Completing the package

The adoption of the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention¹ in 1997 marked the beginning of a remarkable era in disarmament, which continues to thrive today. While humanitarian concerns have long informed the regulation of weapons, that treaty, followed by those that banned cluster munitions and nuclear weapons, established a distinctive approach known as ‘humanitarian disarmament’.² Humanitarian disarmament seeks to address the human and environmental harm inflicted by arms through the establishment and implementation 58of norms.³ It is people-centred in its purpose, process, and provisions. The humanitarian nature of this approach shifts the focus from advancing perceived national security interests to ending civilian suffering. Civil society organisations and survivors, in partnership with like-minded states and international organisations, advance this goal through ‘citizen diplomacy’.⁴ The instruments that result establish comprehensive standards for protecting civilians.⁵