Victim assistance action points

• Integrate victim assistance within arising disability frameworks.
• Support needs assessment surveys to target assistance that has limited resources.
• Map existing resources and services, identify the gaps and propose solutions.

Victim assistance planning and coordination[1]

International commitments and obligations

Laws and policies

In June 2018, the Council of Ministers approved a bill to establish the National Agency for Persons with Disabilities in Somalia. The bill was presented before the Cabinet by the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.[5] In January 2018, disabled people’s organization (DPO) Institute of Education and Professional Development (Instituto de Educação e Desenvolvimento Profissional, IEDP), which has also been engaged in victim assistance, sent out a press release expressing concern that the process of establishing a commission was biased.[6]

The draft federal constitution protects the rights of persons with disabilities but does not guarantee access to buildings, information, or communications.[7] At the July 2018 Global Disability Summit in London, Somalia committed to the development and passage of a “National Disability Bill” and a national disability policy to implement same and make buildings and education more inclusive.[8] A network of DPOs in Somalia held a Victim Assistance Day commemoration on 4 April 2016 to make a complaint against a lack of support and cooperation with service provider institutions operated in the country by UNMAS and Somali government.[9]

Overall, persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and are at risk of social exclusion in Somalia. Poverty and social exclusion are interlinked, with a lack of employment being the major cause of poverty. Efforts have been made in the Somali government to improve the employment participation rate but significant obstacles to gaining, and retaining, employment remained. Access to education and to vocational training, limited availability of housing, assistive technology, and accessible transport are still lacking.[10]

Major Developments in 2017–2018

The Somalia Explosive Management Authority took over management of the International Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database and the reporting of casualties from UNMAS.[11] The ongoing conflict with the non-state armed group Al Shabaab and persistent drought continued to make humanitarian access and needs important in Somalia, with many basic services unavailable in much of the country.[12]

In 2018, UNMAS created a victim assistance consultancy post in Mogadishu to conduct a victim assistance situational analysis within the disability assistance program at the policy and implementation levels. The role was intended to engage with the key disability/victim assistant stakeholders, map existing resources and services, identify the gaps, and propose solutions.

Needs assessment

SEMA proposed to conduct national surveys of landmine victims to determine the numbers of victims and their needs and requested, but not received, international support for the survey.[13] The Southwest Mine Action Consortium (SOWMAC) led needs assessments in its catchment area and identified multiple areas for intervention, including basic needs of shelter and healthcare, as well as economic-integration activities, provision of assistive devices, and educational opportunities for children of survivors.[14]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Medical care in Somalia is supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which supports emergency surgical services at two hospitals in Mogadishu and hospitals in Baidoa and Kismayo. The Somali Red Crescent Society remains the primary provider of rehabilitation services and assistive devices, but the range is limited with no such services available in the southwest of the country.[15] Psychological support remains a lacking in Somalia.[16]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

No improvement is reported in the provision of socio-economic support or in the social inclusion of survivors in Somalia.[17] The government of Somalia committed to establishing vocational training centers for persons with disabilities to provide entrepreneurial skills and workforce development. Those efforts would be aligned with policies and programs to expand access to credit for micro-enterprises and targeted support for small business creation.[18]

Cross-cutting

Women with disabilities continue to be vulnerable to sexual violence and forced marriage. The government of Somalia proposed to focus on women and girls in their efforts to support persons with disabilities to address the double stigma of gender and disability in Somalia.[19] The Somalia Disability Empowerment Network (SODEN) supported a survey of educational accessibility in Mogadishu.[20]

Victim assistance providers and activities