The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a global network of advocacy groups, says the weapons "are indiscriminate" and continue to kill innocent people long after conflicts end.
The United States has decided to limit the use of anti-personnel landmines, joining most countries around the world including all of its NATO allies, in prohibiting the use of the weapons.
The move will align US policy with the Ottawa Convention, the international treaty prohibiting the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The administration's actions today are in a sharp contrast to Russia's actions in Ukraine, where there's compelling evidence that Russian forces are using explosive munitions, including landmines, in an irresponsible manner," senior State Department official Stanley Brown said.
Russia's use of explosive munitions is causing extensive harm to civilians and damaging vital civilian infrastructure, Brown added.
The White House said Tuesday's move reflects President Joe Biden's belief that the landmines "have a disproportionate impact on civilians, including children, long after fighting has stopped".
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Key decision
The change does not affect US anti-personnel landmine policy on the Korean Peninsula due to the unique circumstances there and the commitment of the United States to defending South Korea, the White House said.
The United States will also work towards destroying all anti-personnel landmine stockpiles except for those that are required for the defence of South Korea, it said.
Brown told reporters that there are an estimated 3 million landmines in the stockpile.
The United States last used anti-personnel landmines in 1991 during the Gulf War, Brown said, with the exception of a single incident in Afghanistan around 2002.
Former US President Donald Trump in 2020 relaxed restrictions on the US military’s use of anti-personnel land mines, arguing that the previous policy could put American troops at a "severe disadvantage", in a move that was criticised by arms control proponents.
President Barack Obama's administration said in 2014 that it would no longer produce or otherwise acquire anti-personnel land mines, including to replace existing US stockpiles.
The United States had also prohibited the use of the weapons outside of the Korean Peninsula.
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