Angola

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 04 January 2017

Action points based on findings

  • Fully fund prosthetics centers, including provision of materials.
  • Support the effective implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), including through the rapid establishment of a national council for persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance commitments

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

Angola ratified the CRPD on 19 May 2014.

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

Unknown; 88,716 survivors

Confirmed casualties in 2015

25 (2014: 11)

2015 casualties by outcome

13 killed; 12 injured (2014: 5 killed; 6 injured)

2015 casualties by explosive type

4 antipersonnel mines; 2 antivehicle mines; 19 unknown explosive devices

 

Details and trends

In 2015, the Monitor identified 25 mine and ERW casualties in Angola.[1] All casualties were civilians.

Of the casualties where the age and gender of the victim were known: seven were adults, four men and three women; and 14 casualties were children, 13 boys and one girl.[2] Fifteen of the casualties resulted from explosions caused by tampering with explosive devices.

The 25 casualties identified in 2015 more than doubles the number reported in 2014, but likely does not fully document the true number of casualties. Casualties were only reported from six provinces, the same provinces where international NGOs are conducting mine clearance. No information was available from the other 12 provinces. In 2014, the Monitor was only able to report casualties from three of Angola’s provinces and history suggests that casualty report figures are correlated with the number of provinces from which the Monitor is able to obtain data. The absence of any national casualty reporting system remains a significant gap in data collection in Angola, which makes ascertaining the extent of the casualties or the needs of victims near impossible. Even in provinces where casualties were reported, many more landmine accidents were believed to have occurred, especially in rural areas or in areas far from the international mine action operators’ work areas.[3]

In 2015, two efforts were made to document the number of landmine casualties in the country. In May 2014, the Angolan government conducted a nationwide census, the results of which were published in March 2015. According to the census, 88,716 people were living with a disability caused by landmines or other explosive devices. Survivors were identified in all 18 provinces with one-quarter living in Luanda. Mine and ERW survivors represented one-eighth of the disabled population, with 2.5% of the Angolan population identified as disabled.[4]

The HALO Trust conducted a desk review of all explosive incidents in the country between 1975 and 2015. Combining media reports with their own survey and data records, HALO identified 1,573 casualties from 791 mine/ERW incidents in six provinces. While not representative of all casualties in those provinces over the time period, the review indicates that antivehicle mines are the most common cause of injury and that the fatality rate from explosive devices was higher than previously believed. The review also indicates that the years with the most mines/ERW casualties were 2002 and 2003, when Angolans returned to their homes after the conclusion of the civil war.[5]

The national mine action center (CNIDAH) planned to continue its survey of survivors, but this has been suspended since 2014.[6] The survey would help to identify the exact needs of survivors—the census data is not disaggregated by type of injury, age, or gender. As of the end of 2014, CNIDAH had registered 9,165 survivors in the provinces of Benguela, Cabinda, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Malanje, Namibe, Uige, and Zaire as part of its national mine/ERW victim survey.[7] Between 2000 and 2015, the Monitor identified 2,964 mine/ERW casualties, including 983 people killed, 1,833 injured, and 148 for which the outcome was unknown.[8] Between 2006 and 2011, CNIDAH registered 433 mine/ERW casualties, including 77 people killed and 356 injured.[9]

Cluster munition casualties

CNIDAH’s national victim survey had identified at least 354 cluster munition survivors, all in the province of Huambo.[10] The 2014 and 2015 Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor reports repeated these figures. Subsequent information calls this finding into question. The survey of survivors in Huambo was conducted by Instituto ao Apoio a crianca Vulneravel (Institute for the Support of Vulnerable Children, IACV), not a mine action organization, and the survey questionnaire used by the IACV did not specifically identify cluster munitions as a possible cause of injury.[11] In 2015, HALO conducted a desk review of all known landmine and ERW accidents from 1975 through 2015. While the review was limited to HALO’s area of operations, including Huambo Province, in the course of the review it could not identify a any cluster munition victims.[12] Norwegian People’s Aid compiled a desk review on potential cluster munition contamination in Angola but could not confirm a single cluster munition victim despite documenting clearance and identifying some cluster munitions.[13] As such, reports of cluster munitions victims in Angola cannot be confirmed as of June 2016.

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors reported in Angola is 88,716.[14] As of December 2014, 9,165 survivors had been surveyed and their needs identified in the first nine (of 18) provinces surveyed as part of CNIDAH’s intended national victim survey.[15]

Victim assistance during the Cartagena Action Plan 2010–2014 and Vientiane Action Plan 2011–2015

International organizations began closing their programs and transferring management of healthcare facilities and rehabilitation centers to the government in 2005. The departure of Handicap International (HI) by the end of 2011 completed the withdrawal of international organizations that had been providing support for victim assistance. All 11 physical rehabilitation centers were already managed by the Ministry of Health by 2008. However, by 2009 production of prosthetics in all centers had declined due to a lack of materials and unpaid staff salaries. This decline continued until mid-2013, when the national mine action center began efforts to improve the quality of services in five provinces, funded by the Ministry of Health’s National Rehabilitation Program. Those efforts continued into 2014 with the construction or expansion of rehabilitation facilities and orthopedic clinics in seven provinces, with plans to do likewise in several more.

A limited number of economic inclusion projects were available to survivors over the period, either through international organizations, national and local organizations of persons with disabilities, or government agencies, such as the Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration (MINARS) and CNIDAH, which began coordinating and facilitating victim assistance in 2001. These projects have fallen far short of the overall need.

International organizations supported the development of local survivor networks and disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs). However, these groups were hamstrung by a lack of funding and the distances between them that prevented collaboration among groups. Through the Comprehensive National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2007–2011, CNIDAH aimed to support the development of a national survivor network, but no progress was made toward this objective within the timeframe of the plan due to insufficient funding and organizational problems. Angola’s victim assistance program is defined by the National Integrated Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2013–2017, which CNIDAH is implementing.

Victim assistance in 2015

The economic crisis in Angola, caused by the global decline in oil prices leading to a dramatic reduction in the Angolan government’s revenues, has slashed the funds available for government-supported survivor assistance. The result has been a near shutdown of most survivor assistance programs, including those led by CNIDAH. Some programs are still available from domestic and international NGOs, but their reach is limited. The government refurbished some rehabilitation and orthopedic clinics, but failed to furnish them with the supplies and materials to deliver services.

Due to a general unavailability of services and difficulty in accessing available services, only about 30% of those who need assistance services are able to obtain them.[16]

Assessing victim assistance needs

As of the end of 2014, mine/ERW survivors with disabilities in nine of Angola’s 18 provinces had been surveyed as part of the National Victim Survey and Needs Assessment. The survey was launched in October 2010 with the purpose of identifying and registering mine and cluster munition survivors with disabilities, to understand their living situation, and to determine how to promote their socio-economic inclusion.[17]

After having been suspended in 2012 due to funding constraints and to avoid the potential confusion of those surveyed with the national election registration process, it resumed in 2013. By the end of 2014, the survey was completed in Benguela, Cabinda, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Malanje, Namibe, Uige, and Zaire and a total of 9,165 survivors with a disability had been registered in these nine provinces which contain an estimated 50% of Angola’s total population.[18] As of the end of 2014, CNIDAH and MINARS found the results of the ongoing survey and needs assessment to be beneficial for planning and determining priorities to assist the target population.[19] In provinces where the survey was conducted, local CNIDAH offices were trained to assist with the data collection and serve as focal points for ongoing casualty data collection.[20] The results of the survey have yet to be translated into programming and the survey is limited only to landmine and ERW survivors,[21] therefore it is not reflective of the needs of the broader community of persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance coordination[22]

Government coordinating body/focal point

CNIDAH

Coordinating mechanism

CNIDAH’s Sub-Commission for Assistance and Reintegration with participation from relevant government ministries including MINARS, the Ministry of Health, and NGOs

Plan

National Integrated Victim Assistance Action Plan 2013–2017 (PNIAVM)

 

CNIDAH’s victim assistance coordination efforts in 2015 were severely limited by funding constraints and limited to reporting and information sharing. CNIDAH’s victim assistance team sees its role as limited to landmine and ERW survivors and therefore separate from other disability programming. CNIDAH is responsible for the implementation of the National Integrated Victim Assistance Plan 2013–2017 (PNIAVM), but with little support for landmine victim only programming, implementation has stalled.[23] CNIDAH members meet with partner organizations, both service providers and DPOs, to review their programs and monitor the impact for the beneficiaries but these activities are solely informational.[24]

Angola developed the PNIAVM as part of its national development plan “Angola 2025.” The disability plan includes the objective of establishing a national council for persons with disabilities, designed to raise the profile of disability issues within the executive branch of the government and to improve coordination on disability issues among all government ministries.[25] The National Council for Persons with Disabilities was established in 2014 under the coordination of MINARS, however CNIDAH is not a member of the council.[26]

Angola did not report on victim assistance activities at meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty in 2015.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Landmine victims are included in “coordination of awareness activities” and through the national NGO the Angolan Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities (FAPED), survivors have been able to meet with line ministries relevant to disability.[27] In 2016, the Angola National Disability Association (ANDA) attended the Ninth World Assembly of Disabled People.[28]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[29]

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2015

MINARS

Government

Referrals for mobility devices, vocational training, assistance to start income-generating projects, provision of subsistence items

Ongoing; provided assistance to 170 persons in Benguela as a result of national survey

Ministry of Health

Government

Free emergency medical care for mine/ERW survivors

Ongoing

National Rehabilitation Program (within Ministry of Health)

Government

Coordination and supply of materials to 11 national physical rehabilitation centers

Decreased availability of supplies and materials for prosthetics

Angola Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha de Angola, CVA)

National organization

Transportation and referrals to victim assistance services

Ongoing; no update

 

Lwini Foundation

National NGO

Support for mobility devices and referrals for rehabilitation centers; vocational training, subsistence assistance

Ongoing; 26 survivors received vocational training; 505 individuals received subsistence kits

Angolan Association of Disabled Persons (Associação dos Deficientes de Angola, ANDA)

National NGO

Physical rehabilitation, professional training for persons with disabilities, transportation to access services; advocacy- coordinating a network of NGOs doing advocacy for disability rights

Ongoing

Angolan Paralympic Committee

National NGO

Disability sports

Three national programs, one in wheelchair basketball and two in adapted athletics

Associacao de Apoio a Crinca Vulneravel e Deficiente de Angola (AACVDA)

National NGO

Advocacy and awareness raising; home visits to families of disabled children

Sensitization of 1,000 people on care for children with disabilities

Instituto ao Apoio a crianca Vulneravel (IACV)

National NGO

National victim survey, awareness raising

Victim survey in Benguela, educational opportunities

Evangelical Baptist Church in Angola (IEBA)

National NGO

National victim survey, educational opportunities

Victim survey in Uige, religious studies

 

Emergency and ongoing medical care

In 2013 and into 2014, the government announced progress in reconstructing roads to aid in the emergency evacuation of mine/ERW survivors and others in need of emergency medical care; it also announced the construction of health facilities, the decentralization of specialized services, and an increase in highly trained medical professionals.[30]

Physical rehabilitation

Only one prosthetic workshop in Angola was able to produce new prosthetic devices in 2015, the facility in Bie province. The governor of Bie prioritized the funding of supplies for the clinic in his province, the delivery of which were made by the ICRC, which enabled the facility to continue to manufacture new devices. Other centers’ capacity was reduced to repairs and physical rehabilitation, which were also limited by the availability of equipment.[31]

The government repaired the prosthetics centers in Uige and Huila provinces, but the lack of supplies for those centers prevented them from providing adequate services.[32]

There are no private prosthetics centers in Angola; Angolans who can afford to do so, travel to Europe or elsewhere to obtain new appliances. The Fundacao Lwini’s Passo Seguro project purchases all of its prosthetic devices from Iceland and sponsors the travel costs of the prosthetists.[33]

In addition to the public-sector facilities, several civil society organizations including AACVDA, IACV, the Evangelical Baptist Church of Angola, and the Lwini Foundation, provided mobility devices and access to healthcare for landmine survivors and persons with disabilities.

There is no domestic production of wheelchairs, crutches, or other mobility devices; most were imported from China. With support from the government, ANDA purchased these devices and distributed them directly to prosthetics centers, hospitals, and other associations working with persons with physical disabilities.[34]

Psychological support

No advances where identified in the availability of psychological support in 2015. The need for psychological support was recognized by the Institute of Vulnerable Child Support and the Evangelical Baptist Church, which sought funds in 2015 for psychological support as part of a comprehensive package of victim assistance services in Huambo and Uige provinces.[35]

Economic and social inclusion

Few changes were identified in the availability or access to economic inclusion activities in 2015.

The Lwini Foundation provided integration kits to survivors to supplement vocational training courses, enabling participants to start businesses or take on formal employment.[36]

Laws and policies

National laws preventing discrimination against persons with disabilities exist but were not fully enforced. The National Council for Persons with Disabilities is responsible for monitoring violations.[37] Physical accessibility of buildings is a priority for both the government and ANDA. The Ministry of Construction planned to release guidelines for accessible housing in 2016.[38]



[1] Emails from Anna Kudarewska, Monitor researcher, 19 June 2016; from Jeannette Djikstra, MAG Angola, 27 June 2016; and from Richard MacCormac, DanChurchAid, 8 February 2016.

[2] For four of the casualties the gender was not known.

[3] See previous editions of Angola’s profile on the Monitor website.

[4] National Institute of Statistics (INE), “Resultados Definitivos Recenseamento Geral da Populacao e Habitacao – 2014,” 28 March 2016. Quadro 8 - População portadora de deficiência por província e área de residência, segundo as causas da deficiência e sexo.

[5] The HALO Trust, “Angola ERW Accident Report: 1975-2015; Bie, Benguela, Huambo, Huila, Kuando Kubango and Kwanza Sul,” undated.

[6] Interview with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016.

[7] There were nine provinces still to be surveyed as of the end of 2014. CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual do ‘Projecto Nacional de Recolha e Actualização de Dados sobre as Pessoas com deficiência Vítima de Minas’ – 2014” (“Annual Report of ‘National Project to Collect and Update Data regarding Persons with Disabilities, Mine Victims’ – 2014”), Luanda, undated.

[8] See previous editions of Angola’s profile on the Monitor website.

[9] CNIDAH, “Relatório de Avaliação do Plano Estratégico de Acção contra Minas 2006–2011” (“Report of the Evaluation of the Strategic Mine Action Plan 2006–2011”), Luanda, undated but 2012, p. 44.

[10] Email from Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, Luanda, 3 April 2013. Angola also reported identifying 1,497 cluster munition victims in Huambo province through the same survey. Statement of Angola, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 9–13 September 2013.

[11] Interview with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016.

[12] The HALO Trust, “Angola ERW Accident Report: 1975-2015; Bie, Benguela, Huambo, Huila, Kuando Kubango and Kwanza Sul,” undated.

[13] Mario Nunes, Norwegian People’s Aid, “Cluster Munitions Remnants: Desk Assessment Report,” 5 February 2016.

[14] INE, “Resultados Definitivos Recenseamento Geral da Populacao e Habitacao – 2014,” 28 March 2016. Quadro 8- População portadora de deficiência por província e área de residência, segundo as causas da deficiência e sexo.

[15] The total in the survey report from January 2014 was 6,048. In 2014, 2,744 survivors were identified in Benguela and Uige provinces; data from Huila and Huambo provinces appears to been updated with the reporting of the 2014 survey.

[16] United States Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015: Angola,” Washington, DC.

[17] Statement of Angola, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 28 June 2011.

[18] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual do ‘Projecto Nacional de Recolha e Actualização de Dados sobre as Pessoas com deficiência Vítima de Minas’ – 2013” (“Annual Report of ‘National Project to Collect and Update Data regarding Persons with Disabilities, Mine Victims’ – 2013”), Luanda, 14 January 2014; emails from Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, Luanda, 3 April 2013, and 7 June 2013; and CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual de Actividades de 2011” (“Annual Activity Report 2011”), Luanda, March 2012, p. 13.

[19] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual do ‘Projecto Nacional de Recolha e Actualização de Dados sobre as Pessoas com deficiência Vítima de Minas’ – 2013” (“Annual Report of ‘National Project to Collect and Update Data regarding Persons with Disabilities, Mine Victims’ – 2013”), Luanda, 14 January 2014, p. 11.

[20] Interview with Madalena Neto, CNIDAH, in Geneva, 28 May 2013.

[21] Interview with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016.

[22] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual 2015            Departamento de Assistência às Vítimas de Minas,” Luanda, undated.

[23] Interview with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016.

[24] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual 2015            Departamento de Assistência às Vítimas de Minas,” Luanda, undated.

[25] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual do ‘Projecto Nacional de Recolha e Actualização de Dados sobre as Pessoas com deficiencia,’” 4 January 2014.

[26] Interview with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016.

[27] Statement of Angola, Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference, Maputo, 24 June 2014.

[29] CNIDAH, “Relatório Anual 2015            Departamento de Assistência às Vítimas de Minas,” Luanda, undated; statement of Angola, Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference, Maputo, 24 June 2014; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form J; email from Celestino Sorte Feliciano, Podemos, 21 March 2013; and interview with Silva Etiambulo, ANDA, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[30] Statement of Angola, Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference, Maputo, 24 June 2014.

[31] Interview with Silva Etiambulo, ANDA, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[32] Interview with Elda Doutel, Lwini Foundation, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[33] Interviews with Nsimba Paxe, CNIDAH, in Luanda, 27 June 2016; and with Elda Doutel, Lwini Foundation, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[34] Interview with Silva Etiambulo, ANDA, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[35] UN Mine Action Service, “2015 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” undated.

[36] Interview with Elda Doutel, Lwini Foundation, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.

[37] US State Department, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015: Angola,” Washington, DC.

[38] Interview with Silva Etiambulo, ANDA, in Luanda, 29 June 2016.