Victim’s Declaration, Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

A group of cluster munitions and landmines victims together to deliver the Victim's Declaration at the end of the Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 16th September

Victim’s Declaration, Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions,Beirut, Lebanon

Before delivering this Declaration, Raed Mokaled, a Lebanese Ban Advocate, reminded the audience of the tragedy that happened to his family: the loss of his son Ahmad, 5 years old, in 1999, in a public park near Nabathieh in the South of Lebanon, contaminated with cluster munitions. 

Thoummy Silamphan, a Lao Ban Advocate, together with Margaret Arach Orech, a campaigner from Uganda, delivered a strong Victim’s Declaration, to ask governments to take immediate action to assist the victims, with the support of both the international community and the victims themselves in affected countries.

It was a key moment during the week, as all other victims were behind the three speakers, to remind all Delegates before their travel back home that the most important aspect of the Convention is the human impact that the cluster munitions can cause; the need to support the victims and clear the land to avoid more victims in the coming years.

Victim's Declaration delivered by victims, Beirut, 16th September