Action points based on findings

• Improve the availability of physical rehabilitation and psychosocial services significantly throughout the country, especially outside the capital city; increase resources to establish these services.
• Identify sustainable resources for assistance as a key priority; since most funding ended, many NGOs that provide victim assistance depend on irregular international funding channeled through the mine action sector.
• Ensure that effective mechanisms are in place for victim assistance coordination.
• Work towards forming a sustainable planning and coordination mechanism that recognizes and addresses victim assistance requirements at national and local levels.

Victim assistance commitments

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

DRC acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 30 September 2015.

Victim Assistance

By the end of 2016, UNMAS had recorded 1,073 killed mine/ERW survivors in DRC.[1]

Victim assistance since 2015

Victim assistance stakeholders have largely worked from the results of the 2011 victim identification and needs assessment campaigns, conducted as part of the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for Assistance for Mine/ERW Victims and other Persons with Disabilities: November 2010–October 2011 (Plan Stratégique National d’Assistance aux Victimes des Mines/REG et autres Personnes en Situation de Handicap: Novembre 2010–Octobre 2011, PSNAVH).[2] Close to 500 mine/ERW survivors were identified among 1,000 persons with disabilities surveyed, identifying needs in healthcare, physical rehabilitation, and economic inclusion.[3]

Most persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, in DRC continued to be unable to access services. Due to conflict, poverty, and mass displacement, the many needs of persons with disabilities were not met. Access to services ranged from limited to non-existent and was further hampered by long distances, inaccessible terrain, and cost. Most services have been provided by NGOs. Conflict increased demands on services at the same time that some NGOs also faced funding difficulties.

The physical rehabilitation sector remained under-resourced and the few functioning centers remained dependent on international support. Social workers within the healthcare system had received some basic training. Opportunities for psychological assistance were limited to ad hoc NGO projects.

Victim assistance in 2016

The security situation in DRC remained volatile in 2016 and further deteriorated in several provinces, primarily North Kivu, Tanganyika (formerly part of the Katanga province), and Kasai towards the end of the year. Armed violence, ethnic tensions, and criminality were on the rise in these areas, which continued to have the most casualties, suffering from displacement, the destruction of livelihoods and property, and other abuses against civilians. This was further exacerbated by the postponement of presidential elections, which generated political unrest and the general deterioration of the socioeconomic situation throughout the country.[4] International funding for victim assistance was worryingly low in 2016. Diminished funding for victim assistance, or a lack thereof, has been experienced in DRC for several years, leading to already insufficient services to either be unable to respond to the needs or disappear altogether. In 2016, this situation further led to a stagnation in the number of actors and geographical coverage.[5] Psychological support and care remained among the biggest challenges in mine/ERW victim assistance in DRC in 2016, as it has been for several years.[6]

As in previous years, the size of the country, combined with the lack of transportation and infrastructure, armed violence, and the financial cost of obtaining assistance all made it difficult for survivors to access the limited number of services, which were available only in major cities.[7]

Assessing victim assistance needs

No new victim assistance needs assessments were conducted in 2016.[8]

From January to March 2016, the Ministry of Social Affairs conducted a wide-area data collection exercise on persons with disabilities in 11 provincial capital cities (Goma, Bukavu, Kindu, Lubumbashi, Mbandaka, Matadi, Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, Kanaga, Bandundu, and Kisangani). This exercise was aimed at informing the development of a five-year strategic plan on the protection and promotion of persons with disabilities in DRC.[9]

Victim assistance coordination in 2016[10]

From 2013 through 2016, the Working Group on Victim Assistance (Groupe de Travail sur l’Assistance aux Victimes)—created in 2011 and chaired by the Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of the Ministry of Social Affairs[11]—remained inoperative,[12] and at least one NGO considered that this working group no longer existed.[13] Since the disengagement of UNMAS, starting in 2014 with the closure of several offices[14] and transfer of coordination efforts to the Congolese Mine Action Center (Centre Congolais de Lutte Anti-Mines, CCLAM), there has been a general halt in coordination efforts.[15] The Sub-cluster on Disabilities, falling under the Health Cluster, assumed for a while the role of coordination and planning,[16] however, since 2014, this sub-cluster did not meet.[17] The only coordination mechanism that remained active and effective in 2016 was the Physical Rehabilitation Sub-Group, facilitated by the ICRC in Kinshasa,[18] which met once every quarter.[19]

The National Strategic Mine Action Plan for the period 2012–2016 included a chapter on victim assistance that draws on the PSNAVH.[20] Five strategic objectives have been set for victim assistance: (1) improved information and data management on survivors and their needs; (2) strengthened physical rehabilitation nationally; (3) development of psychological support in accordance with victims’ needs; (4) ensuring access to socioeconomic and professional rehabilitation; and (5) strengthened coordination mechanisms on victim rehabilitation.[21]

Funding to ensure the implementation of the victim assistance section of the National Mine Action Plan remained a key challenge throughout 2016.[22] Since UNMAS ended funding for victim assistance in 2014, many local NGOs that depended almost entirely on funds raised by UNMAS had to suspend or close their operations, which led to a significant decrease in the number of service providers.[23] In November 2015, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) received funding from the government of Japan for a Mine Action project, which included capacity-building for the CCLAM, in particular for keeping and updating mine action databases, including on victim assistance.[24] However, no significant improvement in the availability of data on new victims and survivors was noted in 2016.

DRC made a statement at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in May 2016, in which it noted the severe lack of funding for victim assistance and also said that it needs to improve the availability of physical rehabilitation and psychosocial services significantly.[25] As of 1 October 2017, DRC had not submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2014, 2015, or 2016. Victim assistance was reported in Form H of DRC’s voluntary Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 reports submitted in 2011, 2012, and 2013, but only briefly, with no detail or data.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2016, mine/ERW survivors and their representative organizations, as well as disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), were invited to the few meetings organized on victim assistance held in Kinshasa.[26] In 2016, survivors participated in the provision of economic inclusion services, as well as in advocacy activities and peer support programs carried out by NGOs.[27]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2016[28]

Medical care

Emergency and continuing medical care continued to have limited support through government medical structures and there was a lack of accessible healthcare across DRC.[29] It was reported that, in most cases, survivors are not able to receive appropriate support in cases of mine/ERW incidents, resulting in more fatalities.[30]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

The long distances to services, high financial costs of attaining them, and insecurity remained the greatest obstacles to accessing physical rehabilitation.[31] The PSNAVH estimated that just 20% of the population in need of physical rehabilitation services were able to access them.[32] There were only six rehabilitation centers operating effectively in the entire country. Even these lacked sufficient materials to produce enough prosthetics to meet existing needs. Trained orthopedic technicians were needed, especially in mine-affected areas.[33] In 2016, the ICRC continued to providing technical support, equipment, and materials to four physical rehabilitation centers (located in Bukavu, Goma, and Kinshasa) and a workshop.[34] Support of Handicap International (HI) to the Kinshasa General Provincial Reference Hospital’s Orthopedic Center allowed for increased availability of quality services.[35]

The ICRC also continued to cover the treatment costs of people directly affected by the conflict, including 44 mine/ERW survivors. The ICRC improved services at 22 health facilities, including physical rehabilitation centers with construction and repairs.[36] The number of prostheses produced overall with ICRC support in 2016 was similar compared to 2015, and thus remained significantly higher than in previous years.[37] However, in 2016, mine/ERW survivors only received 6% of all prosthetic devices produced with the assistance of the ICRC,[38] which was the same as in the previous two years, but continued the decrease compared to 16% in 2012 and 10% in 2013.[39]

In 2016, HI continued to provide funding and support to the General Provincial Reference Hospital in Kinshasa and its orthopedic workshop, which opened the previous year. Twelve local technicians were trained within the framework of the TEAM CONGO project (Training, economic empowerment, and medical/physical (re)habilitation services for the Democratic Republic of the Congo).[40]

Social and economic inclusion

The USAID-funded TEAM project implemented by HI also promoted the socioeconomic inclusion of persons with disabilities—in particular women and girls—living in Kinshasa and Kananga.[41]

In 2016, the Ministry of Education increased its special education outreach efforts but estimated it was educating fewer than 6,000 children with disabilities.[42] Throughout the year, HI worked to improve access to inclusive education for children with disabilities, particularly girls, through the support of 10 schools where the organization trains teachers, improves the accessibility of school buildings, and reaches out to parents in the community to encourage them to send children with disabilities to school.[43] In 2016, the ICRC also supported inclusive education by taking care of school fees for 13 children with disabilities, of whom eight were conflict victims, in Goma, Bukavu, and Kinshasa.[44]

In 2016, mine/ERW survivors in Kinshasa gathered every month through the Association for the Unity of Mine Survivors (Association pour le Rassemblement des Survivants de Mines, ARASM) to ensure peer support and overcome trauma.[45] In 2016, the ICRC continued to strengthen its activities on psychosocial support and inclusion for persons with disabilities. Psychosocial assistance was provided at two centers and the Goma hospital. The ICRC also provided support to the Congolese team participating in the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[46]

Laws and policy

The 2005 constitution includes special mention of support of war veterans and persons with disabilities resulting from war. It also prohibits discrimination against all persons with disabilities, stipulates that all citizens must have access to public services (including education), and provides that persons with disabilities are afforded specific protection by the government.[47] However, the legislation was not effectively enforced and persons with disabilities often found it difficult to obtain employment, education, or government services. The legislation did not mandate access to buildings or government services for persons with disabilities.[48] New regulations on physical accessibility of school buildings were adopted in 2015 by the ministry responsible for primary and secondary education, with the support of HI’s inclusive education project,[49] but these regulations were not successfully implemented.[50]

A legislative proposal for a new law on protecting persons with disabilities and promoting their rights was drafted in 2012, with the involvement of NGOs. By December 2016, the draft had not been approved.[51] In June 2016, the Ministry of Social Affairs organized high-level consultations on disabilities and adopted a National Strategic Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Persons with Disabilities.[52]