Iraq

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 18 July 2018

Victim assistance action points

  • Establish a system of data collection and analysis for persons with disabilities.
  • Implement the recommendations of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI)/Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Report on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Iraq through victim assistance and disability planning.
  • Incorporate the recommendations of the 2018 National Parallel Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for Iraq into policy and planning.
  • Follow up on the recommendation by key UN agencies that the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities visit Iraq, taking into account the standing invitation issued by the government of Iraq.[1] Such a visit was also previously discussed with the Special Rapporteur by Iraqi Alliance of Disability (IADO) the national mine/ERW survivors’ representative organization.

Victim assistance planning and coordination[2]

Government focal points

Directorate of Mine Action (DMA) at the national level, with limited capacity; Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency(IKMAA) in Iraqi Kurdistan

Other focal points

World Health Organization, Health Cluster

Coordination activities

Ad hoc coordination by DMA; disability coordination in Kurdistan

Plans/strategies

As in past years, Iraq reported having a strategic annual plan for victim assistance, that was developed in 2017.

Disability sector integration

DMA is under the MoHE, which also has responsibility for disability rights issues

 

DMA formed an active field-based team including its victim assistance departmentand other relevant departments from the MoHE, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), municipality councils, police, and civil defense centers

Emergency sector integration

Humanitarian system-wide Level 3 (L3) emergency deactivated at the end of 2017. The situation of persons with disabilities is raised in the Health and Protection cluster’s and working groups

Survivor inclusion and participation

Mine survivors were represented in victim assistance meetings held in central and southern Iraq through IADO. IADO is not included in the development of annual victim assistance plans, but it is represented in the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, which is under the authority of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and meetings with different disability NGOs and involved in decision making. The ICRC alsoexchanges ideas with IADO for planning,[3] and Handicap International (known elsewhere asHumanity & Inclusion HI) works in partnership with IADO[4]

Reporting and updates on victim assistance

Statement, Convention on Cluster Munitions Sixth Meeting of States Parties, September 2017


Statement, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, June 2017[5]


Last Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J for 2017


Last Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form H for 2017

 

The Republic of Iraq reported that the Department of Mine Action coordinates and cooperates with the following state bodies in the coordination of victim assistance: MoHE, which provides therapeutic and rehabilitation services, orthopedic instruments and medical aids of all kinds, and prosthetic devices, in addition to providing services of the various types, including managing the rehabilitation centers; MoLSA provides services through its Social Welfare Department, the Vocational Training Service, the Employment and Loan Department, and the payment of the salaries of the protection network; the compensation departments of the provincial councils;[6] the Department of Special Needs Welfare is reported to be responsible for policy development.[7] Achievements of implementation of disability planning include the provision of rehabilitation and treatment services through the health department in Baghdad and governorates. However, the services provided have not reached the projected level. The implementation of planning is supervised and coordinated by relevant implementing partners.[8]

The Director-General of the Department of Special Needs Welfare attributed the scarcity of services of the department to “the lack of resources and the current economic crisis in Iraq, the fight against terrorism, and the transfer of powers to the provincial councils of governorates under Law 21 (2008), according to the decree of SGCM No. 25489 on 5/8/2015.”[9]

The Commission on the Care of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs was established by Law 38 (2013) to oversee the implementation of government policies related to the rights of persons with disabilities in Iraq. In 2017, it held periodic inter-ministerial meetings. The results of these meetings included the formation of a legal committee to review law No. 38, a committee on inclusive education, an appeals committee to review beneficiary complaints about the outcomes of medical reports submitted to the MoHE, and efforts to improve building-accessibility.[10]

International commitments and obligations

Iraq is responsible for significant numbers of mine, cluster munition, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and indirect victims who are in need. The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Iraq has been estimated as at least 48,000–68,000[11]

Mine Ban Treaty

Yes

Convention on Cluster Munitions

Yes

Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V

Yes

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Yes

 

Laws and policies

The law does not prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. Despite the 2016 decree ordering the accessibility of buildings, local NGOs reported that many children with disabilities dropped out of public school due to insufficient physical access to school buildings. There is a 5% public sector employment quota for persons with disabilities.[12]

The Disability and Special Needs Body, formed under law No. 38 (2013), held periodic inter-ministerial meetings in 2017 including the following outcomes:

  • The formation of a legal committee to review the articles of law No. 38 to adapt the law to meet Iraq’s obligations under international conventions;
  • Created a committee tasked on inclusive education for persons with disabilities;
  • Working with various departments and NGOs to make buildings accessible; and
  • Establish an appeal committee for the MoHE to review beneficiary complaints about the process of medical reports submitted.[13]

Major Developments in 2017–2018

There are significant shortages in materials and funding to support activities that improve the quality of life for mine/ERW survivors.[14]

Specific challenges included the instability of the security situation in areas freed from the non-state armed group Islamic State (IS)/ISIL/ISIS, inadequate financial allocations to implement the agreed plan on victim assistance, and the limited number of local and international NGOs working in the field of victim assistance in Iraq.[15]

Needs assessment

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the OHCHR recommended that Iraq establish a system of data collection and analysis for persons with disabilities.[16] No progress was reported through June 2018.

The DMA’s field-based victim assistance team met mine survivors to complete forms and enter information into the Information System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database. DMA, in coordination with the MoHE, MoLSA, and the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, collected data in the areas freed from IS. The DMA conducted field surveys of mine/ERW survivors in districts of Anbar governorate.[17] Some 6,036 mine/ERW survivors were registered in the process in the period December 2017 through 30 March 2018. The survey was still ongoing in Anbar province as of June 2018.[18]

The victim assistance department of the DMA, in cooperation with UNMAS and IMMA, also carried out field visits to all rehabilitation and orthopedic centers within health departments in the governorates to evaluate service provisions and submit a report with recommendations to ensure the regular provision of services. Field visits to sports clubs were also conducted in coordination with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Paralympic National Committee.[19]

HI reported a gap in data collection on the number and needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) with disabilities in Iraq, and a lack of adapted response to those needs.[20]

Medical care and rehabilitation

After 2015, persons with disabilities faced greater difficulties accessing treatment. Hospitals were not prepared to assist them, there were difficulties in communicating with medical and administrative personnel, a lack of experience in serving persons with disabilities, and the high costs of medical and therapeutic services. Some institutions are self-financed by user payment, although the law stipulates that the services provided to persons with disabilities should be free of charge.[21]

In response to conflict-related injuries, the ICRC trained emergency responders and health professionals, referred injured people to hospitals, supported hospitals in violence-prone areas, and assigned surgical teams to Mosul.[22]

The NGO Emergency started an intervention at the Emergency Hospital in Erbil in January 2017, to provide surgical care to the war-injured persons of Mosul.

In 2017, HI increased its support to healthcare facilities and to community-based psychosocial support centers.[23] HI provided physical and functional rehabilitation services and psychological support to IDPs and war-wounded persons in Mosul and IDP camps and healthcare facilities to the east and south of Mosul city. HI also provided training, equipment, and assistive devices to local health structures in three governates.[24]HI reported that the Center for Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Limbs in Dohuk was apparently not functioning.[25]

A 30% decrease in the number of assistive devices provided after 2014 was an indicator of the decline in services provided for persons with disabilities in 2016 and 2017. Assistive devices and equipment were reported to be of poor quality. The few that are decent quality are sold at high prices, which makes them unaffordable to people with low or middle-incomes. There was also a lack of physical therapy centers in remote and rural areas.[26] No prosthetic or orthopedic center was manufacturing devices and thus all parts were imported, and of questionable quality. While being expensive, the process is also slow. Rehabilitation is not available in decentralized health structures including hospitals, and where such services do exist, there are no qualified physiotherapy staff. In addition to these limitations, existing rehabilitative care is not comprehensive and remains very physical-therapy focused because there are no other specialized rehabilitation professionals such as occupational therapists, nor training in those fields.[27]

Due to limited funding provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government, prosthetic and rehabilitation centers in the region do not have the capacity to meet the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities, including IDPs.[28]

In 2017, the ICRC increased the number of prostheses for mine/ERW survivors by a third from 2016, delivering 738 (of 2,910 in total), compared to 552 (of 2,955 in total) in 2016.[29] Since the beginning of 2018, the ICRC has been supporting two additional physical rehabilitation centers in Iraq. There are no prosthetic services available in Mosul, where the ICRC supports the construction of the new prosthetic and orthotic workshop of the MoHE. Patients from Mosul received prosthetic devices at the ICRC-run Physical Rehabilitation Center in Erbil. The ICRC also supported14 rehabilitation centers, of which 11 were operated by the MoHE, and one by the Ministry of Defense.[30] The MoHE provided 290 prostheses and some 60 other types of assistive and mobility devices for survivors in 2017.[31] No assistive aids were distributed to cluster munition victims in 2017.[32]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The number of persons with disabilities who received vocational training through the MoLSA, compared to the size of the population of persons with disabilities in Iraq, made the figure seem insignificant to the needs. It was recommended that Iraq should increase efforts to engage a larger number of people in the labor market.[33]

MoLSA did not provide any flexible repayment of soft-loans for mine/ERW survivors in 2017. However, it did provide 43 job opportunities for victims, 42 of which were for women.[34]

In March 2018, the ICRC started a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support program (MHPSS) at the ICRC-run Physical Rehabilitation Center in Erbil to provide individual counseling for patients and training for the physiotherapists treating them.Beneficiaries of ICRC micro-economic initiatives are selected according to vulnerability criteria, thus 35% of beneficiaries with disabilities have conflict-related impairments.[35]

HI was working to remove physical barriers of 12 schools in Anbar and Ninewa governorates to improve accessibility. HI also began providing ongoing psychosocial and psychological support in 2018.[36]

In 2017, 22 children from Iraq with companions received psychological treatment at a camp in Croatia.[37]

Cross-cutting

The DMA reported that gender-sensitive services are provided to most females through provision of specialized female staff in rehabilitation and medical centers. The same applies to males.[38]

In 2017, HI worked with humanitarian actors in IDP camps to improve the registration of persons with disabilities or injuries and their access to services.[39]

Victim assistance providers and activities

Name of organization

Type of activity

Government

DMA

Referrals for health and rehabilitation; economic and social inclusion, provided land and livelihood loans; assistance in social inclusion through marriage ceremonies

Ministry of Health

Emergency and continuing medical care; management of 16 physical rehabilitation centers and 15 centers with orthopedic workshops; accommodation; training of rehabilitation technicians; social and economic integration

Ministry of Defense

Management of one physical rehabilitation center in Baghdad, supported by ICRC

Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA)

Job training and placement for persons with disabilities

Ministry of Health, Kurdistan Regional Government

Emergency and continuing medical care; physical rehabilitation; social and economic integration

National

Center for Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Limbs in Dohuk

Physical rehabilitation; psychosocial support; and economic inclusion (may not be functioning)

Diana Orthopedic Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Center

Physical rehabilitation; psychosocial support; and economic inclusion

Iraqi Alliance of Disability (IADO)

Advocacy and material support for persons with disabilities; support to IDPs with disabilities in camps around Baghdad; parallel CRPD reporting completed in cooperation with HI[40]

Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS)

Emergency medical care; physical rehabilitation through management of the center in Mosul; psychological support; and economic-inclusion program

International

EMERGENCY

Physical rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration, including vocational training, and renovations to homes for accessibility in Sulaymaniyah; war surgery in Erbil[41]

Handicap International(HI, known elsewhere as Humanity & Inclusion)

Referral, physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, support to healthcare centers, empowerment of persons with disabilities,[42] advocacy and awareness-raising on disability and inclusion[43]

ICRC

Emergency medical services; support and renovation of health centers; support through training and materials at rehabilitation centers; management of rehabilitation center in Erbil; transport support to most vulnerable patients; income-generating projects in Erbil and Baghdad; focus on female breadwinners and persons with disabilities[44]

WHO

Healthcare through cluster response with 36 Health Cluster Reporting Partners; 27 international and nine national partners[45]

 



[1] UNAMI/OHCHR, “Report on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Iraq,” December 2016, p. 20.

[2] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form H; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J; and response to Monitor questionnaire from Riyad Nasir, DMA, 2 May 2018.

[3] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Nagham Awada, Media Relations and Spokesperson, ICRC Iraq, 7 May 2018.

[4] Email from Rebecca Letven, Head of Mission, HI Iraq, 12 July 2018.

[5] Statement of Iraq, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, 8 June 2017.

[6] Providing compensation under Law No. 20 of 2009, Compensating the Victims of Military Operations, Military Mistakes and Terrorist Actions.

[7] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form H.

[8] Ibid.

[9] IADO, “The Parallel Report for Government’s Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD),” Hashim Al-Azzawi, General Supervisor of the Report, Falah Al-Yasiri, Legal Expert Muwafaq Al-Khafaji, International Expert, in collaboration with HI, Baghdad, 2018, p. 20.

[10] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form H.

[11] UN Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit (IAU), “Landmines and Unexploded Ordnances Fact Sheet,” April 2011.

[12] United States Department of States, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: Iraq,” Washington, DC, 20 April 2018, pp. 45–46.

[13] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Riyad Nasir, DMA, 2 May 2018.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] UNAMI/OHCHR, “Report on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Iraq,” December 2016, p. 20.

[17] Including Fallujah, Karma, Al skalawya, Ameriet Al Falooga, Khalidya, Haklania, and Barwana.

[18] Statement of Iraq, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, 7 June 2018.

[19] Ibid.

[20] HI, “Iraq: Facts & Figures,” April 2018, p. 2.

[21] IADO, “The Parallel Report for Government’s Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD),” Hashim Al-Azzawi, General Supervisor of the Report, Falah Al-Yasiri, Legal Expert, Muwafaq Al-Khafaji, International Expert, in collaboration with HI, Baghdad, 2018, pp. 49, 61, and 64.

[22] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva 2018, p. 463.

[23] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Rebecca Letven, HI Iraq, 19 March 2018.

[24] Ibid.; and email, 12 July 2018; and HI, “Iraq: Facts & Figures,” April 2018, p. 1.

[25] Email from Rebecca Letven, HI Iraq, 12 July 2018.

[26] IADO, “The Parallel Report for Government’s Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD),” Hashim Al-Azzawi, General Supervisor of the Report, Falah Al-Yasiri, Legal Expert, Muwafaq Al-Khafaji, International Expert, in collaboration with HI, Baghdad, 2018, pp. 49, 61, and 64.

[27] Email from Rebecca Letven, Head of Mission, HI Iraq, 12 July 2018.

[28] Email from Mudhafar Aziz Hamad, Director of Mine Risk Education and Mine Victim Assistance, IKMAA, 28 June 2018.

[29] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva 2018, p. 467; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2016,” Geneva 2017, p. 474.

[30] Making 137 out of 387 beneficiaries in total. Response to Monitor questionnaire by Nagham Awada, Media Relations and Spokesperson, ICRC Iraq, 7 May 2018.

[31] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[32] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form H.

[33] IADO, “The Parallel Report for Government’s Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD),” Hashim Al-Azzawi, General Supervisor of the Report, Falah Al-Yasiri, Legal Expert, Muwafaq Al-Khafaji, International Expert, in collaboration with HI, Baghdad, 2018, pp. 67–68.

[34] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[35] Making137 out of 387 beneficiaries in total. Response to Monitor questionnaire by Nagham Awada, ICRC Iraq, 7 May 2018.

[36] Email from Rebecca Letven, HI Iraq, 12 July 2018; and HI, “Iraq: Facts & Figures,” April 2018, p. 2.

[37] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form H.

[38] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Riyad Nasir, DMA, 2 May 2018.

[40] Email from Muwafaq Al-Khafaji, IADO, 19 April 2018.

[42] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Rebecca Letven, HI Iraq, 19 March 2018.

[43] HI, “Iraq: Facts & Figures,” April 2018, p. 2.

[44] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva 2018, pp. 463–466.