Armed opposition groups or “non-state actors” may not become States Parties since only recognized governments may join. However, these groups may make use of mechanisms, like Deeds of Commitment or Codes of Conduct, where they declare their commitment to stop the use, production, transfer and stockpile of antipersonnel mines and cooperate in victim assistance and mine clearing activities.
Aside from these mechanisms, non-state actors are also bound by international humanitarian law, which states that, “in any armed conflict, the right of the parties to the conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited. It is prohibited to employ weapons of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.” It also prohibits weapons which are inherently indiscriminate and whose use violates “the public conscience”.
Many NGOs involved with the ICBL work to educate and convince non-state actors about the importance of banning antipersonnel mines. The ICBL has also urged States Parties to pay greater attention to the non-state actor landmine issue and support efforts to obtain strong ban commitments from non-state actors.