Annual report 2009 - Handicap International

xz landMinEs 2009Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina x Lebanon x Mozambique xSenegal.Landmine and cluster munitions advocacyFollowing the signing of the cluster munitions ban treatyin Oslo in December 2008, Handicap International has focusedits efforts on advocating its universal adoption. On31 December 2009, the treaty was signed by 104 states.For its part, France ratifi ed the treaty on the eve of the ShoePyramid event organised by Handicap International in thirtytwoFrench towns and cities on 26 September 2009.In December, the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free Worldin Colombia brought together countries party to the OttawaTreaty to review how the treaty, which entered into forcein March 1999, has been applied over the last fi ve years.To coincide with the summit, four countries declared themselvesto be “mine-free” - Albania, Greece, Rwanda andZambia. However, nineteen states that should have completedtheir demining operations asked for an extension tofi nish the process, revealing the scale of the task to be accomplished.Victim assistanceHandicap International does not believe that assisting victimsof mines and explosive remnants of war should belimited to orthopaedic-fi tting and rehabilitation services. Itshould also help people return to normal life and promotetheir educational and socio-economic inclusion. This wasthe message pressed home at the Cartagena Summit inDecember 2009. The association has produced guidelinesfor implementing national victim assistance programmes,which place the emphasis on adapting existing services andinvolving survivors and people with disabilities.At operational level, Handicap International provided supportto the Algerian and Nepalese governments to developand implement such assistance programmes.Countries: Afghanistan x Albania x Algeria x Bosnia-Herzegovina x Cambodia x Ethiopia x Iraq x Jordan xMozambique x Nepal x Nicaragua x Senegal x Serbia x Sudanx Sri Lanka x Thailand.© Mary WarehamCartagena Summitmore than a thousand representatives from over 130 countriesreviewed how the terms of the mine Ban Treaty have been appliedover the last five years and adopted a new action plan for the nextfive years.In Southern Sudan, nearly 200 peoplewith disabilities benefi ted from rehabilitationactivities, 560 injured personsreceived care and the awareness of morethan 1,500 families was raised to thecauses of disability.SenegalAs well as the 6,200 villagers whose land was cleared of mines,humanitarian demining operations also benefited some 1000 displacedfamilies, representing a total of 10,500 people who can nowplan their return home.© O. Shu / Handicap InternationalAnnual report 2009 ı 15