampers technical procedures on the ground but also creates a perception of “ongoing violations” under international law. According to the principle of “effective protection obligation” established in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), a state is responsible for protecting not only its own citizens but also civilians residing in territories under its effective control. When assessed within this framework, Armenia’s failure to conduct effective mine clearance and the provision of incomplete or misleading information even in the post-war period is interpreted as a violation of the right to life under the ECtHR.
This situation paves the way for future individual or inter-state legal actions and provides a legitimate basis for increasing international pressure and bringing certain sanctions against Armenia. Furthermore, the international community’s silence in the face of such cases creates a vulnerability that could serve as a precedent in similar situations. If Armenia’s deficiencies in information sharing and technical negligence go unpunished or uncondemned, similar post-conflict scenarios will continue to fall within legal gray areas. Therefore, institutions such as the UN, OSCE, and the Council of Europe (CoE) must exhibit both political and normative reactions to such violations. Armenia’s responsibility concerning landmines should be evaluated not merely as a remnant of a past conflict, but as a current international law violation and a threat to lasting peace in the region. This issue also represents a serious test of the international actors’ commitment to upholding a rules-based international order.
Mine clearance is a process that requires not only technical expertise but also a planning strategy based on accurate maps and field data. The maps provided by Armenia being technically inadequate, incomplete, or systematically misleading puts the lives of the teams working in the field at risk and exponentially increases the duration and cost of demining operations. Explosions in areas such as Fuzuli, Tartar, and Aghdam, which have been opened to civilian return, clearly demonstrate the extent to which these maps affect on-the-ground security.[2]
Moreover, the lack or inaccuracy of maps produces not only operational but also strategic consequences. The inability to resume agricultural activities due to unsafe conditions, delays in infrastructure investments, and psychological insecurity all hinder the socialization of peace and economic recovery in the post-war period. This situation has become a serious source of instability not only for Azerbaijan but also for regional security. In the long term, delays resulting from incomplete maps have also led to an increase in compensation claims within Azerbaijan’s domestic legal system. The pursuit of justice in national and international courts by injured civilians, families of the deceased, or farmers unable to return to their livelihoods is a likely outcome. Therefore, the map issue, which might appear to be a technical deficiency, has far-reaching implications for legal and social justice mechanisms.
In the post-war period, Azerbaijan launched a comprehensive demining campaign. While significant steps have been taken to enhance technical capacity under the leadership of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), the process still faces numerous challenges. Structural issues such as the shortage of qualified personnel, limited access to advanced equipment, the high cost of operations, and the inconsistency of donor support constrain both the speed and reliability of the process. International support remains limited. Although technical training and consultancy are provided, financial contributions are irregular and often hindered by political concerns, rendering international cooperation in this field fragile. Calls for the establishment of a globally functioning Mine Action Trust Fund, as proposed by Azerbaijan, are noteworthy not only for Azerbaijan specifically but also for generating more structural and sustainable solutions in post-conflict regions in general.[3] In the coming period, it is expected that this proposal may find institutional footing at the UN or European Union (EU) level and that funding mechanisms will become more systematic.
There are numerous diplomatic and legal tools available to the international community in similar situations. The UN Security Council can assess the use and presence of mines as a threat to international peace and security and activate diplomatic pressure mechanisms against the parties. However, such actions depend on political consensus among major powers and the elevation of the relevant regional development to a global priority. In contrast, more flexible and technically oriented organizations like the OSCE can provide more concrete contributions through regional field missions by offering technical monitoring, impartial reporting, and expert support. In the near future, the OSCE may increase its activities in the region and take on a technical arbitration role in such crises.
From a legal perspective, individual or state-level applications to platforms such as the ECtHR and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) allow these issues to be brought to the international legal arena. In a more advanced scenario, if it can be technically proven that the mine-laying activities targeting civilians were intentional, widespread, and systematic, and that their effects continued into the post-war period, this situation could potentially be considered a “war crime” or “crime against humanity” under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The continued presence of landmines produced in 2021 in the field demonstrates that active threats to civilian safety persist even after the cessation of hostilities.[4] If this situation is documented and brought to the attention of international forums, all actors responsible for creating permanent effects in the field may come under increasing legal and political scrutiny. In this context, relevant states may face international pressure. Such pressure could range from diplomatic condemnations and development fund restrictions to the initiation of judicial proceedings. In the coming period, post-conflict landmines are expected to be defined not merely as remnants of armed conflict but as sources of long-term humanitarian, environmental, and development-based rights violations. Thus, the continuing threats in the aftermath of war will be considered not only a security issue but also evaluated within the framework of the right to life, property rights, and environmental justice. This normative transformation will pave the way for new legal openings on a global scale, not only in the case of Azerbaijan but also in terms of protecting civilians living in other mine-contaminated areas.
In conclusion, Armenia’s failure to provide reliable mine maps will lead to a deepening of international legal processes and bring discussions of accountability before the ECtHR and ICC. This situation hampers the reestablishment of mutual trust in the region, poses a risk of suspending technical cooperation, and raises the possibility of conditionality in international financial channels directed at Armenia. The unsustainability of donor support slows operational progress and limits humanitarian actors’ access to the field. The passive stance of the international community paves the way for the legitimization of norm violations in similar cases. Considering all these developments, achieving lasting and inclusive peace in the South Caucasus will become a fragile objective in the medium term.
[1] “Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other over minefield maps”, JAM News, https://jam-news.net/armenia-azerbaijan-minefield-maps/, (Access Date: 12.04.2025).
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Azerbaijan proposes the creation of a global fund to combat the mine threat – Presidential aide”, Military-Industrial Courier (vpk.name), https://vpk.name/news/591747_azerbaidzhan_predlagaet_sozdat_globalnyi_fond_po_borbe_s_minnoi_ugrozoi-pomoshnik_prezidenta.html, (Access Date: 12.04.2025).
[4] “Azerbaijani MFA: We demand that those responsible for war crimes in Armenia be held accountable”, AZERTAC, https://azertag.az/ru/xeber/MID_My_trebuem_ot_Armenii_chtoby_lica_otvetstvennye_za_voennye_prestupleniya_otvetili_pered_zakonom-2316644, (Access Date: 12.04.2025).
