Survivors of landmine explosions, as well as their families and communities, played a key role in the adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty. States must now complete the task of ensuring that all victims of landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war see their needs fulfilled and their rights respected.

Frameworks

To be sustainable, victim assistance should be integrated into broader national policies, plans and legal frameworks related to disability, health, education, employment, development, and poverty reduction. Victims should have equal access to services available to the wider population, and have access to specialized services when needed.

In 2016, States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions worked with States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty to prepare Guidance on an Integrated Approach to Victim Assistance.

The ICBL's Guiding Principles on Victim Assistance also highlight the need to use multiple approaches:

• targeted programs to ensure that victims have access to the assistance they need, including access to services that are available to a wider population
• support for the overall development of a country's health, rehabilitation, and educational infrastructure
• promoting respect for human rights for all
• relief to the most vulnerable populations, such as refugees and other displaced persons.

So far, assistance through "broader frameworks" related to disability, health, education, employment, development, and poverty reduction has been essential, but insufficient. The activities that have had the greatest impact on the lives of survivors, as well as the lives of their families and communities, have been those that are specifically designed to provide targeted victim assistance. See, Frameworks for Victim Assistance: Monitor Key Findings and Observations (December 2013)

States that indicate that the needs of victims are mostly addressed by broader frameworks, including through the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, should demonstrate how landmine victims benefit from these efforts. Donor states should show how their contributions to the broader development sector enable recipient states to assist victims. See, Frameworks for Victim Assistance: Recommendations for States (December 2013)