Kuwait

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 12 July 2016

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

1,479 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (235 killed; 1,244 injured) from August 1990 to 2015

Casualties in 2015

2 (2014: 1)

2015 casualties by outcome

1 killed, 1 injured (2014: 1 killed)

2015 casualties by device type

2 antipersonnel mine (2014: 1 antipersonnel mine)

 

Two landmine casualties were identified in Kuwait in 2015. In March, a Bangladeshi shepherd was killed and his colleague injured near the Ahmad Al-Jaber base at Abdullah Port.[1] In April 2014, a Sudanese shepherd was killed in the north of the country.[2] In 2013, an Indian shepherd lost both legs and was blinded by a landmine; in 2012, a Bangladeshi shepherd was killed.[3]

Three mine casualties were identified in 2011.[4] The casualty rate has remained low since sharply decreasing in 2008. People most affected by landmines in Kuwait are immigrants, mainly shepherds from south Asia who work in the desert areas of the country and are often unaware of the mine/ERW threat.

Mine casualties continued into 2016 when two Ethiopian shepherds were injured in a mine incident in February.[5]

From 1999 to the end of 2015, the Monitor identified 130 mine/ERW casualties in Kuwait (33 killed; 55 injured; 42 unknown).[6]

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) recorded 1,405 mine/ERW casualties in Kuwait from August 1990 to 2002, including 85 killed and 1,026 injured by mines, and 119 killed and 175 injured by ERW.[7]

Between 1990 and 2006, at least 198 cluster munition remnants casualties were recorded in Kuwait (61 killed; 137 injured). These casualties were mostly clearance personnel.[8] It was reported that the one casualty severely injured in 2013 received support for his care through donations.[9]

Victim Assistance

Kuwait provided assistance to victims of mines/ERW, including free medical care and physiotherapy, education, financial support, as well as access to social and residency services, transportation services, and prosthesis workshops for survivors.[10]

Approximately 68% of residents in Kuwait were non-citizens as of 2014, many of whom are migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against non-citizens was prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including employment, education, housing, and healthcare. In June 2013, the government began segregating public hospital staff and treatment times between citizens and non-citizens, reserving mornings for treatment of citizens exclusively, except in case of non-citizen emergencies.[11]

Kuwait had legislation prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities, including those resulting from mines/ERW, in a variety of sectors including education, employment, transportation, healthcare, and access to government services. These provisions were generally enforced, but non-citizens with disabilities did not receive equal access to financial or social assistance.[12] 

Kuwait ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 22 August 2013.



[1]Landmine blast claims Bangladeshi Shepherd,” Kuwait Times, 9 March 2015.

[2]Sudanese shepherd killed in landmine explosion,” Kuwait Times, 13 April 2014.

[3]Landmine Explosion in the desert: Shepherd lost his legs,” Kuwait Times (International), 1 March 2013; and “Help Shankar - Landmine Injury Victim in Kuwait,” Dester Girl Kuwait blog, 8 September 2013;and “Stray Mine Kills Shepherd,” Kuwait Times, 4 June 2012. In 2013, the Monitor, which was updated on 25 November 2013, had reported an additional person injured in 2012, however media reports had incorrectly dated the incident. See, “No end in sight for plight of injured Indian worker – Nearly killed by Iraqi landmine,” Kuwait Times, 15 September 2013. The report records the incident as occurring on 26 February 2012, rather than the same date in 2013.

[4] “Landmine Blows Apart Shepherd,” Arab Times, 20 January 2011, p. 4; and email from Dr. Raafat Misak, Professor, KISR, quoting information provided by the Ministry of Defence of Kuwait, 16 April 2012.

[5]Two Ethiopian shepherds injured in landmine explosion,” Kuwait Times, 28 February 2016.

[6] Between 2013 and 2015, 43 people were killed and 31 injured. Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor global casualty database query.

[7] International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World (New York: Human Rights Watch, August 2002).

[8] Handicap International, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels, May 2007), p. 18. There has been a lack of data on civilian casualties.

[9]Landmine victim Jakanshar flies home,” Indiansinkuwait, 29 October 2013. He later received a compensation payment of 30,000 KWD (or approximately $100,000) from Kuwait after returning to India, according to one report. News Video, “Landmine victim gets 30 000 dinar from Kuwait government,” February 2014.

[10] Amir Moran “Kuwait calls for limiting hazards of remnants of war,” Emirates News Agency, 12 November 2015.

[11] United States Department of State, “2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait,” Washington, DC, 25 June 2015.

[12] Ibid.