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Assisting the Victims

What the Convention says

  • The Convention’s preamble records the wish of the States Parties “to do their utmost in providing assistance for the care and rehabilitation, including the social and economic reintegration of mine victims.”
  • This wish is translated into the obligation of “each State Party in a position to do so” to “provide assistance for the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims.”

What is victim assistance?

  • Data collection and information management to understand the extent of the challenge faced
  • Emergency and continuing medical care
  • Physical rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, prosthetics and assistive devices
  • Psychological support and social reintegration
  • Economic reintegration
  • The establishment, enforcement and implementation of relevant laws and public policies

Progress made

  • The Convention itself is a major gain: For the first time a disarmament / arms-control convention contains measures to assist the victims of the weapons in question.
  • The Convention has served as a catalyst for drawing attention to the plight of landmine survivors – and hence the challenges of all persons with disabilities – in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Challenges that remain

  • 30 States Parties have indicated that they have significant numbers – hundreds or thousands – of landmine survivors for which they must provide care.
  • Many of these countries are some of the poorest on earth and thus face significant challenges in fulfilling their responsibilities.
  • These States Parties themselves must define what can be / should be achieved in concrete and measurable terms, and how. Assistance must then be provided to support these states’ priority needs.

BROCHURES

Guidance on Victim Assistance Reporting 20.8MB
A Guide to Understanding Victim Assistance in the Context of the AP Mine Ban Convention PDF 2.3MB
Victim Assistance Checklist 2020 WORD
Victim Assistance in the Context of the AP Mine Ban Convention - Checklist PDF 232KB