(Handicap International) – Nearly half of all recorded civilian victims of mines and explosive remnants of war are children—and most do not return to school after their accidents. On April 4, the United Nations’ “International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action,” Handicap International calls on States to allocate the human and financial resources necessary to secure accessible education for all. Children represented 46% of all civilian casualties (whose ages are known) in 2013, according to the Landmine Monitor 2014, published in November. The annual report counted at least 1,112 child casualties of mines, cluster bombs, and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in 39 States and three territories, killing 333 children, and injuring 779.

 

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