On Dec. 10, 1997, Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap International) was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Twenty-four years later, the fight to protect civilians continues.

In the 1980s and 1990s, on average 26,000 people a year were killed by anti-personnel mines. The vast majority were women and children.

Outraged by this injustice, Humanity & Inclusion co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992. The coalition’s campaign to outlaw these “cowardly weapons” lasted five years.

Community movement

The campaign led to the formation of a global community protest movement. Within five years, it had won a key victory: the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1997 in Ottawa, Canada. The first treaty to ban a conventional weapon, it was signed by 121 States. Today it has 164 States parties. The United States is not one of them.

Urge the U.S. to Ban Landmines

The same year, the members of the ICBL, including Humanity & Inclusion, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their “role in the promotion of international efforts for a total ban on anti-personnel landmines.”

The prize recognized the tenacity of these civil society organizations in pressuring States to ban these weapons.

“As well as being extraordinarily fast, the Ottawa process rewrote the diplomatic rule book on drawing up international treaties,” says Philippe Chabasse, former co-director of Humanity & inclusion who was responsible for the ICBL campaign. “The pressure from NGOs, the media and public opinion opened the way for a form of public diplomacy powerful enough to hold the conventional diplomatic system in check. A decade earlier, many considered the astonishing proliferation of mines and the rise in civilian casualties as ‘collateral damage’ of conflicts.

“The Ottawa Convention was, in effect, not universally legally binding,” he continues. “However, it set a new standard of behavior that had a political influence on the attitudes of non-signatory States.”

“HI was awarded the Nobel prize, which gave us much greater visibility,” Chabasse explains. “The success of our international campaign still serves as a model, two decades on, for other NGOs who want to shift institutional lines in order to work on the causes of the tragedies they are committed to fighting.”

Ongoing advocacy

For Humanity & Inclusion, this fight does not end with the ban on anti-personnel mines or the clearance of contaminated areas. There is ongoing work to help victims rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

The organization continues to pursue its campaign and leads armed violence reduction programs in 18 countries. This requires Humanity & Inclusion to work in extremely fragile situations, such as those in Iraq and Yemen, and in countries contaminated by mines or explosive devices left over from previous conflicts, like Colombia and Chad.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of other weapons, including cluster munitions, which Humanity & Inclusion helped ban under the Oslo Treaty in 2008. Mines killed or maimed 7,000 people in 2020, of whom 80% were civilians.

Humanity & Inclusion also leads a campaign to end the bombing of urban areas, since 90% of bombing casualties in populated areas are civilians.

The fight to end the use of anti-personnel mines and protect civilians is far from over.

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Maputo, Mozambique — Handicap International welcomes today’s Obama Administration statement, promising the United States “will not produce or otherwise acquire antipersonnel mines not in compliance with the (Mine Ban) treaty.” The U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique, Douglas Griffiths, read the U.S. statement today at the Third Review Conference to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. The statement lists a number of steps the U.S. will take to "ultimately allow us to accede," he read, to the landmark treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.

"It gives us great relief that the U.S. is banning the production of these deadly weapons,” said Elizabeth MacNairn, executive director of Handicap International U.S. “To hear them speak about accession to the treaty as a foreseeable goal is a cause for celebration. We feel one step closer to joining the world community – 161 other nations – in banning this deadly weapon. Landmine victims and their families around the world are ready for the U.S. to accede to the treaty."

However, the statement failed to provide clear deadlines about when President Barack Obama might submit the treaty to the United States Senate for ratification. “By not setting a firm date to complete this task, the U.S. runs the risk of allowing its landmine policy review to drift beyond President Obama's term in office as president," MacNairn added.

The statement also fell short by not committing to a full ban of the use of anti-personnel landmines.  

According to the statement, "The United States will not produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel munitions that are not compliant with the Ottawa Convention in the future, including to replace such munitions as they expire in the coming years. Meanwhile, we are diligently pursuing other solutions that would be compliant with the Convention and that would ultimately allow us to accede to the Convention. We are also conducting a high fidelity modeling and simulation effort to ascertain how to mitigate the risks associated with the loss of anti-personnel landmines. Other aspects of our landmine policy remain under consideration, and we will share outcomes from that process as we are in a position to do so."

The statement is not the outcome of a five-year-old, policy review that President Obama began in 2009, but rather an 'initial announcement', a U.S. delegate told campaigners from the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines in Maputo. 

Importantly, this language reverses the 2004 Bush policy statement, which suggested that the U.S. would never join the treaty.

Today’s announcement brings supporters of the Mine Ban Treaty one step closer to a good result, but without clear or immediate action deadlines, there is room for concern.

For more than 20 years, the U.S. has refrained from using or trading antipersonnel landmines. The country also hasn’t produced new landmines since 1997. It is by far the world’s largest donor to projects that reduce the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war, with $2 billion spent on mine action since 1993.

Yet the U.S. has continued to stock millions antipersonnel landmines, and failed to join the 161 countries that have banned the use, production, trade and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines, while aspiring to the treaty’s other obligations. This vague position could serve as carte blanche for other major powers, such as China and Russia, to remain on the sidelines of this life-saving treaty.

U.S. reluctance goes against the actions of countries working hard to progress in the fight against landmines and their devastating consequences. Global funding for action against mines reached $681 million in 2012, after a decade that saw clearance or survey work release nearly 2,000 km2 [772 square miles] of land from mines. As of June 2013, nearly 30 States Parties to the treaty have finished clearing mines from their territories, and 87 States Parties have destroyed more than 47 million stockpiled mines.

By working to acceding to the Ottawa Treaty, the U.S. confirms that these standards are essential and sets an example to follow. Handicap International urges powers like China and Russia, which along with 33 other countries have not signed the treaty, to follow the American example.

Handicap International will work to encourage U.S. authorities to achieve its goals in the months ahead. The charity runs or supports anti-mine projects in 33 countries, returning land to communities through demining, teaching people to spot, avoid and report explosive remnants of war through risk education, and providing support and care to victims of landmines. The organization works to raise the visibility of these landmine victims and their communities, so that the world is reminded of the scourge of landmines. 

Takoma Park, Maryland — March 1 marks the fourteenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, and campaigners from around the world continue to call on the United States to announce the conclusion of its landmine policy review and plans to join the treaty.

The Obama administration initiated a review of U.S. landmine policy in late 2009 in response to the outcry of the global community. At the Mine Ban Treaty’s December 2012 Meeting of States Parties, the United States observer delegation stated that the U.S. will be announcing the outcome of its three year review of its landmine policy “soon.”

“We are excited that the review will come to an end in the coming months,” said Zach Hudson, coordinator of the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL). “The world anxiously waits to hear news of U.S. progress towards accession to the Mine Ban Treaty.”

While the U.S. gives more money for minefield clearance than any other country—and has not used landmines since 1991 (in the first Gulf War), has not exported them since 1992 and has not produced landmines since 1997, it still retains millions of stockpiled antipersonnel mines for potential future use and is one of only 36 countries in the world that have not joined the Mine Ban Treaty.

“The administration needs to embrace the Mine Ban Treaty and announce concrete plans for a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines,” said Hudson. “Steps should be taken now to begin destruction of landmine stockpiles and guarantee that the U.S. will never again use this weapon that has been condemned by the vast majority of the world’s nations, including every other NATO member.”

Over the past three years, President Obama and his administration have received letters of support for U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty from 68 Senators, nearly 100 leaders of prominent U.S. nongovernmental organizations, key NATO allies, U.S. military personnel, 16 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, landmines survivors and countless citizens from around the world.

By joining the treaty, the U.S. would help send a clear signal that all types of antipersonnel mines are unacceptable weapons. Joining would also encourage other remaining outlier states to accede and strengthen international security.

From March 1 to April 4—the U.N.’s International Day for Mine Awareness, the USCBL will be joining the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in the global Lend Your Leg campaign. The Lend Your Leg concept—asking individuals to roll up their pant leg as a symbolic gesture to say "no more landmines" in order to urge decision makers to take action—was launched by the Colombian NGO Fundación Arcángeles in 2011 to call attention to the issue of landmines and their devastating effect on communities in Colombia and throughout the world.

Beginning today, Lend Your Leg campaigners from around the world are launching events to urge governments that remain outside the Mine Ban Treaty to join immediately and urging all governments to take steps towards achieving a mine-free world including: speeding clearance of contaminated land, providing more and better assistance to survivors, their families and communities, and destruction of all remaining stockpiles of antipersonnel mines.

About the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
The USCBL, currently coordinated by Handicap International, is a coalition of thousands of people and U.S. non-governmental organizations working to: (1) ensure no U.S. use, production, or transfer of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions; (2) encourage the U.S. to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions; and (3) secure high levels of U.S. government support for clearance and assistance programs for victims of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. The USCBL is the U.S. affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)—the co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize—and is a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international coalition working to protect civilians from the effects of cluster munitions by promoting universal adherence to and full implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. www.uscbl.org

Contacts
Zach Hudson, Coordinator
United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
+1 (917) 860-1883
[email protected]

Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]

Takoma Park, Maryland — Handicap International is calling on the Obama administration to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The life-saving treaty marks its 14th year of entry into force on March 1, counting 161 States Parties, but countries including China, Iran, Russia, Syria and the U.S. have yet to join.

More than 1.1 million people have signed Handicap International petitions pushing for the eradication of landmines since 1995. In the past five months, the charity has collected an additional 52,868 signatures—34,082 from Americans—urging President Obama to submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification now.

The U.S. has an estimated stockpile of 10.4 million anti-personnel mines. However, it has not used antipersonnel mines since 1991 or produced new ones since 1997. The U.S. is the only member of NATO and the only country in the western hemisphere, aside from Cuba, that has not joined the treaty. Despite not being a States Party to the treaty, the U.S. has committed more than any other country to landmine clearance, victim assistance, and other mine action, supplying $534.5 million in aid since 2007.

The Treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Since its creation, almost 4,000 km² of mined land has been cleared and nearly 135 million landmines have been destroyed. However, millions of landmines, some dating back to World War II, still lay hidden in more than 60 countries.

These indiscriminate weapons and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) cannot mark the difference between the step of a solider or that of a child. They claim roughly one new victim every two hours. According to the 2012 Landmine Monitor, more than 70 percent of victims are civilians and of these, 42 percent are children. The report also states that there are hundreds of thousands of landmine survivors and most will need support for the rest of their lives.

“The use of anti-personnel landmines is a very serious violation of humanitarian principles,” says Elizabeth MacNairn, executive director of Handicap International U.S. “Placed during periods of conflict, anti-personnel mines affect innocent civilians first and foremost, even long after conflicts have ended.”

The Mine Ban Treaty was signed in 1997, following the campaigning of Handicap International and five other organizations. For its efforts, Handicap International and its partners were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

In 2009, President Obama launched a review of the U.S. landmine policy to determine whether the U.S. will join the treaty. In a statement delivered in December, at the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, Steven Costner, deputy director of Weapons Removal and Abatement at the U.S. Department of State, said “our review has identified operational issues related to accession that require careful consideration. This consideration is ongoing, and we expect to be able to announce a decision soon.” He later defined “soon”—before the November 2013 Meeting of States Parties.

“As a fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, President Obama has the moral responsibility to take a firm stand against landmines,” says MacNairn.

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent international aid organization. It has been working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 30 years. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our actions and testimony focus on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and basic rights. Since 1982, Handicap International has set up development programs in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organization's principles and actions. Handicap International is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and winner of the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Handicap International takes action and campaigns in places where “standing tall” is no easy task.

Contacts
Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]

Geneva, Switzerland — At the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, the United States observer delegation stated that the U.S. will be announcing the outcome of its three-year review of its landmine policy—and whether or not it will join the treaty—“soon.”

In the statement, Steve Costner, deputy director of Weapons Removal and Abatement at the U.S. Department of State, said, “We have not made a decision on United States accession to the Convention. Our review has identified operational issues related to accession that require careful consideration. This consideration is ongoing, and we expect to be able to announce a decision soon.”

In response, the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) held a briefing to discuss the statement and the status of the review. Speaking as a member of the panel, Costner indicated that “soon” meant—at the least—that an announcement of the decision of the review would take place no later than the next Meeting of States Parties in November 2013.

Civil society campaigners at the conference recognized that this was the first time the administration has indicated publicly that the review is nearing conclusion, but were disappointed that there was no mention of an actual end date for the review; information about the current stage of the process; or what “operational issues” had been identified—and what strategy was being implemented to overcome them.

“On the one hand, we were happy to see the continued engagement of the U.S.,” said Zach Hudson, USCBL coordinator. “And it was also positive to hear that the review would be completed ‘soon.’ But on the other hand, at this point we expected a stronger statement. This process has been languishing for three years now. We hope the President will now take bold action at the beginning of his second term and ban this weapon once and for all.”

At the briefing, Costner also stated, in response to questions about the “operational issues” cited in the statement, “We’ve made real progress. We’ve identified the issues. Our homework is done. Now it’s about looking at the options and going forward.”

The U.S. reportedly retains some 10 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines for potential future use. With Poland’s imminent ratification of the treaty, also announced at this conference, the U.S. is now one of only 36 countries in the world that have not joined the Mine Ban Treaty—and is the only member of NATO that is not a States Party, and the only country in the Western Hemisphere, aside from Cuba, that has not joined.

Over the past three years, Obama and his administration have received letters of support for U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty from 68 Senators, nearly 100 leaders of prominent U.S. nongovernmental organizations, key NATO allies, U.S. military personnel, 16 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, landmines survivors and countless citizens from around the world.

“The U.S. was the first government to call for the elimination of antipersonnel landmines in 1994, but then President Clinton postponed joining the treaty until 2006, and President Bush did away with that goal altogether,” said Steve Goose, executive director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch and Head of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Delegation. “We’re still waiting.”

One hundred and fifteen countries are registered at the States Party Meeting—including the U.S. and 17 non-States Parties participating as observers.

About the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
The USCBL, currently coordinated by Handicap International, is a coalition of thousands of people and U.S. non-governmental organizations working to: (1) ensure no U.S. use, production, or transfer of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions; (2) encourage the U.S. to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions; and (3) secure high levels of U.S. government support for clearance and assistance programs for victims of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. The USCBL is the U.S. affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)—the co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize—and is a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international coalition working to protect civilians from the effects of cluster munitions by promoting universal adherence to and full implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. www.uscbl.org

Contacts
Zach Hudson, Coordinator
United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
+1 (917) 860-1883
[email protected]

Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]

The 12th Conference of the States Parties to the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines opened December 3, at the Palace of Nations in Geneva.

Geneva, Switzerland — The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) joins Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) campaigners and landmine survivors from nearly 40 countries in calling on governments to commit to eradicating antipersonnel landmines in years, not decades. The call comes at the opening of the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties (12MSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty, taking place from December 3-7 in Geneva. More than 100 governments are expected to participate—including the United States, which will participate as an observer.

The USCBL welcomes the participation of the U.S. delegation at the conference. In response to calls from civil society for the United States to join the Mine Ban Treaty, the Obama administration began a review of U.S. landmine policy in December 2009, but has yet to announce the conclusions of the review. The USCBL continues to urge the United States to move swiftly towards accession to the treaty and, during the upcoming conference, expects to hear news of the administration’s progress.

“We’re excited that the U.S. is here at the conference,” said Zach Hudson, coordinator of the USCBL. “We welcome their active engagement and are looking forward to hearing about the status of the landmine policy review following the recent U.S. presidential election. We look forward to a future when the United States has joined the treaty and destroyed the 10.4 million landmines currently held in its arsenal.”

Over the past three years, President Obama and his administration have received letters of support for U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty from 68 Senators, nearly 100 leaders of prominent U.S. nongovernmental organizations, key NATO allies, U.S. military personnel, 16 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, landmines survivors and countless citizens from around the world.

The 12MSP begins 15 years to the day after the Mine Ban Treaty was opened for signature in Ottawa, where it was signed by 122 states. Since the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty vast tracts of land have been cleared. Nineteen states have declared their territories mine-free to date, and four more—the Republic of Congo, Denmark, Jordan, and Uganda—are expected to announce completion of mine clearance at this year’s meeting. More than 46 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed under the treaty. Most importantly, the annual casualty rate from landmines and explosive remnants of war has decreased dramatically since the treaty came into force.

Today 160 countries, or more than 80% of countries worldwide, have joined the treaty, with another—Poland—expected to announce its ratification during the meeting. With Poland, all of the European Union and all of NATO, with the exception of the United States, will be States Parties.

“This week, and for as long as it takes, we will continue to challenge the international community to finish the job we started some 20 years ago, to definitively end use of these weapons, and to fully address consequences of past use, and to do so as quickly as possible. The giant steps taken over the past 15 years prove that this is not only possible, but imminet," said ICBL Director, Katarzyna Derlicka.

More Information
ICBL 20th Anniversary Video 
Landmine Monitor 2012 
Individual country profiles

About the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
The USCBL, currently coordinated by Handicap International, is a coalition of thousands of people and U.S. non-governmental organizations working to: (1) ensure no U.S. use, production, or transfer of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions; (2) encourage the U.S. to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions; and (3) secure high levels of U.S. government support for clearance and assistance programs for victims of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. The USCBL is the U.S. affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)—the co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize—and is a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international coalition working to protect civilians from the effects of cluster munitions by promoting universal adherence to and full implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. www.uscbl.org

Contacts
Zach Hudson, Coordinator
United States Campaign to Ban Landmines
+1 (917) 860-1883
[email protected]

Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]

Takoma Park, Maryland — Handicap International welcomes the participation of the U.S. delegation at the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, from December 3 to 7. In response to calls from civil society, the Obama administration began a review of U.S. landmine policy in December 2009, but has yet to announce its conclusions. Now that President Obama has been elected for a second term, Handicap International urges his administration to move swiftly towards accession to the treaty. News of the administration’s progress is expected during the upcoming conference.

The 2012 Landmine Monitor—an annual report that provides a global overview of developments in mine ban policy; mine contamination, clearance, and casualties; and support for victim assistance and mine action—was released on Nov. 29, and presents several disturbing findings. Handicap International is particularly concerned about a reported 30% drop in international funding for victim assistance last year. Despite the overall reduction in aid to victims, however, the U.S. has increased its mine action aid.

If the U.S., which has supplied $534.5 million in aid since 2007, making it the biggest funder of mine action,” says Elizabeth MacNairn, Executive Director of Handicap International U.S. “However, assistance must be coupled with an absolute ban on further use of the weapon. It is time for the U.S. to match its policy to its financial commitment by ratifying the Mine Ban Treaty and destroying the 10.4 million landmines currently held within the U.S. stockpile." The Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.

The 2012 Landmine Monitor counted 4,286 new victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2011. It estimates that around the world, there are more than 500,000 survivors of mine accidents who require lifelong assistance. However, the resources deployed by the State Parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty are not equal to the very serious challenges faced.

“Funding for victim assistance is at its lowest ever level since the Landmine Monitor began keeping records,” says MacNairn. “Last year the State donors gave only $30 million to support 500,000 survivors and their families and communities which is clearly not enough.”

Eighty-eight countries and territories are still affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. One new victim of these weapons is recorded every two hours. Almost three-quarters of these victims are civilians, and more than 40% are children. In some countries, the proportion of child victims is much higher: in Kenya, Uganda, and Yemen, 90% of victims are children and the figure stands at about 60% in Libya, Afghanistan, and Laos (58%). Yet, because of the reduction in international aid, countries such as Afghanistan and Uganda have had to scale down or halt victim assistance projects.

"The needs [of child victims] are greater than those of adults,” says Rahmatullah Merzaveean, an Afghan Ban Advocate who lost both legs in a landmine explosion at the age of nine. “Their prosthetic limbs need regular adjustment as they grow, treatment is lengthy and costly, and they run a particularly high risk of exclusion from the education system."

Handicap International and Ban Advocates, an association of survivors of landmine and cluster munition explosions, will attend the 12th Meeting of States Parties, to remind the governments present of their responsibilities and to call on them to fully respect the obligations set out in the Treaty. Ban Advocates will also confront the States Parties with the appalling consequences of landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Handicap International currently works in 63 countries, 40 of which are polluted by landmines and explosive remnants of war. The organization implements mine clearance, risk education, rehabilitation, and victim assistance projects. Its expertise in the field gives legitimacy to its international advocacy work to ban and eradicate these weapons.

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent international aid organization. It has been working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 30 years. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our actions and testimony focus on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and basic rights. Since 1982, Handicap International has set up development programs in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organization's principles and actions. Handicap International is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and winner of the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Handicap International takes action and campaigns in places where “standing tall” is no easy task.

About Ban Advocates 
Ban Advocates are survivors of landmine or cluster munition accidents who lobby governments in favor of banning these weapons and ensuring that the rights of victims are fully respected. Today the group is comprised of 30 victims from eight polluted countries (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Serbia and Vietnam). This project was launched by Handicap International in Serbia in September 2007. Handicap International has supported their initiatives every year since.

Contacts
Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]