UNMAS Syria Response
Operating
under the mandate of Security Council resolutio...
UNMAS Syria Response
Operating
under the mandate of Security Council resolution 2165 (renewed in 2017 with SCR
2393) allowing cross-border assistance in Syria, UNMAS deployed the Syria
Response programme at the request
of the Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator in August 2015 and subsequently
activated the Mine Action Sub Cluster under the Protection Cluster to address
the impact of explosive hazards within Syria. UNMAS is the lead agency for the
Mine Action Sub Cluster for the Syria Response, working in support of the mine
action response within Syria.
UNMAS provides leadership for the
humanitarian mine action sector, working to reach affected civilian populations
through the expansion and provision of humanitarian mine action services inside
Syria, strengthening participatory approaches to programming, and mainstreaming
mine action into wider humanitarian activities.
Victim Assistance (VA)
is a core component of humanitarian mine action. General Assembly resolution
70/80 (2015) “Encourages States, as appropriate, and relevant organizations
involved in mine action to continue efforts to ensure that mine action
programmes take into account (…) the specific needs and requirements of victims
and persons with disabilities (…).” The resolution further “Urges States to
provide humanitarian assistance for victims of mines and explosive remnants of
war, and (…) Encourages States to support victims’ access to appropriate
medical care, physical and sensory rehabilitation, psychosocial support,
education and skills training and income-earning opportunities and to provide
those services to all, regardless of gender, age or socioeconomic status;”.
VA aims to meet the
immediate and long-term needs of explosive hazard victims, their families,
persons with disabilities, and affected communities. VA includes, but is not
limited to, information management systems; emergency and continuing medical
care; physical rehabilitation; psychosocial support and social inclusion;
economic reintegration; and laws and public policies that promote effective
treatment, care and protection for all disabled citizens, including landmine
victims, with a human rights perspective.
In Syria, 8.2 million
people live in communities reporting explosive hazard contamination; men,
women, and children, are exposed to the threat of debilitating injuries and
death on a daily basis. According
to the 2018 HNO, 2.9 million people inside Syria live with a permanent
disability and there are 30,000 new conflict-related trauma cases per month
leading to thousands of permanent disabilities requiring long-term and
multi-dimensional support. Protracted conflict has eroded and overburdened the
health system in Syria, so that large gaps remain in the provision of
post-operative rehabilitation
care. The conflict in Syria has been characterized by the extensive use of
explosive weapons. Between
January 2015 and May 2018, an average of 165 explosive hazard incidents were
reported per day across the country.