Campaigners call for UK aid to save lives and limbs of children in conflict zones
Campaigners are calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to ensure that UK aid saves lives and limbs by helping to prevent accidents involving landmines and explosive remnants of war. Children make up almost half of the recorded civilian victims of these weapons.
With conflict gripping the Middle East, increasing numbers of civilians are in danger from landmines and explosive remnants of war - in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and further afield in countries such as Libya and Afghanistan.
There is an urgent need for risk education, especially for people living in or returning to conflict-affected areas. According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, 96% of recorded victims of cluster munitions in 2013 were killed or maimed in Syria.
Naturally curious and often unaware of the danger, children are particularly at risk. In 2013, 46% of recorded civilian victims were under 18 years old, and this figure is even higher in some of the worst-affected countries.
A petition highlighting the issue is calling on the UK to provide life-saving risk education to civilians in conflict zones, and to urgently prioritise weapons clearance in contaminated areas as soon as the situation allows.
Aleema Shivji, Director of Handicap International UK says, “In the midst of the crisis engulfing Syria and surrounding countries, it’s easy to forget the hidden danger posed by unexploded weapons. People living in or returning to areas affected by fighting are at serious risk of death or injury, especially children. That’s why we’re calling on the UK to take action now, before it’s too late, by providing risk education to save lives and limbs."
The petition is part of the Forgotten 10 Challenge, coordinated by the charity Handicap International UK. From the 1st to 10th December 2014, local clubs, community groups and schools around the UK are holding events to raise awareness and funds in support of the forgotten victims of conflict.
Notes
• The petition can be signed at www.handicap-international.org.uk/LivesAndLimbs
• The 3rd December 2014 marks 17 years since the Mine Ban Treaty was signed and six years since the Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed.
• As part of the Forgotten 10 Challenge (1st-10th December), campaigners are taking action in Ashford, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Darlington, Derby, Glasgow, London, Northampton, Rugby, Skipton, Tamworth, Wigan. A full list of actions can be found at: http://bit.ly/1HRSpcL
For media enquiries, please contact:
Tom Shelton, Handicap International UK
Email: tom.shelton@hi-uk.org
Mob: 44 (0)7508 810 520
Tel: 44 (0)870 774 3737
Please contact for case studies and interviews. Photos of risk education available at: http://bit.ly/HI-Photos-RiskEducation
About Handicap International
Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an international aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, we take action and raise awareness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Handicap International is a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition. www.handicap-international.org.uk
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