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Third Global Conference on Victim Assistance

The Third Global Conference on Assistance to the Victims of Anti-Personnel Mines and Other Explosive Ordnance in a Disability Rights Context took place from 17-19 October 2023 at the Conference Venue of the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra.

Only States and Organisations that have sent a Note Verbale to the isu(at)apminebanconvention.org or have registered directly with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority may attend. 

View, download the programme or give a quick look at the agenda. Disponible en français, en español, البرنامج وجدول الأعمال متاحان باللغة العربية.

Programme     |   Programme (français) |  
 Programa    |     برنامج

Agenda at-a-glance     |    En un coup d'œil |

Agenda en un vistazo |      جدول الأعمال في لمحة سريعة

  • “Victim assistance” (VA) is the name given to the obligation to “provide assistance for the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims” within the framework of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. 
  • The term ‘victim’ refers to persons either individually or collectively, who have suffered physical, emotional, and psychological injury, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights through acts or omissions related to the use of explosive ordnance (EO). Victims include people injured and killed as well as families and communities affected by these weapons.
  • Victim assistance is not only a humanitarian issue but a human rights matter that should be aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and implemented in conjunction to realise the Sustainable Development Goals. The CRPD connection is of great importance as many survivors acquire impairments as a result of the explosion of a mine or other explosive ordnance.
  • Victim assistance is therefore a cross-cutting matter and efforts in this regard should consider multidisciplinary approaches involving ministries, entities, and organisations to integrate VA into health, disability, education, labour, development, and social protection strategies among others.
  • The third global conference will build on those hosted by Colombia (2014) and Jordan (2019). It will be hosted by Cambodia, through its Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), thanks to financial support provided by a global project sponsored by the Council of the European Union.
  • The EU global project seeks to support States Parties to the Convention to implement various aspects of their treaty obligations, including victim assistance.
  • The conference will provide a platform for representatives of affected communities and survivors, disability and VA rights practitioners representing state and civil society, to discuss global challenges faced in the VA implementation.
  • Inputs will result in a call for action and may feed into a new Action Plan that the States Parties are to adopt at the Fifth Review Conference in November 2024.

Hashtag: #VAGlobalConf #MineSurvivorsRights