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Created by and for survivors, LSN empowers individuals and communities affected by landmines to recover from trauma, reclaim their lives and fulfill their rights.
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World Landmine News
LSN Secures Bi-partisan Support for Victim Assistance Programs
LSN Executive Director Jerry White and Her Majesty Queen Noor met with Senators on Capitol Hill April 11th, and succeeded in securing bi-partisan support for international disability and victim assistance legislation.
Her Majesty met with key Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the work of Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) and the need for increased funding for international disability and victim assistance programs worldwide. By the end of the day, Senators Lincoln Chafee (Rhode Island), Gordon Smith (Oregon) and Sam Brownback (Kansas) pledged their immediate support for S. 1777, the “The International Disability and Victims of Landmines, Civil Strife and Warfare Assistance Act of 2001”.
This legislation will expand authority at the USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services to provide increased assistance for: Medical and Rehabilitative Services; Research, Prevention and Public Awareness Campaigns; and Facilitation of Peer Support Networks for Individuals with Disabilities, including Victims of Landmines, and other Victims of Civil Strife and Warfare.
Later the same day, Her Majesty appeared as Guest Speaker at a Senate Briefing titled Landmines in Afghanistan: A Case for Victim Assistance. The Senate Briefing was sponsored by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York), Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont) and Arlen Specter (R- Pennsylvania). LSN Board Member, Ambassador Karl R. Inderfurth introduced the panel and moderated the discussion.
Her Majesty, Patron and Honorary Chair of LSN, described the plight of landmine victims worldwide and made the case for the importance of increased support for victim assistance programs. Her Majesty spoke passionately about the situation landmine survivors face in the developing world with few medical supplies, little sanitation or clean water, and a scarcity of surgeons, physical therapists and psychologists. With 500,000 landmine victims in Afghanistan alone their needs are great. Click Here for Link to Speech
Her Majesty was joined by Lincoln Bloomfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs and Special Representative for the President and Secretary of State for Mine Action, who provided an overview of the landmine situation in Afghanistan and the need for assistance programs for victims of landmines, civil strife and warfare.
Representatives from the Agency for International Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were also on hand to detail their current and future programs in Afghanistan and to provide an overview of their partnerships with international relief organizations in the areas of victim assistance such as LSN.
Her Majesty’s efforts on Capitol Hill are a significant step toward enabling “victims of landmine, war and civil strife to reclaim their lives and take their place as proud and equal citizens who are born free with dignity and rights. ”
Posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2002
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