Addis Ababa, March 5, 2014 (SPS) - A Saharawi delegation participated Tuesday to the first day of the African Union Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workshop discussing status and solutions to the challenges involved in providing assistance for people injured by landmines, cluster munitions or other explosive remnants of war.
The Saharawi delegation is headed by the President of the Association of victims of Landmines, Mr. Aziz Haidar, accompanied by expert Khatri Ali Boumrah, and the First Secretary of the Saharawi Embassy to the AU and Ethiopia, Baba Omar bardi.
This three days workshop was opened Tuesday in the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will be concluded on Thursday 6 March.
The attendees listened to presentations on the African and international agreements and documents related to the persons with disabilities, and discussed the ways and methods to follow and gather information about the victims, and the challenges facing the fulfillment of the international obligation towards them.
“Over the past 15 years, a series of treaties have been adopted which aim to ensure not only that landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war are cleared but also that victims receive the assistance they require,” said Claude Tardif, who is in charge of the ICRC’s physical rehabilitation activities.
“Member States of the African Union have taken steps to implement these treaties at national level. Nevertheless, many States that are party to these instruments continue to face challenges in meeting their obligations in the area of victim assistance.”
Participants included African Union Commission representatives, senior officials from the ministries responsible for planning, promoting and implementing victim assistance, and victim-assistance experts from the member States, from the ICRC, and from international and non-governmental organizations.
The Saharawi representative in this meeting presented to the participants the Saharawi experience in this field, the achievements so far realized and the challenges still to meet.
The meeting will continue tomorrow and the day after to develop more on the needs of the victims and the best ways to assist them in their economic and social life. (SPS)
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