Survivor Corps, formerly known as the Landmine Survivors Network, was a global network of survivors helping survivors to recover from war, rebuild their communities, and break cycles of violence. The organization currently operated programs in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Croatia,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, Ethiopia, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo,

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

, Montenegro, Serbia, Uganda,

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, the United States and Vietnam. Survivor Corps was a proponent of the peer support method, in which survivors are linked to one another to share information as well as emotional and practical support, and work together on issues affecting their lives. The Survivor Corps peer support program connected survivors with survivor

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

s to offer encouragement and motivation. Survivor Corps also brought conflict survivors together to promote reconciliation and rebuilding through community service projects and local

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

. In May 2008, Survivor Corps emerged from Landmine Survivors Network. The name change reflects the expansion of the organization's mission to include all types of survivors of global conflict and war, including United States service members and veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization closed in 2010.

Nobel Prize and international leadership

Survivor Corps has long played a leading role the International Campaign to Ban Landmines coalition (ICBL), which has over 1100 member organizations and whose goal is to abolish the production and use of anti-personnel

landmines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. Survivor Corps co-founders Jerry White and Ken Rutherford helped lead the coalition's efforts that secured the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which in turn earned the coalition the Nobel Peace Prize. Prominent Survivor Corps supporters have included Queen Noor of Jordan and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. The Mine Ban Treaty bans the use, stockpiling, production and trade of antipersonnel mines. It was also the first

arms control agreement Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through the u ...

in history to require governments to provide assistance to victims of the weapon. This was achieved by an unprecedented level of participation by survivors in the treaty process. The

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...

entered into force on May 3, 2008, affecting 650 million people with disabilities around the world, including survivors of violent conflict. Survivor Corps helped ensure that this progressive human rights treaty addressed persons with disabilities not as charity cases, but as equal and autonomous

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

s entitled to their human rights and full participation in society. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in Oslo on December 3, 2008, and entered into force on August 1, 2010. It bans the use, stockpiling, production and trade of cluster bombs due to the indiscriminate harm they cause to civilians. As a leader on the steering committee of the Cluster Munitions Coalition, Survivor Corps used its past experience with the Mine Ban Treaty to help ensure that the Convention on Cluster Munitions included the strongest possible requirements to provide assistance to victims of the weapon, their families and communities.

Legacy

Over the course of several years, Survivor Corps established the first database designed to track the rehabilitation needs of mine victims and the resources available to help survivors, their families, and the communities affected by anti-personnel mines. In 1997,

visited

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

with LSN co-founders Jerry White and Ken Rutherford to meet landmine survivors. Her high-profile tour of the war-torn country brought global media attention and public support to the issue of landmines. After the death of Diana, the organization became the only American-based charity to receive support from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Also in 1997, Queen Noor of Jordan stepped in to take a prominent role in supporting the organization's work. In 1999, along with Queen Noor and key members of the United States Congress, including Senator Patrick Leahy, the organization drew international attention to the refusal of the United States to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, while appealing to the US to revisit landmine policy. From 1997 to 2007, LSN provided health support, economic opportunity and human rights advocacy for survivors of landmines around the world.

Landmine Survivors Network becomes Survivor Corps

In May 2008, Landmine Survivors Network changed its name to Survivor Corps. The name change reflects the expansion of their mission to include all types of survivors of global conflict and war, including United States service members and veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Survivor Corps expanded its programs into Israel,

, Uganda, and created additional projects in

Transition in 2010

In early 2010 Survivor Corps elected to make its country programs in Vietnam, El Salvador and Bosnia into independent NGOs and to transfer its peer support resources to the

Center for International Stabilization and Recovery The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR), formerly the Mine Action Information Center (MAIC), is a public policy center at James Madison University that manages information, conducts training, holds conferences and workshops, ...

located at James Madison University. On September 30, 2010, Survivor Corps closed its headquarters office in Washington, DC.

References

External links