The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomes the 20th ratification on May 12 of the 2003 Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War. This ratification ensures the entry into force of the Protocol, which is the first multilateral treaty of international humanitarian law requiring parties to an armed conflict to clear all unexploded and abandoned ordnance that threatens civilians, peacekeepers and aid workers after the fighting is over. (From a press-release )
