Regional Conference on Advancing Victim Assistance Implementation and Cooperation

Victim assistance (VA) in the framework of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention aims to provide assistance for “the care and rehabilitation, including the social and economic reintegration of mine victims’’, in particular by recognising the rights and needs of landmine survivors, affected families and communities.

In realising this obligation, the Convention’s States Parties have agreed to ensure the full, equal, and effective participation of mine victims in society, based on respect for human rights, gender equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination.

They have also recognised that to be effective and sustainable, victim assistance should be integrated into broader national policies, plans, and legal frameworks related to the rights of persons with disabilities, and to health, education, employment, development, and poverty reduction in support of the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. States Parties with victims in areas under their jurisdiction or control have agreed to endeavour to do their utmost to provide appropriate, affordable, and accessible services to mine victims, on an equal basis with others.

To realise these commitments, the Convention agreed to a number of actions contained in the 2020-2024 Oslo Action Plan. A new Plan guiding efforts to implement – among others – victim assistance for the period 2025-2029 is expected to be adopted during the Fifth Review Conference in November.

The conference would therefore provide an opportunity to European States Parties to share their experience and lessons learnt under the Oslo Action Plan to feed into a new Plan – including on enhancing cooperation for victim assistance and harmonising efforts with those carried out to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and meet the Sustainable Development Goals