Casualties

Casualties Overview

In 2014, 21 mine/ERW casualties in 16 incidents were recorded in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, which is similar to the 22 mine/ERW casualties in 14 incidents recorded in 2013.[1] Five of the casualties in 2014 were deminers, while in 2013 there was one deminer killed.[2] Eight of the remaining 2014 casualties were adult men; five of the casualties were women and three were children (two boys and one girl). When cause of incident was recorded all 2014 casualties were from UXO. In 2014, a majority of the casualties where location is known occurred in the district of Mullaitivu, in northern Sri Lanka.[3]

In 2014, UNICEF reported that since the 1980s some 22,177 mine/ERW casualties had been recorded, including 1,603 civilian casualties. However, from 2006 to 2009 accurate casualty information was difficult to access due to ongoing conflict, likely resulting in under-reporting.[4] In April 2010, it was reported that since the 1980s there were a total of 21,993 mine casualties, including 1,419 civilian returnees; 3,770 recorded amputees among the armed forces, police, and civil defense forces; and 16,804 mine casualties among the non-state armed group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[5] From 1999 to the end of 2014, the Monitor identified 1,472 casualties in Sri Lanka (144 killed; 594 injured; 734 unknown).[6]

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors in Sri Lanka, both civilian and military, was estimated to be in the thousands.[7] The National Mine Action Centre (NMAC) reported 1,474 registered civilian mine survivors injured in Sri Lanka between 1985 and the end of 2011.[8]

Victim assistance since 1999

There has been an overall increase in availability and accessibility of healthcare and social services in Sri Lanka for mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities in general, particularly with regard to government-provided services.[9] In the north and east of Sri Lanka, a number of primary care hospitals have been opened while roads have been re-built and maintained, increasing availability and accessibility of services since 2010.[10]

Hundreds of thousands of displaced persons returned to their homes after the end of the conflict in late 2009, including persons with disabilities and injuries, creating a need for services in new areas. The public health system provided medical treatment to mine/ERW survivors, while post-operative care, including psychosocial support, counseling, and mobility aids were provided on an increasing scale by the government and national NGOs supported by international organizations.[11]

Access and availability of physical rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka, including mine/ERW survivors, dramatically increased since 2012, principally due to more rehabilitation centers becoming operational and a general improvement of public transportation infrastructure.[12] However, a mapping of the physical rehabilitation sector in Sri Lanka led by Handicap International (HI) in collaboration with various stakeholders in 2013 showed that there remained gaps in geographical coverage, a lack of capacity among existing providers, a shortage of trained workers, and unclear referral mechanisms between health facilities and physical rehabilitation services.[13]

Other important challenges were the lack of awareness among persons with disabilities about the existence and importance of physical rehabilitation, as well as the lack of long-term follow-up at home and community level, which may result in people abandoning their rehabilitation or stopping their use of their assistive devices.[14]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2014, there was no combined or comprehensive data on the number or the needs of mine/ERW survivors, victims of war, or other persons with disabilities. Details of mine/ERW incidents were recorded in the national Information Management System for Mine Action database. The Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare (MoSS) maintained and updated a database of persons with disabilities for the north and east of the country.[15] UNICEF supported the Department of Social Services in the provision of assistance to vulnerable persons including persons with disabilities.[16]

NGOs providing mine risk education continued to collect data on mine/ERW survivors and maintained records, while identifying the needs of survivors and referring them to available services.[17]

Victim assistance coordination[18]

The Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition’s Division of Rehabilitation for Youth, Elderly, Disabled and Displaced and the MoSS are the lead government agencies for disability. The former is responsible for medical concerns and the latter for social.[19] Other ministries, particularly the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Defense, also address important issues relevant to persons with injuries and disabilities.[20]

A National Action Plan for Disability was approved in January 2014. It contains seven pillars: (1) empowerment; (2) health and rehabilitation; (3) education; (4) work and employment; (5) mainstreaming and enabling environments; (6) data and research; and (7) social and institutional cohesion. While it focuses on persons with disabilities in general, the plan also includes mine/ERW victims—in particular, support and increased accessibility to the rehabilitation sector, as well as community-based rehabilitation, are integral parts of the plan.[21]

The 2010 National Strategy for Mine Action in Sri Lanka includes victim assistance objectives.[22]

Survivor inclusion

Disabled persons’ organizations are included in the various coordination mechanisms.[23]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[24]

In mid-2014, the ICRC phased out technical and material support to the JJCDR, the only center providing physical rehabilitation on the Jaffna peninsula. The final shipment of ICRC supplies to cover its operations until the end of 2015 was made, allowing JJCDR leadership to pursue other funding sources.[25] The end of ICRC support follows a gradual reduction of financial support to JJCDR, with a decrease of 15% in the amount reimbursed per appliance by the ICRC in 2010, 30% in 2011, and 50% in 2012. In 2013, the ICRC’s contribution to reimbursements amounted to less than 7% of JJCDR’s operational budget, with the rest being covered by other income and various donors.[26] The center offers a broad range of services, including the provision of prosthetics, orthotics, various mobility aids, physiotherapy, microcredit, and financial support for disabled students.[27] In 2014, 70 prostheses were provided to mine/ERW survivors through ICRC support at JJCDR.[28]

The Department of Social Services, as well as some mine risk education operators, provided livelihood-development programs targeting persons with disabilities, including conflict victims, through income-generation activities and housing support.[29] Vocational training was available for persons with disabilities under the age of 35 who were unmarried at one of five centers in three districts.[30]

Laws and policies

Sri Lanka lacked adequate legislation to protect and respect the rights of persons with disabilities.[31] Discrimination continued to occur in employment, education, and the provision of state services including public transportation.[32] Negative attitudes and societal discrimination toward persons with disabilities remained common, especially in rural areas, which led to long-term isolation of persons with disabilities.[33]

Access to buildings and public transportation for persons with disabilities remained rare at the end of 2014 with reports that only 2-3% of buildings are accessible.[34]

Persons with disabilities were reported to have been negatively affected by restrictions on aid projects being implemented in the north. A lack of inclusion of persons with disabilities in development initiatives, and “a lack of coordination between upholding disability rights and general human rights” was also reported.[35]

Sri Lanka ratified the CRPD on 8 February 2016.