Investigations
PHR Research on Landmines
The millions of landmines scattered over dozens of countries do not discriminate between soldiers, working farmers, or playing children. These antipersonnel devices, which lie hidden for decades after combat ends, plague poor countries where populations have limited access to medical care. The overwhelming majority of the thousands of people that landmines maim or kill each year are civilians; many are children and untold numbers suffer from the agricultural, economic, and psychological impact.
In 1991, PHR researched and exposed the overwhelming public health threat of landmines in Cambodia. With Human Rights Watch we released a report Landmines in Cambodia: The Coward's War, that, for the first time, called for a comprehensive ban on this indiscriminate and deadly weapon. The report helped galvanize international attention on the devastating effects of antipersonnel landmines on civilians, particularly children, and determined that 1 in over 200 civilians is an amputee from a landmine.
PHR's unique research on the landmines crisis utilizes the skills of epidemiologists and public health experts to document the toll of the weapon on communities around the world. PHR has published reports such as the comprehensive Landmines: A Deadly Legacy which describes the weapon's history and military use as well as its social and medical consequences, provides detailed country studies, and examines relevant international laws. The report was a joint project with Human Rights Watch Arms Project.
In 1998, PHR surgeons developed innovative survey tools, published in Measuring Landmine Incidents & Injuries, to monitor the capacity of hospitals and clinics to treat complicated landmine injuries that are still used today by aid organizations.
One of the founding organizations in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared a Nobel Peace Prize for the campaign that led to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, signed by three-quarters of the world's nations. PHR coordinated the US Campaign to Ban Landmines from 2000-20005 and now serves on its steering committee.
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