According to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, which is an initiative providing research for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Western Sahara has a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. In Western Sahara, it is estimated that at least 2,500 people of all ages have been affected by mines and cluster munitions since 1975. The Sahrawi Association of Landmine Victims (ASAVIM), a survivor association in the Sahrawi refugee camps and liberated zones, is the main body responsible for advocacy for victim assistance and for the inclusion of victims in existing development and training initiatives.
For its part, the Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) started a Victim Assistance Project in Western Sahara by conducting a survey in the Sahrawi refugee camps and Sahrawi liberated zone east of the wall, which covered all victims of mines and cluster munitions and UXO. The AOAV established the first database for victims of mines and UXO in Western Sahara. The number of mine victims included so far in the database is 1340 victims, 454 of them are amputees.