Working Group 2a: Victim Assistance

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The Victim Assistance working group was co-chaired by Colombia and Chile and led by Mr. Carlos Orozco, National Coordinator of the Comprehensive Action Against Anti-personnel Mines Program of the OAS in Nicaragua. The session started out with a case study of Nicaragua and its particular problems with victim assistance. Not only is Nicaragua the most mined country in the continent, but also its problems are compounded by the fact that the population is so poor. Most survivors are males who have big families and earn a living through farming. The most important aspect of victim assistance within Nicaragua is the coordination between the Red Cross, the OAS, the police and the hospital so that victims can receive medical attention. The OAS pays for the hospital stay as well as food for the survivor's family.

The working group touched on the following main points:

Reintegration

• It is important to go beyond physical help and healing to find both mentally and emotionally what will heal the victim. This includes providing the victim's family with a stable framework of support and in the long run, making the victim the protagonist of his own future.
• Training is only a means to a job, not an end to the problem. Victims must have help with reintegration, job training isn't enough, they must be able to find a job with the training they are given.
• Support on the community level, not just international level, is important for successful reintegration.

Coordination of Resources

• Resources are useless unless the victims know how to use them and where to find them.
• There are different specializations all around South America, the different centers need to collaborate so that they can better serve and be available to the victims.
• There should be a standard procedure so that people on all levels know what to do with mine victims at every level of rehabilitation, starting from the moment of the accident.

Resources

• Rural areas have very limited resources and almost no access to hospitals.
• Victims need constant medical attention, it doesn't end with prosthesis.
• It is very important to strengthen national capabilities such as Government programs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and encourage collaboration between these resources.

Concluded working points for this working group were:

• The development, by mine-affected countries, of an integral and comprehensive victim assistance national plan by 2004
• The creation of a mechanism for the exchange of information on experiences and technical and human resource expertise in this area
• The involvement of public and private health institutions at all stages of care, whenever considered appropriate