Action points based on findings

• Support the capacity of survivor organizations that have been shown to have a critical role in assisting survivors to access mainstream services and programs.
• Commit the necessary resources for the implementation of the Uganda Building Control Law to eliminate barriers to access for survivors and other persons with disabilities.
• Improve the quality and availability of prosthesis and rehabilitation services.
• Sustain existing physical rehabilitation centers by dedicating sufficient national resources or by mobilizing international assistance to continue activities previously supported by international organizations.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Uganda is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munitions victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Uganda has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and as a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Uganda ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 25 September 2008.

Casualties Overview

In 2015, the Monitor identified six casualties in Uganda from two incidents. Both incidents involved explosions triggered by fire. Four members of a family (a woman, a boy, and two girls) were injured when an item of ERW was thrown into a fire.[1] Two men at Gulu Central Prison were also injured by an unknown explosive device that was accidentally detonated while burning garbage.[2] All casualties reported in 2015 were civilians from northern Uganda, one incident was in Amuru District while the other was in Gulu District.

Six casualties in 2015 is an increase from the two casualties, a boy and a girl, reported injured in 2014.[3] There were reports of two additional incidents with ERW in the Lango sub-region of northern Uganda in 2014; however these reports were not verified as of June 2016.

The total of six casualties identified in 2015 is similar to the seven casualties reported in 2013.[4]

Casualties of ERW continued to be reported in 2016. In February, one child was killed and eight others wounded by a grenade found near old military barracks.[5] In June, one person was killed and four injured by ERW in a scrap metal factory incident.[6]

Following a peak of about 150 casualties recorded per year during 1996–1997, the number of annual casualties has decreased.[7] The most recently reported antipersonnel mine casualty occurred in November 2012; Uganda declared itself mine-free in December 2012.[8]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Uganda is not known. At least 2,778 casualties (531 killed; 2,247 injured) had been identified by December 2015.[9] Of the people injured, 1,818 occurred in northern Uganda, with the remaining 422 occurring in the west.[10] All casualties in the west were recorded as injured; if any were killed, they were not recorded. This was due to the fact that data collection has been mainly carried out by local survivors’ organizations whose primary interest is identifying survivors. As such, it is certain that people have been killed by mines/ERW in western Uganda who have not been recorded.[11]

Cluster munition casualties

A 2006 survey of mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties in Gulu district determined that 3% of recorded casualties (1,387 at the time) were caused by cluster munition remnants. Five other suspected submunition casualties were reported in 2006.[12] As of the end of 2015, no additional casualties caused by cluster munition remnants had been identified since 2006.

Victim Assistance

There are at least 2,245 mine/ERW survivors in Uganda.[13]

Victim assistance under the Cartagena Action Plan 2010–2014

In 2009, Uganda collected baseline data to identify the needs of survivors and the gaps in services in four districts in northern Uganda. Through the same survey, all disability-related services and providers in mine-affected districts were mapped.

The Uganda Landmine Survivor Association (ULSA) provided opportunities for peer support and survivor-led advocacy, though ULSA’s activities were limited due to its dependence on scarce external funding.

Several international organizations had closed or reduced their programs by 2010, transferring the responsibility to provide victim assistance services to government ministries. At the same time, mine survivors who were internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned home to other parts of the country, increasing the need for updated surveys and victim assistance services in those areas.

The impact of the departure of international organizations from northern Uganda, including the ICRC’s physical rehabilitation program, continued to be felt and there were gaps in physical rehabilitation, economic inclusion, and psychological support, as well as the means to access all services. The Ministry of Health assumed responsibility from international organizations for supplying materials and components at several rehabilitation centers in 2012. Government-purchased prosthetic materials were of a lower quality, thereby directly affecting the quality of prosthetic devices and the Ministry of Health indicated that it was “struggling to sustain services.”[14]

The withdrawal of international support for victim assistance in Uganda continued with the 2013 closing of the victim assistance program by Handicap International (HI) in western and northern Uganda. The capacity of local and national organizations was also weakened in 2014 as several groups lost funding or other support from international organizations. As a result, there were more survivors in need of services than there had been some 10 years prior.

The government assumed greater responsibility for some services, particularly physical rehabilitation, with many of the rehabilitation centers requesting cost sharing, but was unable to fill the gaps left by program closures.

Victim assistance coordination was very limited. Uganda’s national victim assistance plan of 2008, was revised in 2010 and extended by two years to 2014. In 2011, the National Intersectoral Committee on Disability was formed and included a mandate to coordinate victim assistance.

In 2013, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) held meetings with the Intersectoral Committee on Disability to develop a tool to evaluate the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action on Victim Assistance 2010–2014.[15] Representatives of the Ministry of Health, National Council for Disability, National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), ULSA, and several disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) were involved.[16]

Victim assistance in 2015

In 2015, survivors continued to face significant challenges to access services due to the decreasing availability of services as a result of the departure of international service providers and a lack of donor support.

Assessing victim assistance needs

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) included disability-related questions for the 2014 national census. The questions were based on the Washington Group on Disability Statistics and were developed by the MGLSD in consultation with DPOs.[17] The final report of the census, released in 2016, found that the disability prevalence rate was 12.4% for citizens aged two and older. The census recorded 4,096,477 Ugandans with disabilities including 1,476,959 people who reported limited mobility.[18]

No assessments of the needs of survivors were reported in 2015.[19] ULSA registered 76 previously unrecorded survivors across four districts on an ad-hoc basis during field visits in 2015.[20] In 2014, ULSA collected information on survivors and their needs in Yumbe and Amuru and in several counties within the districts of Amuru, Nwoya, Pader, and Agago, all in northern Uganda. All data collected was shared with other stakeholders.[21]

Victim assistance coordination[22]

The Monitor did not receive information about any meetings of the Intersectoral Committee on Disability held in 2015.[23]

As of August 2016, the evaluation of the national victim assistance plan, which expired in 2014, had not begun due to a lack of funding.[24] Little progress had been seen in the plan’s implementation by survivors in western and northern Uganda.

There were no plans to revise or renew the victim assistance plan, but Uganda intended to develop a broader and more inclusive plan of action for the rights of persons with disabilities.[25]

In 2015, meetings of leaders of DPOs, including ULSA, were held both at the MGLSD and at the National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda in order to share information about ongoing activities, seek opportunities for collaboration, and plan events to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.[26]

The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development stated that the government has provided a framework on social security and social service to persons with disabilities.[27] Uganda did not report on victim assistance at meetings of Mine Ban Treaty or the Convention on Cluster Munitions during the reporting period. Uganda did not submit a Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2015; its last Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report (for 2011) did not provide information on victim assistance.[28]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

There was a significant reduction in the level of survivor participation overall in 2015. This decline was attributed to the lack of government funding for victim assistance programs in general. However, survivors participated at the International Day of Persons with Disabilities as members of their district union for persons with disabilities. Survivors displayed crafts and had chance to interact with government officials at the function.[29]

In the past, ULSA was included in meetings of the Intersectoral Committee on Disability, however, in 2015, ULSA was not informed of any meetings if they took place.[30] With the decreased frequency of meetings, there were fewer opportunities for survivors to participate in the coordination and planning of victim assistance.[31]

Representatives of ULSA participated in meetings of NUDIPU at the regional level, and representatives of local survivor associations participated in district-level meetings of NUDIPU.[32]

The Persons with Disabilities Manifesto—addressed to candidates in the 2016 election and signed by 14 organizations representing persons with disabilities or working on disability issues—called for rehabilitation support for mine/ERW victims as well as improved accessibility and social welfare support, inclusive education, a social protection disability fund, and other policies to eliminate barriers to full participation in Ugandan life. ULSA contributed to the Manifesto.[33]

Survivors and persons with disabilities were involved in the identification and assessment of survivor needs and in supporting other survivors in accessing medical, rehabilitation, and economic inclusion services.[34]

ULSA’s director participated at the Mine Ban Treaty 14^th Meeting of States Parties in December 2015 and spoke on a high-level panel on victim assistance. ULSA’s director was also consulted by Uganda’s delegation in the preparation of statements for the first Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in September 2015.[35]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[36]

Medical care

There are several hard-to-reach districts in Uganda with limited amenities such as piped water and electricity. Needs assessment conducted by ULSA in 2014 indicated that survivors in Yumbe District, located in the far northern part of Uganda, had difficulties accessing healthcare due to the poor road network. There was also a lack of interest in the region by Uganda’s development partners. Yumbe Hospital served approximately half a million people but had just two doctors. Most patients had to travel to Arua Regional Referral Hospital in order to access physical rehabilitation.[37]

The African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET) covered the costs for conflict victims seeking treatment, these included food, accommodation, medicines, transportation, post-operative care, and counseling services.[38] In September 2015, AIYNET announced a new and larger program to assist war victims.[39] Additionally, counseling is offered to family members and communities. In 2015, survivors in Pader and Agago districts received support for medical referrals through ULSA.[40]

Physical rehabilitation

Since the Ministry of Health assumed responsibility for some rehabilitation services in 2012, many rehabilitation centers lacked quality affordable devices.

At the national level, Mulago National Referral Hospital had a functioning orthopedic workshop and was fully staffed, but was in need of renovation. Equipment and materials needed to make prosthetics were either in disrepair or non-existent.[41]

The Arua Regional Referral Hospital orthopedic center served the West Nile Region of northwestern Uganda, but was not fully equipped nor did it have necessary materials.[42] In another northern district, Lira, the orthopedic workshop was still functional in 2015, although some materials were no longer in stock, interrupting the production of new prostheses. Minor repairs to prosthesis were still carried out.[43] Also in the north, the Gulu Regional Orthopaedic Workshop (GROW), which is the nearest district most survivors from the conflict with non-state armed groups can access, also lacked materials. GROW could not provide services to survivors seeking replacement prostheses or persons with disabilities seeking new prostheses.[44]

In western Uganda, survivors had to travel to northern or central Uganda for prosthetics since the orthopedic casting oven at the Buhinga Orthopedic Workshop remained broken and there was no production of prosthetics.[45]

Some private services were available in Uganda in 2015 through Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Uganda (CoRSU). Situated on the outskirts of Kampala, it offered free corrective surgery and orthopedic services to children, while adults had to pay for services and prosthetic devices.[46]

ULSA continued to assist a limited number of survivors in Amuru and Yumbe Districts to access mobility devices in 2015.[47]

Psychological support

Professional mental health care was available in major hospitals for those patients who were seen to be in need of this assistance.[48] In addition, Community Development Officers are able to provide counselling support to survivors.[49] Most survivors who received some psychological support, received it through survivor groups. ULSA and local survivor groups continued to provide this assistance in both northern and western Uganda.[50]

AYINET continued to provide psychosocial support to victims of conflict, including landmine survivors. Their services expanded through 2015.[51]

Social and economic inclusion

To supplement the government’s efforts in addressing the needs of survivors, ULSA implemented livelihood support through a victim assistance project in the districts of Amuru, Pader, Yumbe, Kasese, and Agago. With AAR Japan, ULSA supported 60 landmine survivors to scale up livelihood activities and to improve advocacy skills.[52] A number of survivor groups create and sell regionally specific crafts to generate income.[53] The Kasese Landmine Survivors Association reported that some youth survivors participate in sitting volleyball and wheelchair racing in 2015.[54]

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

ULSA began a pilot project with the University of San Diego to design portable toilet seats to allow survivors, persons with disabilities, and the elderly to use the pit latrines that are common in rural areas.[55]

Laws and policies

The law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities, but without penalties outlined in law, it was not enforced and discrimination was common.[56] The Uganda Human Rights Center received complaints of discrimination in employment and access to transportation and other public services.[57] The review of the Disability Act 2006 to ensure harmonization with the CRPD was completed by the end of 2013 with the 2006 Act found to be aligned.[58] However, DPOs organized to cite various shortcomings in the current law.[59]

Companies with 5% of employees as persons with disabilities received a 2% tax break.[60] While the government offers incentives for private companies to hire persons with disabilities, it does not have any requirements to provide a certain percentage of government jobs to persons with disabilities.[61]

The government encouraged banks and financial institutions to provide financial services to persons with disabilities who may have difficulties accessing loans due to a lack of collateral. Additionally, the government supported credit cooperatives to provide low interest loans to organized groups of women and persons with disabilities.[62]

On 31 December 2013 the Uganda Building Control Law was passed, making obligatory the accessibility standards that were launched in 2010.[63] Some public places, including schools and toilets, were not physically accessible for persons with disabilities. Commuter vans and buses were not accessible for wheelchair users.[64] A study at that time found that 95% of the buildings in Kampala were inaccessible to persons with disabilities and most lacked ramps or elevators.[65] In September 2015, the Uganda Human Rights Commission wrote, “The Government of Uganda enacted the Building Control Act 2013 however it has not yet developed regulations to operationalize the Act. In addition, PWDs [persons with disabilities] face a challenge of the public transport being largely a domain of the market forces without any legal controls regarding how PWDs should be transported.”[66]

In 2015, landmine survivors in northern Uganda reported that they did not have access to mobility aids or to medical care that would allow them to engage in economic activities. The survivors announced plans to seek redress through the court system for the lack of governmental protection during the conflict and the lack of support since their mine incidents. They saw such assistance as just reparations equivalent to the compensation received by others who had suffered due to conflict. In response, the government said it has allocated the funds to “compensate” landmine survivors.[67]

In May 2014, the national sports policy changed, guaranteeing that all school sports competitions would be inclusive.[68]

During events to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a government minister announced that efforts were being made to mainstream disability into all strategies designed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.[69]

Uganda has policies that promote education for all. However, challenges remain, including long distances to reach schools, stigma, and inadequate assistive devices.[70]