The impact of mines and explosive remnants of war on gender groups

The relevance of gender has only recently been integrated into the thinking and practice of stakeholders working in the area of mine action. The main treaties regulating general mine action activities (the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its additional Protocol II) do not explicitly discuss the different impact landmines and ERW can have on women, men, girls and boys. However, there is now a clear awareness in the international community that failing to consider the significance of gender in the impact of mines/ERWs, and in the effectiveness of mine action, can increase the risk of individuals being exposed to physical harm, poverty and destitution.