Explosive weapons

For more than thirty years, Humanity & Inclusion has repeatedly emphasized this: the count of victims of a war does not stop at the end of the conflict. For three decades in Cambodia, and now also in Iraq, Libya and Syria, scattered weapons, landmines, cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war, used especially in populated areas, will continue to to make victims, mostly civilians.

Over half of the world's countries are affected by contamination from landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war.

These weapons can lie dormant for many years, claiming victims long after a conflict has ended. They are a significant cause of disability, instilling fear in whole communities, deepening poverty and acting as a lethal barrier to development.

Weapons clearance, risk education and victim assistance

Faced with the devastation caused by antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions, Humanity & Inclusion soon realised that medical care alone would not be enough. We therefore made a commitment to work on all levels to help mine victims and their communities lead independent lives.

We prevent accidents by clearing weapons including landmines and cluster bombs, and educating the local population about the risks. We also help survivors back into society through artificial limb fitting, physiotherapy, counselling, inclusive education, income-generating activities and sports.

Campaigning to protect civilians

Drawing on its experience in the fight against anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs, the association has developed its expertise in risk reduction and accident prevention for conventional weapons: mines, explosive remnants of war, light weapons (portable and used by a single person) and small-calibre weapons (designed for use by two or three people working in a team).

It works with vulnerable, refugee and displaced civilian populations threatened by the presence of these weapons, in emergency, reconstruction and development contexts, to protect them by creating safer communities. To this end, it disseminates prevention messages to communities at risk; teaches them how to manage risks; identifies, maps and marks dangerous areas; and ensures the destruction of mines, explosive remnants of war and obsolete small arms and light weapons in compliance with international standards. In addition, it secures arms and munitions depots at risk of explosion, and assists partners in their management. The association aims to restore dialogue between communities affected by armed violence.

The four sectors of activity in conventional weapons risk reduction:

1. Information management (surveys on the nature and location of the explosive threat; the human - socio-economic impact of weapons; knowledge/ attitudes/ behavior; perception of security; etc.)
2. Community safety and protection (risk awareness management; public information campaigns; advocacy; conflict transformation)
3. Conventional weapons destruction (demining; road and battlefield clearance)
4. Securing and managing stocks of weapons and munitions (securing/rehabilitating infrastructures; marking weapons and munitions, etc.)

International mobilization

Humanity & Inclusion was created in 1982 in response to the horrific landmine injuries suffered by Cambodian refugees. Soon, we realised that action needed to be taken at an international level to ban these indiscriminate weapons.

Antipersonnel mines

In 1992, Humanity & Inclusion and five other NGOs founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). Thanks to the mobilization of civil society - over two million signatures collected since 1992 - and lobbying of governments, the Mine Ban Treaty was signed in Ottawa in December 1997 on Canada's initiative. It came into force on March 1, 1999. States that ratify the treaty are prohibited from using, stockpiling, producing or transferring anti-personnel mines. They must also destroy their stockpiles. For their relentless fight against landmines, which culminated in the Ottawa Treaty, Humanity & Inclusion and the other members of the ICBL were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. The relentless work of international advocacy continues to ensure that every country on the planet finally joins the Ottawa Treaty, including the biggest producers, the USA, Russia and China. 66 countries and 5 disputed territories are polluted by anti-personnel mines in October 2013.

Cluster Munitions

Since 2003, Humanity & Inclusion has been campaigning for these weapons, which by their very nature violate international humanitarian law, to be banned once and for all. The association was one of the founding members of the Cluster Munition Coalition, which in 2008 brought together nearly 300 NGOs to speak out strongly to governments and lobby for a ban on cluster bombs. On December 3, 2008, the outcome of this fight was significant: 96 countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in Oslo. It came into force on August 1, 2010. The Oslo treaty definitively bans the use, manufacture, trade and stockpiling of cluster bombs. On the ground, much remains to be done to enable civilian populations to return to normal life, particularly in terms of land clearance and victim assistance.

Explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA)

The use of explosive weapons - mines, cluster bombs, missiles, rockets, shells, aerial bombs... - in populated areas claims tens of thousands of new civilian victims every year.

These weapons cause suffering and serious injuries, even amputation, as well as severe handicaps and deep psychological trauma. They destroy homes, schools, hospitals, etc. After the conflict, weapons that failed to explode on impact are not only a threat to the safety of the population, but also an obstacle to the country's reconstruction. They also force people into extreme poverty.

Humanity & Inclusion invites Canadas citizens to say NO to anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs, and to mobilize together against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, another example of injustice and disrespect for the rules of conflict.

To make your voice count, sign our online petition #STOPBombingCivilians.

Mines and cluster bombs claim a victim worldwide approximately every 2 hours.
Between 5% and 40% of cluster munitions fail to explode on impact, turning into anti-personnel mines. 
94% of recorded cluster munition victims are civilians. 
Of the 875 million small arms and light weapons in circulation worldwide - revolvers, rifles, pistols, etc. - 74% are in civilian hands*.
* Gun Violence: The Global Crisis, IANSA, 2007.