On 7 February, a new inquiry and awareness campaign was launched at the House of Commons concerning explosive weapons.
The campaign was set to look into the reasons for the alarming rise in the number of casualties of explosive violence around the world, as charted by AOAV, and to offer solutions to the international community on how to meet this challenge.
REVIVE, which stands for ‘Reduce Explosive Violence, Increase Victim Empowerment’, seeks to shine a light on the individuals and organisations which provide help and support to victims of explosive weapons. AOAV is a proud partner of the campaign, alongside other leading UK charities such as Emergency UK, Find a Better Way, and the International Refugee Trust (the head of which – Col Steve Smith – also sits on the board of AOAV).
Dr Matthew Offord MP, chairman of the APPG on Explosive Threats, which is also a participant, said, ‘In the last Parliament, we undertook an inquiry into the use of improvised explosive weapons and the efforts to defeat them.’
‘At the end of that very informative project, we committed to hold another from the victims’s perspective, and that is what I am launching here today. The Revive campaign is aimed at my fellow parliamentarians, the UK and international media, and anyone else who can make a positive difference in reducing the threat and reduce the suffering of those impacted.’
Dr James Kearney, Advocacy Director at AOAV, said in a statement, ‘at a time when the number of civilians killed as a result of explosive violence around the globe is increasing exponentially, the United Kingdom must show international leadership and ensure that civilians are not left to the mercy of the bombs and shells.’
You can read more about the Revive campaign here.
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