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Cluster Munition Monitor 2012
and international organizations had begun to rebuild infrastructure, including national physical rehabilitation capacity. 62
There was little to no progress in the three areas with cluster munition victims (Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh and Western
Sahara). More information about victim assistance in these countries and areas is available in the Landmine Monitor
report and through their Monitor country profiles.
National and international laws
States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions are legally bound to provide adequate assistance to cluster
munition victims; according to the convention, victim assistance should be implemented in accordance with applicable
international humanitarian and human rights law. Applicable international law includes the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities and the Mine Ban Treaty. Other instruments with relevant provisions that could support the
implementation of the victim assistance obligations of the Convention on Cluster Munitions include the Convention on
Conventional Weapons (CCW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Of the ten States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions with cluster munition victims, six are party to the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (BiH, Croatia, Lao PDR, Mozambique, Montenegro, and Sierra Leone) and two have
signed but not yet ratified (Albania and Lebanon) while Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau have not yet joined.
Under the Vientiane Action Plan, Convention on Cluster Munitions States Parties are supposed to review their national
laws and policies within one year of entry into force to ensure that they are consistent with their victim assistance
obligations under the convention. National legislation should ensure “the full realisation of the rights of all cluster
munition victims,” as called for by the convention.
Most states with cluster munition victims have taken steps to develop and implement national laws and policies
relevant to persons with disabilities, often as a result of their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. However, overall legislation remains inadequate and weak, and is poorly enforced in most countries.
Developments in 2011 and the first half of 2012 with respect to national legislation included:
• In BiH, legislation was adopted to improve the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities, including
survivors. 63
• In Croatia, the position of Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities was strengthened in order to monitor
implementation of legislation. There was extensive legislation relevant to the rights of persons with disabilities,
but it remained fragmented. 64
• In Lao PDR, a law on the rights of persons with disabilities prepared in 2008 was under still being considered
and other relevant regulations were adopted, including on physical accessibility. 65
• Mozambique ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in January 2012, but lacks
adequate legislation. 66
• Montenegro adopted a new disability law that clarified which discriminatory actions were illegal. 67
At the Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings in April 2012, states discussed how to improve
integration of the implementation of victim assistance provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions into other
existing national coordination mechanisms, such as those of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
At the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2011, the Cluster Munition Coalition called on States Parties
to use existing designated victim assistance focal points within governments to strengthen the connections between
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. 68 In 2011, the
ICBL-CMC produced a guidance document to enhance victim assistance by emphasizing accessibility, employment, and
education for survivors and persons with disabilities. 69
62
“Overstretched health service needs sustained support,” IRIN News (Benghazi), 1 September 2011. http://bit.ly/OgHCeq; and WHO, “Libya
Crisis Update,” August 2011.
63
Statement of BiH, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011;
European Commission (EC), “Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011 Progress Report: Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2011–2012,”
Brussels, 10 October 2011, p. 40.
64
Croatia, CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report, Form C (for calendar year 2010), 31 March 2012; Association for the Promotion of Equal
Opportunities, ” Hrvatska dvadeset godina poslije - žrtve mina gdje su, što rade i što trebaju” (“Croatia Twenty years later – victims of
landmines: where they are, what they are doing and what they need”), 2011, pp. 21-22 & 42; and EC, “Croatia 2011 Progress Report,”
Commission staff working document, Brussels, 12 October 2011, pp. 10 & 51.
65
Lao PDR, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period of 1 December 2010 to 31 December 2011), Form H, Page 11,
22 March 2012.
66
Response to Monitor questionnaire by Luis Silvestre Wamusse, National Coordinator, Network for Mine Victims (RAVIM), 7 June 2012.
67
US Department of State, “2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Montenegro,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012.
68
The CMC also urged governments to ensure that focal points have authority, credibility and adequate capacity to champion the inclusion of
survivors in existing national disability councils, disability registers and plans; CMC also urged them to coordinate with disability actors who
are working on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Statement of the Cluster Munition Coalition,
Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 15 September 2011.
69
The Guide looks at victim assistance in the frameworks of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, and the Mine Ban Treaty, including its Cartagena Action Plan (2009-2014). ICBL-CMC, “Connecting the Dots: Detailed
Guidance,” April 2011.
60