Summary: State Party Chad ratified the convention on 26 March 2013. Chad has expressed its desire to enact national implementing legislation for the convention. It has participated in nearly all of the convention’s meetings and voted in favor of a UN resolution on the convention in December 2015. Chad is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions, but cluster munitions were used in Chad in the past.

Policy

The Republic of Chad signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified on 26 March 2013, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 September 2013.

Chad has expressed its desire to enact national implementing legislation for the convention.[1] In March 2016, it reported a 2013 law under national implementation measures for the convention, but did not elaborate on the contents of the law.[2] Chad’s parliament approved ratification of the convention on 29 March 2012.[3]

Chad submitted its initial Article 7 transparency measures report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 24 May 2014 and provided an annual updated report on 5 March 2016.[4]

Chad actively participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and supported a comprehensive ban on the weapons.[5]

Chad participated in the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015. It has attended all of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, except in 2013, and in intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2011–2014. Chad has also participated in regional workshops, most recently in Lomé, Togo in May 2013.

On 7 December 2015, Chad voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[6]

In 2014 and 2015, Chad expressed concern at new use of cluster munitions in South Sudan and Ukraine in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.[7] In June 2015, it voted in favor of a Security Council resolution expressing concern at evidence of cluster munition use by the government of Sudan.[8] In May 2014, Chad endorsed a Security Council resolution that expressed concern at the use of cluster munitions in South Sudan and called for “all parties to refrain from similar such use in the future.”[9]

Chad is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Chad is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[10]

French aircraft dropped cluster munitions on a Libyan airfield inside Chad at Wadi Doum during the 1986–1987 conflict. Libyan air forces also used RBL-series cluster bombs containing AO-1SCh and PTAB-2.5 submunitions.

Contaminated by: landmines (massive contamination), cluster munitions (extent of contamination unclear), and other unexploded ordnance.

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline: 1 June 2020
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 September 2023
(Unclear whether on target to meet deadline) 

The Republic of Chad has at least 103.5km² of mined areas. In 2015, approximately 0.26km² of mined area was cleared and 1.2km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) confirmed as contaminated with antipersonnel mines. The extent of cluster munition contamination is unknown. 

Recommendations for action 

• Chad should take the necessary measures to strengthen the effectiveness of its national mine action center.
• Chad needs to urgently elaborate a resource mobilization strategy to secure funding and attract international technical and operational support in order to avoid further interruption in demining operations.
• Chad should complete its nationwide survey, as soon as security allows, to enable it to provide a comprehensive estimate of its mine and cluster munition contamination, and revise its mine action strategy accordingly.

Chad’s contamination is the result of the 1973 Libyan invasion and 30 years of internal conflict.

Mine Contamination

In December 2015, Chad reported that it had identified 123 mined areas based on a partial nationwide survey.[1] However, it was anticipated that more contaminated areas could be identified as survey was still required in four regions (Borkou, Ennedi, Moyen Chari, and Tibesti).

In May 2014, Chad had 113 areas confirmed to contain mines with a total size of 103.5km². Five of Chad’s 22 regions contained confirmed mined areas, as set out in the table below. Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti are located in northern Chad at the border with Libya; Sila is located at the border with Sudan; and Moyen-Chari is in southern Chad at the border with the Central African Republic.

Antipersonnel mine contamination by province as of May 2014[2]

Note: *100m²

In December 2015, Chad stated that demining by Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the National Demining Center (Centre National de Déminage, CND) had released a further four areas of antipersonnel mine contamination with a total size of 317,998m² in the Tibesti region to the north and in Sarh Kyabé, Moyen-Chari region in the south. It also reported that while “it was not possible to provide precise figures,” non-technical survey (NTS) activities by MAG and Handicap International (HI) in Tibesti and in the south had identified 14 previously unrecorded mined areas,[3] bringing the total number of mined areas remaining to 123.

Other Explosive Remnants of War

Chad’s mine action plan for 2014–2019 indicated that, based on a national technical survey conducted in 2010–2012 and information available as of May 2014, it faced 664 explosive remnants of war (ERW)-contaminated areas across nine regions (covering 1,132km²). Chad reported that it had already addressed 443 ERW-contaminated areas.[4] 

Cluster Munition Contamination 

The extent of contamination by cluster munition remnants in Chad is unknown. Following the end of armed conflict with Libya in 1987, unexploded submunitions and cluster munition containers were found in the three northern provinces; in the Biltine department in Wadi Fira region (northeastern Chad); and east of the capital, N’Djamena.[5] MAG found unexploded Soviet antivehicle PTAB-1.5 submunitions during survey in an area close to Faya Largeau.[6]

Three cluster munition remnants were reportedly discovered and destroyed in 2015, including two empty RBK-250-275 cluster bomb containers in the Tibesti region and an AO-1SCh submunition in the Borkou region.[7] In its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 transparency report for 2015, Chad stated that four children (three girls and one boy) aged six and seven were injured in January 2015 after handling a submunition in Faya Largeau.[8]

In September 2012, Chad stated that while the extent of cluster munition contamination was not precisely known, it was clear the weapons had been used in the Fada region and there was a strong likelihood of their use in other parts of the north. Chad said that the Tibesti region in the northwest was being surveyed to determine the extent of the contamination.[9]

In 2014, Chad reported that, after Libyan troops withdrew in 1987, members of the French Sixth Engineers Regiment discovered and subsequently destroyed cluster munition remnants around Libyan positions, prior to the building of the national mine action center. It reiterated its suspicion of additional contamination in the Tibesti region.[10] 

Socio-economic impact 

Mines and ERW are obstacles to safe access to housing, roads, pastures, water points, and mining, especially in northern Chad.[11] In 2015, mine action operators reported that contamination is an ongoing threat to local populations and impedes socio-economic development, especially in the Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti regions.[12] In the south, east, and western regions, the impact of mines is thought to be relatively low, with the primary threat coming from ERW, including both UXO and abandoned explosive ordnance.[13]

In 2015, Chad reported registering two antipersonnel mine casualties, a significant decrease from the number recorded in 2014.[14] Furthermore, incidents caused by “landmines” and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by Boko Haram have been reported in Chad in 2015 and 2016. (See Casualties and Victim Assistance country profile for further details.)

Program Management

The national mine action program is managed by a national mine action authority, the National High Commission for Demining (Haut Commissariat National de Déminage, HCND) and the CND. 

Since 2008, Chad’s mine action program has suffered from a lack of international funding, poor equipment, weak government oversight, and mismanagement issues within the CND, resulting in little or no demining until October 2012, when the European Union (EU) provided funding to MAG.[15] In 2014, Chad acknowledged difficulties faced by its national mine action center and called for the resumption of technical and operational assistance.[16]

MAG continued its demining activities in 2015 as part of a two-year EU-funded project (Projet d’appui au secteur du déminage au Tchad, PADEMIN) to conduct clearance, especially in the northern regions of Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti.[17] It deployed three multi-task teams (MTTs) for manual demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) activities and one Armtrac mechanical support team.[18]

As part of the PADEMIN project, HI continued to support capacity-building of the CND, in particular for information and quality management, and carried out non-technical survey (NTS) in three southern regions of the country, in areas thought to be contaminated by mines and ERW.[19]

Strategic planning

Following a request of the Mine Ban Treaty Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties, the CND elaborated a national mine action plan for 2014–2019, with technical support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The plan notes that Chad adhered to the Convention on Cluster Munitions but does not detail plans to clear cluster munition remnants.[20] The plan gave details on the number, location, and size of remaining mined areas, and provided the following timeline: 

• In June 2015–June 2019, operations would be conducted in Borkou;
• In January 2015–April 2019, operations would be conducted in Ennedi;
• In May–December 2015, operations would be conducted in Moyen Chari;
• In September 2015–February 2016, operations would be conducted in Sila;
• In November 2014–November 2019, operations would be conducted in Tibesti.[21]

Standards 

HI reviewed Chad’s national mine action standards on land release and quality management in the beginning of 2016, with a new version expected to be produced in June 2016.[22]

Quality management 

HI continued providing technical support on quality management to the CND throughout 2015. It remained concerned, however, that considerable further efforts were still required to establish a fully functional quality management system with adequate capacity within the CND.[23] 

Information management

In 2015, HI provided technical support to the CND to build its information management capacity for two months, along with trainings for CND’s Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) team provided by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).[24]

HI reported that while progress on information management capacity had been made in 2015, the CND still lacked internet access, making it difficult for the IMSMA team to carry out their daily work. HI also highlighted that, despite some improvements, further efforts were needed to consolidate data checking, correction, and validation.[25] 

Land Release (Mines) 

Demining was conducted in the areas of Ogui, Zouar, and Zouarké, in Tibesti region, and Sahr Kyabé in Moyen-Chari region, resulting in clearance of approximately 0.26km² and the destruction of 39 antipersonnel mines and 1,033 antivehicle mines.[26] A total of more than 1.2km² of SHA was confirmed as contaminated with antipersonnel mines in the Tibesti, Moyen-Chari, and Chari Baguirmi regions (see table below).[27] Previously, in 2014, Chad reported the destruction of 21 mines (11 antipersonnel and 10 antivehicle mines) but did not report figures for survey or clearance of antipersonnel mines.[28]

Under the PADEMIN project, MAG began mine survey and clearance activities in the Tibesti region in February 2015.[29] During the year, MAG reported clearing 263,009m² and destroying 39 antipersonnel mines and 1,033 antivehicle mines. MAG began work on a huge Libyan military minefield in the Zouarké sector of Tibesti region with an estimated size of 14.2km² and completed clearance of a small minefield nearby with a size of 24,019m².[30]

HI did not conduct mine clearance in 2015, but carried out NTS in Chari Baguirmi, Mandoul, and Moyen-Chari provinces, confirming four SHAs with a total size of 7,200m² as contaminated with antipersonnel mines.[31]

Antipersonnel mine survey in 2015[32]

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants)

In 2015, during the mine survey and clearance in the Tibesti region, MAG reported that in September 2015, one of its MTTs found and destroyed two empty RBK-250-275 cluster munition containers in Zouar.[33] Chad stated in its 2015 Article 7 transparency report that an AO-1SCh submunition was found and destroyed by the CND in Faya Largeau in the Borkou region during the year.[34]

HI reported that it did not encounter any cluster munition remnants during its NTS activities.[35]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the six-year extension granted by States Parties in 2013), Chad is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2020. Chad is highly unlikely to meet this deadline.

Chad’s Article 5 deadline has already been extended three times. Its latest extension request, granted in 2013, noted as circumstances impeding compliance with its Article 5 obligations: lack of financial support; the size of the country and poor road network; information management problems; mismanagement at the CND; and a lack of transparency in resources management, as well as security issues. 

In 2014, Chad submitted its mine action plan for the extension period, which provides a more precise idea of its remaining contamination covering 103.5km² and indicates a provisional and general timetable. However, the full extent of the challenge remains unknown, as further survey needs to be conducted. This, combined with the lack of a concrete plan to complete survey and intermittent clearance in previous years, makes it very difficult to believe that Chad is capable of meeting its 2020 deadline.

In May 2016, both HI and MAG confirmed that Chad will not meet this deadline unless funding for mine action significantly increases.[36] MAG stated that, under present circumstances, it would be impossible for Chad to carry out its strategic plan targets as EU funding for the PADEMIN project, now in its second phase, was set to expire in October 2016 and, as of August of that year, there were no indications of an international donor willing to provide future funding.[37] HI cited the remote distance of contamination in northern Chad and the difficult conditions, including the desert climate, high temperatures, sand, and wind, as significant challenges for logistics and human resources, alongside a lack of capacity and internal organization of the national mine action authorities.[38] 

Chad’s mine action plan for 2014–2019 foresees expenditure of US$61 million ($40 million for operations and technical assistance, $4.5 million for equipment, and $16.6 million for the CND’s running costs). (See Support for Mine Action Country Profile for further details.)

Cluster Munition Convention Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chad is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 September 2023. It is unclear whether Chad is on track to meet this deadline. 

In its 2015 Article 7 report, Chad requested international cooperation and assistance in the form of two MTTs to carry out non-technical survey, risk education, and explosive ordnance disposal in relation to cluster munition remnants.[39] HI and MAG have highlighted the critical need for continued international funding for mine action and capacity building in Chad to address the remaining threat from mines and ERW.[40] MAG reported that the EU-funded PADEMIN project was set to expire in October 2016, and that, as of May, there were no indications of an international donor willing to provide future funding.[41] HI cautioned that without continued support, capacity-building efforts would be lost and progress in clearance halted.[42]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

Since 2010, the government of the Republic of Chad has contributed almost US$11 million to its mine action program, including $3.13 million in 2012, its largest contribution ever reported.[1] In 2014, Chad contributed US$2.77 million to its national mine action centre (Centre National de Déminage, CND), however, no funding was allocated to land release operations.[2]

In 2014, the European Union (EU) was Chad’s sole international mine action donor, contributing €767,000 ($1,019,880) as part of the PADEMIN project (Projet d’appui au secteur du déminage au Tchad) to conduct clearance in the northern regions of Borkou, Ennedi, and Tibesti.[3] This follows the European Commission decision of November 2013 to contribute €5.4 million ($7.1 million) to support demining efforts in Chad through the 10^th European Development Fund, of which €3.5 million ($4.6 million) would be allocated to demining and land release operations and €300,000 (some $400,000 at the time) to information management.[4] PADEMIN project has allowed Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Chad’s sole international operator that previously had to withdrew from the country due to lack of funding, to resume its demining activities in late 2014.

In May 2014, Chad submitted its mine action plan for 2014–2019 in which it estimated its remaining contamination at 103.5km², although more areas could still be identified as further survey needs to be conducted in four regions.[5] It also provided a budget of approximately US$61 million, including $40 million for operations and technical assistance, $4.5 million for equipment, and $16.6 million for CND’s running costs. Chad has planned to contribute about 30% of total funding ($16.6 million).[6] At the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in June 2014, Chad acknowledged the challenges faced by its national mine action centre and called for the resumption of technical and operational assistance in order to be able to comply with its Article 5 obligations.[7]

As of October 2015, support from the EU was the only international contribution mobilized for Chad’s extension period, meaning that $37 million is yet to be mobilized to carry out clearance without any further interruption.

Summary of contributions: 2010–2014[8]

Note: N/R = not reported

Action points based on findings

• Improve and systematize casualty data collection.
• Enhance victim assistance coordination and align with disability-rights coordination.
• Plan and undertake survivor identification and needs assessment.
• Increase services in all areas of victim assistance, particularly physical rehabilitation and employment.
• Improve facilities and professional capacity in the rehabilitation sector.
• Coordinate government investment and support to rehabilitation and emergency care to ensure sustainability.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Chad 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. Chad has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Chad signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in September 2012, but had not yet ratified as of 1 October 2016.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

The Monitor recorded six mine/ERW casualties in Chad in 2015.[1] This constituted a significant decrease from casualties reported in Chad in previous years: 79 in 2014, 20 in 2013,[2] 15 in 2012, and 34 in 2011. However, as in previous years, given the lack of national data collection and reporting systems, it is probable that there were a greater number of new casualties that were unreported.[3] Similarly, data reported in previous years was inconsistent and not indicative of trends.[4]

In 2015, only two incidents were reported by the National Demining Center (Centre National de Déminage, CND) in Chad’s Article 7 transparency reports for the Mine Ban Treaty and the Cluster Munition Convention.[5] There were four civilian casualties, all of them children.[6] One incident was due to cluster submunitions, while the second was caused by an antipersonnel mine. At least 67% of annual casualties were reported in northern Chad, in the provinces of Borkou.

At least 2,984 mine/ERW casualties had been identified by the end of 2015: 1,179 people were killed, another 1,605 were injured, and 200 were unknown.[7]

Cluster munition casualties

In 2015, there were at least four casualties, three girls and one boy, caused by cluster munition remnants.[8] The number of casualties caused by cluster munition remnants or the use of cluster munitions in Chad remains unknown due to a lack of detailed and comprehensive data collection.[9]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Chad is not known, though there were thought to be more than 1,737.[10] Between 1998 and 2013, the CND estimated that there were at least 2,834 survivors and family members of people killed by mines/ERW registered in Chad, but recognized that this data was not complete.[11] In 2014 and 2015, the CND did not report a new estimate, however new survivors were recorded throughout the years and therefore the total number most likely increased.[12]

Victim assistance since 1999

Services for mine/ERW survivors in Chad have been hampered by intermittent internal conflict and cross-border conflicts, as well as serious under-funding. Data on mine/ERW casualties is not adequate for use; information on the needs of survivors was not available. Most services were provided by the ICRC, however the organization prepared to progressively phase out its support for the rehabilitation sector in 2015.[13] Throughout the year, landmines and ERW continued to be a threat for many rural communities, particularly in the north and, to a lesser extent, in the east.[14] There remained an overall need to establish services and capacities outside the capital N’Djamena, especially in those remote and affected areas.

Victim assistance under the Vientiane Action Plan 2011–2015

Chad ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 26 March 2013.[15] Government attention to victim assistance increased through 2010 and 2011 with the development of the National Action Plan on Victim Assistance, which was adopted in May 2012. However, few initiatives were undertaken through 2015 to implement this action plan,[16] despite the adoption of an implementation strategy for the action plan in 2013.[17] There were inadequate resources and capacity made available to victim assistance or the implementation of disability-rights measures.

There were no significant changes in the accessibility, availability, or quality of victim assistance services in Chad in 2015. Handicap International (HI), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and the ICRC worked towards supporting the CND in revising the National Action Plan on Victim Assistance in 2016.[18]

Victim assistance in 2015

To access most services many survivors still needed to be transferred to N’Djamena, where the existing facilities were located; however, the facilities were few and inadequate in view of the needs. While the exact number of persons with disabilities in need of physical rehabilitation services remained unknown, the two functioning centers—one in the country’s capital and the other in the southern city of Moundou—did not have the capacity to meet needs, in terms of infrastructure and human resources.[19]

Lack of financial support from the social system to cover the cost of treatment continued to mean that services were not free of charge unless covered by the ICRC, which also continued to provide a referral system and local staff training. There was a persistent lack of physiotherapists and trained service providers; none worked in mine-affected areas. Psychosocial support, vocational training, and economic reintegration opportunities for survivors and persons with disabilities were extremely limited; the situation was exacerbated by widespread societal discrimination against them. Legislation addressing persons with disabilities was not adequately enforced, as the application decree for the domestic law protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, adopted in 2007, remained pending the president’s signature to render it law as of the end of 2015.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2015, no survivor needs assessments were made in Chad. The CND country-wide mapping study of all mine/ERW survivors, announced in 2011 as part of the implementation of the newly adopted National Action Plan on Victim Assistance, was never reported to have been completed as planned; a census of mine victims and assessment of their needs was identified as a priority of the implementation strategy of the action plan adopted in 2013.[20] Within the framework of the European Union Project to Support the Demining Sector in Chad (Projet d’Appui au secteur du déminage du Tchad, PADMIN Project), HI is due to start a victim identification and needs assessment survey in the two pilot regions of Borkou and Ouaddaï in September 2016.[21]

Victim assistance coordination[22]

This first National Plan of Action on Victim Assistance was adopted in May 2012, to be implemented from 2012–2014.[23] Because of a lack of resources for its implementation, little progress had been made towards achieving the objectives set out in the action plan and consequently in 2013, it was decided to extend the timeframe of the plan to 2017.[24] In 2015, further budget cuts did not allow for work towards the achievement of the plan to take place. A revision of the plan was due to take place in 2016.[25]

The plan recognizes the principle of non-discrimination between mine/ERW victims and other victims and persons with disabilities.[26] The plan of action identifies five key objectives:

1. Contact each survivor through organizations of mine/ERW victims and disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and assess their needs and the best way to respond.
2. Identify and reinforce community networks (including DPOs).
3. Map and improve victim assistance activities.
4. Develop a network of actors within the communities to provide psychological support and provide information on available services to victims.
5. Identify and train all service providers in affected regions on victim assistance and improve accessibility to services in all parts of the country.[27]

The objectives of the National Plan of Action on Victim Assistance have also been included in the Strategic Mine Action Plan 2013–2017.[28] In 2013, Chad developed and adopted an implementation strategy for the action plan which includes the following objectives:

1. Launch a national victims’ survey immediately.
2. Promote the CRPD and its implementation.
3. Improve access to primary care, rehabilitation services, and psychological support after an incident and in the longer term.
4. Encourage and support inclusive development of mine/ERW victims and persons with disabilities.
5. Promote the rights of victims and persons with disabilities among families, communities, and governmental ministries in order to eradicate discriminatory practices.
6. Ensure coordination among actors, including a follow-up and update of the National Plan of Action on Victim Assistance with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.
7. Mobilize national and international resources in order to implement the National Plan of Action on Victim Assistance.[29]

In 2015, regular victim assistance coordination meetings were organized within the framework of the PADMIN Project, gathering HI, MAG, the ICRC, and the CND.[30]

In May 2013, the Ministry of Public Health signed a decree creating a working group to specifically address physical rehabilitation needs in Chad, entitled Network of Rehabilitation Actors in Chad (Réseau des acteurs de la rehabilitation au Tchad, RART).[31] Members of this network include representatives of the CND, the Ministry of Public Health, and of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family and National Solidarity (Ministry of Social Welfare), international organizations such as UNICEF, the ICRC, the two rehabilitation centers, and specialists, and DPOs as well as mine survivors.[32] The network was strengthened throughout 2015 and allowed for the drafting and finalization of a national plan to address physical rehabilitation needs in Chad.[33] At year-end this plan was still awaiting approval of the Ministry of Health.[34]

Throughout 2015, the ICRC continued to encourage the ministries for health and for social affairs to increase their investment in physical rehabilitation services. It also worked with the rehabilitation center of Notre Dame House of Peace (Maison Notre Dame de Paix à Moundou, MNPD) to become self-reliable, while the the Kabalaye limb-fitting and rehabilitation center (CARK) in N’Djamena did not respond to the ICRC’s offers to help it become more independent, financially and administratively.[35]

The Ministry of Social Affairs, National Solidarity, and Women was responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, while the Ministry of Public Health was responsible for physical rehabilitation. However, there was no direct involvement by the government in physical rehabilitation and those seeking services had to pay for them.[36]

Chad did not make a statement to provide updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the international meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty or Cluster Munition Convention. In March 2016, Chad submitted its Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munition Article 7 reports for calendar year 2015, including Forms J and H, in which it provided information on victim assistance activities.[37]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2015, regular meetings and involvement of the RART allowed for the inclusion of survivor associations, especially in the drafting of the national plan to address physical rehabilitation needs in Chad. Towards the end of the year, efforts were also made to set up an identification and referral mechanism for mine/ERW victims and other persons with disabilities in two pilot sub-prefectures, which involved survivors and their representatives.[38] Two demobilized former military survivors were recruited in an orthopedic center supported by the ICRC as technicians trainees.[39] Survivors did not participate as part of their country’s delegation in international meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty or Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[40]

Emergency and continuing medical care

During 2015, Chad was increasingly impacted by military engagement and unrest in neighboring countries. Occasional incidents of communal violence, banditry, and social unrest over economic/political frustrations persisted. During emergencies, the ICRC supplied hospitals with medical kits for treating weapon-wounded people, including mine/ERW victims.[41]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

Access to rehabilitation remained difficult for most of those in need in 2015. Rehabilitation services were only available in six of the 23 regions in Chad. Access to rehabilitation was hampered by the lack of financial support from the social system to cover the cost of rehabilitation treatment (to be covered by the patients), the lack of facilities and professionals, and the burden of the cost of transport (when it was available). There was no direct involvement by the government in physical rehabilitation and patients had to pay for services.[42]

In 2015, the ICRC continued to support the two functioning centers, CARK in N’Djamena and MNDP in Moundou, where 5,224 persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, were treated. Mine/ERW survivors received more than 37% of the total number of prosthetic devices provided by the two rehabilitation centers.[43] Children represented 37% and women 21% of the total beneficiaries.[44] Staff at ICRC-supported centers enhanced the quality of their services through training sessions.[45]

Due to increased needs for support to refugees coming into Chad from neighboring countries, the ICRC generally reduced the scale of its victim assistance activities.[46] It continued to help build local capacities and promoted efforts to address physical rehabilitation needs in the country as it prepared to progressively phase out its assistance to the sector. With this in mind, the ICRC encouraged the ministries for health and for social affairs to increase investment in physical rehabilitation services. CARK however, did not respond to the ICRC’s offers to initiate a process to help them build greater financial and organizational autonomy.[47]

In 2015, HI started implementing a project funded by the EU’s PADMIN scheme. This new project, aimed to revitalize victim assistance cooperation, advocacy, and capacity-building for local associations of survivors. It was also planning to include activities to strengthen the rehabilitation sector and facilitate access to services for mine/ERW survivors. In 2015, activities under this project focused on two pilot sub-prefectures, Kirdimi (Borkou) and Hadjer Hadid (Ouaddaï), however HI focused on gathering data and identifying needs with a view to scale up activities in 2016.[48]

Socio-economic inclusion

In 2015, a national private micro credit company provided grants specifically targeting persons with disabilities for income-generating activities.[49] The government also operated education, employment, and therapy programs for persons with disabilities.[50]

National laws and policies

The law protects the rights of and prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law. No legislation or programs exist to ensure access to buildings for persons with disabilities.[51]

The application decree for the domestic law number 007 protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, adopted in 2007, has remained inoperative, pending the president’s signature to render it law.[52] Efforts were made to translate this law into Arabic in the hope of speeding up its adoption.[53]