Casualties

Casualties Overview

HALO Trust reported 19 mine/ERW casualties in Somaliland in 2014. Of the total, 18 casualties were civilians, the other was a deminer injured during clearance. In 2014, as in previous years, most casualties were children (12, or 67% of civilian casualties) including seven boys and five girls. Among the seven adult casualties, all but one were men. Nearly all civilian casualties occurred when one or more of the victims was tampering with the device.[1]

The 19 casualties in 2014 represented a slight decrease from the 20 mine/ERW casualties reported by HALO in Somaliland in 2013.[2] It is part of a trend of declining casualties that began in 2007. Since 2012, detailed casualty data has not been available from the Somaliland Mine Action Centre (SMAC), which had reported on annual casualties occurring from 2000–2011.

Between 2000 and the end of 2014, the Monitor identified 938 casualties in Somaliland (237 killed; 685 injured; 26 unknown).[3]

Victim Assistance

The number of mine/ERW survivors in Somaliland is not known, but there were at least 685 as of the end of 2014.

No efforts to assess survivors’ needs were identified. In 2014, the HALO Trust, Disability Action Network (DAN), and the Somalia Red Crescent Society (SRCS) met to develop improved communications between HALO and the other organizations as well as improved data sharing regarding treatment of mine/ERW survivors at the rehabilitation centers run by DAN and the SRCS. The SMAC would be responsible for facilitating data sharing.[4]

Somaliland developed a draft National Disability Policy in 2012, which was yet to be passed by the Cabinet of Ministers as of May 2015.[5] The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) held disability coordination meetings with disability stakeholders, including Handicap International (HI) and the Somaliland National Disability Forum (SNDF), but these meetings were halted when financial support was not available. As a national disability network, SNDF continued to host meetings for member organizations in which disability issues and barriers could be discussed.[6]

There were two landmine survivor associations active in Somaliland. The Somali Landmine Victim Association is well established and the chairperson of the association also served as the chair of the SNDF for four years. The second more recently founded group serves survivors living in the Hawd Region along the border with Ethiopia.[7]

Overall, mine survivors have received only minimal attention and assistance.[8] As in previous years, several local NGOs in Somaliland provided services for persons with disabilities, and other organizations assisted persons with war-trauma, including mine/ERW survivors among their beneficiaries. The health system in Somaliland was detrimentally affected by uneven distribution of resources between the capital, Hargeisa, and the provinces, and by low capacities of facilities to deliver quality primary healthcare services. Additionally, it has been reported that “Somaliland is also exceedingly poor in terms of policy and government commitment to disability and rehabilitation.”[9]

The rehabilitation sector was managed by two organizations, the SRCS and DAN. Each used their own network of partners and providers to deliver rehabilitation services. Each ran one of two rehabilitation centers in Hargeisa.[10]

The SRCS continued to provide prosthetics and rehabilitation supported by the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) and the Norwegian Red Cross.[11] In the first half of 2014, the SRCS center at Hargeisa was on target for provision of prosthetic devices, but was significantly behind the target for the quantity of orthotic devices it had planned to provide.[12] By the end of 2014, 260 prosthetic devices and 195 orthotic devices had been fitted. A new memorandum of understanding among SRCS, the Norwegian Red Cross, and the SFD to empower national staff in Hargeisa and improve the long-term management of services.[13] DAN provides prosthetics and orthopedic services through the Hargeisa Rehabilitation Centre in Somaliland’s capital and through four regional orthopedic workshops. These workshops are capable of producing prosthetics, wheelchairs, and other mobility devices. DAN also runs a community-based rehabilitation program in three regions to provide home-based service delivery, referrals, and psychosocial support.[14]

Handicap International’s (HI) support to DAN ended in July 2014.[15] The Ministry of Health had noted that the government was not in a position to financially support the rehabilitation sector.[16] DAN reported that its strategic objectives for 2015-2019 included exploring creative and innovative ways of mobilizing resources for sustainable operations.[17]

Comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation in Somaliland (CCBRS) offered immediate post-incident psychological assistance to survivors and families. CCBRS also provided community-based rehabilitation for persons with disabilities.[18] The General Assistance and Volunteer Organization (GAVO) offered psychological support to persons affected by conflict-related trauma.[19]

In 2013, HI completed its support to a project to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities in Somaliland by increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in rights advocacy and democratic activities implemented by DAN and SNDF. From April 2013, the project was being supported by the foreign ministry of Germany as part of a wider program to promote the rights of people with disabilities, particularly women and children.[20]

The Somaliland constitution notes that the state is responsible for the health, care, development, and education of persons with disabilities. According to the Somaliland Human Rights Centre, persons with disabilities are disenfranchised in the region along with other vulnerable populations including minorities, children, internally displaced persons, and refugees.[21] In late 2013, as part of the national celebration of the International Day of Disability, Somaliland’s President, Ahmed Mohammed Mohamud Silanyo, promised to prioritize policies that improve the welfare of persons with disability. In January 2014, the President issued a decree mandating that all buildings in Somaliland, public and private, make accommodations to enable accessibility for all.[22]