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Cluster Munition Monitor 2012
placing responsibility on all States Parties, and not just those with cluster munition victims, for promoting the participation
of cluster munition victims.
Of the seven States Parties with victim assistance coordination structures in place, six involve survivors or their
representative organizations in victim assistance or disability coordination mechanisms. 44
Among signatory states, only in DRC did survivors participate actively in regular coordination mechanisms. In
Colombia, survivor participation was extremely limited within the ongoing coordination. Both coordination and survivor
participation were limited in the other four signatories: Angola, Chad, Iraq, and Uganda.
In 13 of the 16 States Parties and signatories with known cluster munition victims, survivors were involved in ongoing
victim assistance activities. 45 Survivors implemented, and in some cases helped to design, physical rehabilitation and
social and economic inclusion initiatives. Survivors provided peer support and referrals to help other survivors to access
services in many countries with cluster munition victims, including in Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, BiH, Croatia,
Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda, and Vietnam. In almost all identified cases, survivor involvement in the implementation
of victim assistance activities was through NGO programs and most often these were countries where survivor networks
also existed. 46
As highlighted by the Vientiane Action Plan, survivors and cluster munition victims should be considered as experts
in victim assistance and included on government delegations to international meetings and in all activities related to
the convention. BiH was the only State Party known to have included a survivor as a member of its delegation to an
international meeting of the convention in 2011 and the first half of 2012. By contrast, many cluster munition victims
have participated in international meetings as part of the Cluster Munition Coalition delegation.
Providing adequate assistance: key indicators and challenges
States and areas with cluster munition victims continue to face significant challenges in providing holistic and accessible
care to affected individuals, families, and communities. Each State Party should take immediate action to increase
availability and accessibility of services, particularly in remote and rural areas where they are most often absent.
Economic and psychological needs remain the least fulfilled by existing services and the Monitor has not identified any
recent efforts by States Parties to address the gaps in these areas.
All States Parties continue to provide some form of victim assistance services despite reliance on international funding
and the poor global economic outlook. However, in the two years since the convention entered into force on 1 August
2010, few significant or readily measurable improvements in the accessibility of services have been recorded in States
Parties or signatories with cluster munition victims.
Some accomplishments were identified in States Parties during 2011:
• In Afghanistan, physical accessibility continued to improve due to the work of NGOs with the cooperation
of local authorities; 47
• In Albania, the national victim assistance NGO provided some sustained economic reintegration assistance
to survivors throughout the year, while international financial support decreased significantly following the
completion of clearance activities. 48
• In BiH, the national survivor NGO was able to provide support to all new mine/ERW casualties, while state
authorities continued to provide economic reintegration support; a new victim assistance fund was in its first
year. 49
• In Croatia, psychosocial support increased through the work of NGOs as planned in the national victim assistance
strategy. 50
• In Guinea-Bissau, the national rehabilitation center reopened following a renovation completed with the support
of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the ICRC. 51
• In Lao PDR, access to medical care and prosthetics services also improved in remote areas through outreach
programs. 52
44
No survivor involvement was identified in Guinea-Bissau’s planning and coordination mechanisms.
45
No survivor involvement in victim assistance activities was identified in Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro or Sierra Leone.
46
See Monitor victim assistance country profiles, www.the-monitor.org.
47
Email from Chris Fidler, Afghanistan Country Director, Clear Path International – Kabul, 30 May 2012.
48
Email from Jonuz Kola, Executive Director, Albanian Assistance for Integration and Development (ALB-AID), 19 July 2012; Statement of
Albania, Convention on Cluster Munitions Working Group on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 16 April 2012.
49
Statement of BiH, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011;
and Anes Alic, “BiH disabled needs lack initiative,” SETimes, 28 January 2012. http://bit.ly/Oyc701.
50
ITF, “Annual Report 2011,” Ljubljana, 2012; email from Marija Breber, MineAid, 2 June 2011; Croatia, Convention on Cluster Munitions
Article 7 Report, (for the calendar year 2011), Form H; and Croatia, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 10 April 2012.
51
Email from César de Carvalho, General Director, National Mine Action Authority (CAAMI), 3 August 2011.
52
Interview with Bountao Chanthavongsa, Victim Assistance Officer, National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector in the
Lao PDR (NRA), Vientiane, 23 March 2012; email from Courtney Innes, UXO Victim Assistance Technical Advisor, NRA, 9 July 2012; and
Email from Kerryn Clarke, Project Coordinator, COPE, Vientiane, 3 July 2012.
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