"No one knows how many people have been affected by landmines in Burma, the only state to consistently lay mines since 1997. Some who step on mines die immediately, but most will survive to live with severely disabling injuries. For the latter there is little in the way of immediate or long-term medical assistance available from the country?s impoverished medical system. Hope is on the horizon, however. On Friday last week the UN announced the accession of Burma to the Convention on the Rights of Disabled People (CRPD). This rights-based document could bring about a significant improvement in the quality of life for landmine victims and other people living with disabilities in the country. For that improvement to happen in the lifetime of current survivors, the convention needs to be implemented, meaning Burma must focus on generating necessary services in the areas where survivors live – given that landmines are mostly laid in the country?s remote border regions whose development has never taken place, this will be no easy feat..."