Action points based on findings

• Dedicate resources to the approval and full implementation of the revised disability policy and new policies and programs to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities across a range of government programs.
• Identify funding for victim assistance activities to ensure that such services are available to survivors.
• Improve casualty-tracking mechanisms to ensure an accurate picture of the victim assistance needs.
• Sustain the improved coordination and availability of services for explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and other persons with disabilities made possible through the victim assistance program in Darfur.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Sudan is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW who are in need. Sudan has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Sudan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 24 April 2009.

Casualties Overview

In 2014, the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) recorded 40 mine/ERW casualties in Sudan. [1] The 40 mine/ERW casualties reported in 2014 were an increase compared to the number reported in 2013 (30), but a significant decrease from the number of casualties report in 2012 (108). [2] The number of annual mine/ERW casualties is thought to be greater than recorded. According to a report citing the founder of the Sudan Association for Combating Landmines (JASMAR) Human Security Organization, Hussein Elobeid, the “number of landmine victims is underestimated in Sudan, due to the lack of accuracy in the collection of data. There are incidents that are never reported.” [3] Several media reports suggest that the actual number of landmine/ERW victims in 2014 might be significantly higher than the officially reported figure. From reports of specific incidents, Landmine Monitor identified reports of at least 45 casualties (eight killed and 37 injured) during the first quarter of 2014, however these were not included in the annual total because they were not verified and may not match with the ongoing data. [4] Furthermore, in June 2014, the Member of Parliament for Hameshkoreib in Kassala State, Mohamed El Taher Ousham, presented a report to Parliament documenting over 260 landmine casualties “during the past months” from eastern Sudan. No other details were available, therefore these casualties have not been included in the annual total. [5]

NMAC registered 1,953 mine/ERW casualties for the period from 2002 to the end of 2014. [6]

Cluster munition casualties

In 2014, there were no reported cluster submunition casualties. There were a total of 35 casualties from cluster munitions in Sudan through the end of 2013, 23 of which occurred in 2009 or before. [7]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 1,390 landmine or ERW survivors in Sudan at the end of 2014. [8] Sudan must improve its casualty tracking system as it reported 1,349 mine/ERW survivors in the country at the end of 2013, [9] an increase of 41 survivors, which exceeds the number of reported casualties (40) for 2014.

Since 1999, assistance for landmine survivors in Sudan has been irregular and insufficient to address the size of the problem, in large part due to years of conflict that have seriously damaged infrastructure. However, in that time there had been some improvements in physical rehabilitation and, until 2012, in economic inclusion. In 2014, victim assistance effectively halted in Sudan due to a suspension of ICRC’s activities in the country for most of the year and a lack of funding.

With support from the ICRC, the National Authority for Prosthetic and Orthotics (NAPO) increased Sudan’s rehabilitation capacity from a single rehabilitation center, in Khartoum, to a total of six satellite centers and mobile units by 2009. However, reduced funding to NAPO from 2007 to 2010 decreased the supply of raw materials, created long waiting periods, and contributed to the closing of one center, in Kadugli, by the end of 2010. To ensure sustainability of the rehabilitation centers, NAPO established a prosthetics and orthotics program at Khartoum’s El Nileen University. While rehabilitation services were free for mine/ERW survivors, a lack of funding and insufficient raw materials meant that waiting periods were long, while the cost of transportation and accommodation made the cost of accessing services prohibitive. All physical rehabilitation services in Sudan terminated for a period of several months in 2014 when NAPO’s funding and supplies were exhausted.

In 1999, there were few to no economic inclusion initiatives or psychosocial support available for mine survivors. The situation improved significantly with increased international funding for victim assistance from 2007–2012. These programs were implemented by national organizations and coordinated by NMAC, with support from the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO), within the framework of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. In June 2011, UNMAO completed the handover of its victim assistance program to NMAC.

Following the handover, funding for economic inclusion programs and psychosocial support for survivors and other persons with similar needs began to decline, causing the closure of several such programs; these programs were not replaced by other programs. At the same time, from 2011 through 2013 poor security conditions in Sudan’s southern states and the Darfur region prevented survivors from accessing those services that were available.

From 2011 through 2014, the establishment of a victim assistance program as part of the African Union/UN hybrid operation in Darfur in 2012 increased information available about the needs of ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities and increased their economic inclusion opportunities.

The establishment of the National Disability Council (NDC) in 2010 increased opportunities for the coordination of victim assistance and disability issues at national and state levels.

All victim assistance services are provided by international and national organizations and NGOs; no specific victim assistance services are offered by the government of Sudan. Outside of Darfur, as a result of an absence of funding, there was a further decrease in the availability of psychosocial support and economic inclusion reaching mine/ERW survivors and others with similar needs. The NMAC leads the interministerial, intersectoral coordination mechanism for victim assistance, with the exception of programs in Darfur targeting ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities, which are coordinated by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Advances were made in the introduction of inclusive disability policies across several different government ministries such as health, education, environment, employment, media, and culture, among others. The 2009 Disability Act had been revised to align it with the CRPD and was under legislative review by the end of 2013.

The suspension of ICRC activities in 2014 resulted in a dramatic decrease in the availability of prosthetic and orthotic services and rehabilitation services throughout the country. From May to October, no such services were available. Hospitals received support from ICRC only in the months of January and December.. The continuing conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile has reduced the availability of emergency care and all other victim assistance services in those states.

In 2014, the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Darfur Ordnance Disposal Office (ODO) continued to work with disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and social workers to identify, through individual case studies, the needs of landmine and ERW survivors. This information was shared with the Ministry of Social Affairs and NMAC. [11]

Victim assistance coordination [12]

In 2014, NMAC continued to convene monthly meetings of the VACWG in Khartoum to share information on progress in implementing ongoing projects, to exchange information on experiences and best practices, to prioritize needs and mobilize resources, and to discuss issues such as the CRPD, data collection, physical rehabilitation, and socioeconomic reintegration. [13]

NMAC and the ODO, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs, jointly convened monthly meetings of the VACWG in Darfur. These meetings served as the main forum where all actors working in victim assistance and disability met to share information and experiences. [14]

The National Strategic Framework of Victim Assistance and the Victim Assistance Multi-Year Plan 2007–2011 had expired without having been revised or replaced by 2012. Steps were taken in 2013 to develop a new victim assistance plan, but as of June 2015 no new plan had yet been developed. Sudan noted that the Victim Assistance Work Plan was also in need of revision. [15]

In 2014, the NDC continued to hold monthly meetings of its committees. [16] The victim assistance department of NMAC, as well as other members of the VAWG, were active members of the NDC and participated in regular coordination meetings in 2014. [17]

Sudan provided updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2014, the Intersessional Meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty in June 2015, and through the completion of Form J of the Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2014. Both oral and written reporting provided information on victim assistance implementation; capacity-building of local organizations, including DPOs; and on efforts to coordinate victim assistance and disability efforts. [18]

To support the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty Cartagena Action Plan (2010–2014), the Ministry of Social Welfare issued a decree in 2010 recommending the involvement of all mine/ERW survivors’ associations in all decisions and activities related to victim assistance policies and plans. [19] Survivors, their representative organizations, and DPOs were included as members of the VAWG and the VACWG in Darfur. [20]

In 2014, in Darfur, the ODO conducted training sessions with persons with disabilities on how to run effective NGOs, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the inclusion of ERW survivors. Training workshops for legislative councils, survivors, and officers of survivor associations were held to increase the awareness of the rights of survivors and persons with disabilities. [21] Also in Darfur, survivors and other persons with disabilities were involved in the provision of psychosocial support and income-generating projects. [22]

Victim assistance activities [23]

Four hospitals received ICRC support, but only in only the first and last months of 2014 due to the suspension of ICRC’s activities by the cognizant government agency. In contrast, in 2013, 21 hospitals received ICRC support. [24] No information was available about efforts to address obstacles that survivors faced as reported in recent years, such as the lack of medical facilities in mine-affected areas with a capacity to address the emergency medical needs of mine survivors, the lack of affordable healthcare for civilian survivors, and the failure of the National Health Insurance System to cover a number of disability-related claims. [25]

In 2014, the number of mine/ERW survivors who received prosthetics through ICRC-supported NAPO rehabilitation centers decreased by more than 50% compared to those who had received similar support in 2013. [26] From May to October 2014, no prosthetic services were available from NAPO. This was due to a shortage of funds and raw materials resulting from the Humanitarian Aid Commission suspending the ICRC’s activities in February. Only two field visits of mobile rehabilitation workshops were completed, but support for the El Fasher Prosthetics repair center in North Darfur continued. In Khartoum, the Cheshire Home for Disabled Children opened its prosthetic workshop in December with equipment and raw materials supplied by the ICRC. [27]

Economic inclusion

In 2014, there were no economic inclusion programs targeting mine/ERW survivors outside of Darfur. This was due to the absence of funding available for victim assistance through NMAC. The decline had begun in 2011 and saw funding reduced to zero in 2014. [28] In Darfur, programs targeting ERW victims, but inclusive of all persons with disabilities, provided small business training and access to credit from government funds and local banks. [29] In July 2014, the governor of Khartoum pledged to allocate 5% of government jobs to persons with special needs, including persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Social Development stated 3,000 persons with disabilities would receive financial assistance. [30]

With support from the ODO, FSD continued to offer peer support visits with ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities in Darfur to provide psychosocial support. [31]

In 2013, the Ministry of Education established a special education department and began developing a national strategy for the education of children with disabilities. Some children with disabilities attended public schools and some specialized schools existed for children with disabilities, but these schools lacked resources; appropriate facilities to educate children with disabilities in rural areas were rare. [32]

Laws and policies

The NDC, in cooperation with Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization, designed a draft building code to improve physical accessibility for persons with disabilities, [33] however the law has yet to be enacted. [34]

Draft revisions to the 2009 disability act aligned the law with the CRPD, but approval into law was pending as of June 2015. [35] Existing legislation was not implemented effectively and many public officials lacked awareness of the law and the rights of persons with disabilities more generally. [36]

In November 2014, DPOs and other NGOs participated in a workshop to develop an advocacy strategy in support of the rights of women with disabilities. [37]