Landmine ban committee strengthens ties to disabled community

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 25 – Experts participating in the meetings of the Standing Committees of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention highlighted the link between their efforts and those of others concerned with assisting persons with disabilities. Albania heads the Committee in which a landmark World Report on Disability was presented. “The report is of particular interest to States Parties of the Convention,” said Gazmend Turdiu, the senior Albanian diplomat who presides over the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. “It highlights the discrimination and barriers faced by those living with a disability; situations too often faced by landmine survivors.” “The World Report is especially significant given the commitment by the States Parties to this Convention to integrate landmine victim assistance efforts into a broader disability context,” explained Turdiu. “The applicability of the report in the context of the Convention makes it an important resource.” “More than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. That means there are more than one billion people, including landmine survivors around the world, who want access, better attitudes and inclusion,” said Dr. Tom Shakespeare of the World Health Organization, speaking at the Convention’s Standing Committee on Victim Assistance. Dr. Shakespeare was a special guest of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, who presented the report. “The World Report takes a holistic approach to disabilities. All of the recommendations in the report are of benefit to landmine survivors,” said Dr. Shakespeare. According to the World Report, persons with disabilities have “poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities.” Like millions of persons living with disabilities, landmine survivors are also often at a disadvantage regarding access to health care and education. More than twenty of the States who are party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention have reported that they are ultimately responsible for significant numbers of landmine survivors. The efforts of these States and others to fulfill their promise to assist survivors have the potential to reduce the difficulties faced by those with disabilities.