20th Anniversary Informal Session - Statement by Jesús Martínez

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Intervention by Jesús Martínez
20th anniversary informal session
11th Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
30 November 2011

My name is Jesús Martínez. I am from El Salvador. I lost my legs by a landmine when I was seventeen years old. I am one of thousands of innocent victims because I was not part of any arm group in conflict. I just was walking to my job.

As a mine survivor I have had the opportunity to take part to these conferences during eleven years and I can assert that the participation of survivors to the work of the campaign has been very important to make many countries take action in fulfilling their treaty obligations through taking significant steps regarding the clearing of affected territories or the destruction of stocks, among other.

However, there is still a long way to go in assisting victims and this is indeed still today the challenge for many countries.

We, survivors, will continue to insist in this respect: well elaborated laws do not suffice; it is of greater importance that resources are assigned for the application of those laws since only then will the assistance of victims and the disabled be a reality.

Those of us survivors who had the chance to be trained in this field through the initiative “Raising the Voices”, now play a leadership role in our countries and regions, always with the intention of insisting on the need for governments to fulfill their treaty obligations once and for all.

It is also important to underline that other countries have increasingly adhered to the Convention, with an important role played by civil society through ICBL.

We applaud those countries, but we also urge them to join us in a call to the rest of countries not yet adhered to such an important instrument to do so without delay.