Responsibility
IN a report dated May 2003 and titled Explosive remnants of war in Sri Lanka, Landmine Action says that users of munitions that create explosive remnants of war should continue to be responsible for clearance or the provision of financial, technical and practical assistance. The London-based agency has called on the parties to act more proactively in providing maps of landmines and information to institutions involved in mine clearance. The report says that explosive remnants are impeding peace efforts, delaying resettlement and reconstruction and hampering humanitarian and development initiatives. Children make up a significant proportion of landmine victims in north-east Sri Lanka. There were 65 incidents of injuries and deaths in Jaffna peninsula by explosive devices in 2002 and 30% of the victims were children. In the Vanni, there were 26 incidents between January and August 2002 and 38% were children. Death or injury has serious economic implications for households that may have already been torn apart by the effects of war, particularly where the principal breadwinner of the family has been killed or unable to return to work. These families need long-term rehabilitation services such as vocational training and micro-credit schemes.
Even though women are less likely to be victims of explosive remnants of war, such incidents still have a long-term effect on their lives. As a result of the conflict, there is a higher proportion of female-headed households in the north-east. The burden for female heads of households is doubled if their children are disabled by landmines as they have to care for them for the rest of their lives with limited support from social services. Landmine Action has called for sustained funding from the international community for clearance and other mine action initiatives.
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