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Lebanon
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
Casualties Overview
|
All known casualties by end of 2011 |
At least 3,674 mine/ERW casualties (900 killed; 2,774 injured) |
|
Casualties in 2011 |
6 (2010: 25) |
|
2011 casualties by outcome |
2 killed; 4 injured (2010: 5 killed; 20 injured) |
|
2011 casualties by item type |
1 antivehicle mine; 3 unexploded submunitions; 1 other ERW; 1 unknown explosive item |
In 2011, the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) identified six mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties.[1] All but one casualty were adult men: one boy was killed by an ERW in eastern Lebanon. Half of all casualties were caused by cluster submunitions in Southern Lebanon, including one incident involving a Syrian worker who was killed in an orchard east of Tyre.[2]
The six casualties identified in 2011 represented a significant decrease from the 25 casualties reported by LMAC in 2010.[3] Annual mine/ERW casualty rates have declined steadily from almost 100 casualties in 2000, aside from a spike in casualties in between August and December 2006, immediately following the July 2006 bombing of Southern Lebanon.[4]
The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Lebanon recorded from 1975 to December 2011 was 3,674 (900 killed; 2,774 injured). The majority of all casualties were men (2,700), almost 20% were children (709: 544 boys, 165 girls) and the remainder (265) were women.[5] The total number of recorded mine/ERW casualties was reduced from the 3,846 (900 killed, 2,946 injured) reported by LMAC in June 2011,[6] following a database review which eliminated 172 duplicate entries of survivors.[7]
As of December 2011, LMAC had registered 654 casualties (151 killed, 503 injured) from unexploded submunitions, of which 18% (120) were children at the time of the incident.[8] The Monitor identified 707 cluster munition casualties for the same time period. Little data is available on casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes; only 16 (three people killed; 13 injured) were identified.[9]
Victim Assistance
There were at least 2,774 mine/ERW survivors in Lebanon as of December 2011.[10]
Victim Assistance since 1999
Since Monitor reporting began in 1999, the number of national and international actors involved in providing a range of victim assistance services to mine/ERW survivors throughout the country has grown, most especially following the bombing in 2006. Medical care was provided through public health facilities with other victim assistance services made available through national and international organizations dependent on international funding sources. NGO members of the national victim assistance steering committee (approximately 15) implemented programs for physical rehabilitation and for economic and social inclusion, including sports programs and some peer support. Almost no psychological support was available to survivors during this period. Barriers to accessing victim assistance services, particularly for those living in southern Lebanon, included the cost of services, the lack of affordable transportation, and/or a lack of awareness of availability. A decline in funding, which reportedly began in 2008, forced some service providers to reduce their numbers of beneficiaries; however, most reported continuing activities at similar levels despite declining funding.
Since 2001, victim assistance was coordinated through regular meetings of the national victim assistance steering committee hosted by the national mine action center. Throughout the period, Lebanon lacked a comprehensive victim assistance plan; coordination mainly consisted of information sharing among service providers. While LMAC was mostly seen to be effective in coordinating victim assistance activities, NGO service providers found that reduced funding since 2010 affected the quality of coordination and fewer coordination meetings were held. A national victim assistance plan began being developed for the first time in 2011.
Victim Assistance in 2011
In December 2011, Lebanon finalized its first national victim assistance strategy establishing targets for comprehensive victim assistance by 2020. An overall decrease in the availability of victim assistance services was identified in 2011. Services available through national NGOs decreased due to a lack of funding.
Assessing victim assistance needs
No survey of mine/ERW victims needs was conducted in 2011. LMAC continued to use and provide information collected through the national victim survey and needs assessment that was completed in 2010, and which only covered victims of incidents occurring since 2006. LMAC provided detailed information upon receiving formal requests; because of this, more general information was published and distributed widely.[11] According to a UNDP-commissioned evaluation of mine action in Lebanon, the quality of information on mine victims was excellent; however, it was “questionable whether or not the information [was] used effectively for planning.”[12]
Following the 2006 bombing, various government agencies and NGOs collected data on the needs of mine/ERW victims, family members, and communities impacted by cluster submunitions and other ERW. However, as of the end of 2011, this data had not been consolidated within a single national database.[13]
The Ministry of Social Affairs maintained a database of persons with disabilities. Disabled persons organizations (DPOs) used and updated information in the database regularly. Data was not shared with the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance.[14]
Victim assistance coordination[15]
|
Government coordinating body/focal point |
LMAC |
|
Coordinating mechanism(s) |
National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, coordinated by LMAC and involving national victim assistance NGO service providers and relevant government ministries |
|
Plan |
Victim Assistance Strategy as part of Lebanon Mine Action National Strategy 2011-2020 |
The National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, coordinated by LMAC, met frequently during 2011, at least monthly. However, most meetings were focused on preparations for the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, hosted by Lebanon in 2011.[16] Limited time was set aside to develop the Victim Assistance Strategy and related work plans.[17] As in 2010, NGOs continued to find bilateral meetings necessary to effectively coordinate victim assistance activities.[18]
In September 2011, a national victim assistance workshop was held that included members of the National Steering Committee, representatives of DPOs, and mine/ERW survivors. Participants in the workshop developed a set of recommendations that were presented to the House of Representatives and to LMAC to be incorporated into the Victim Assistance Strategy.[19]
During 2011, the Ministry of Social Affairs increased its participation in victim assistance coordination and committed to the establishment of a victim assistance program.[20] The role of the Ministry’s new victim assistance program and how it would coordinate with the National Victim Assistance Steering Committee had not been clarified by the end of 2011.[21] Compared with 2010, the Landmine Resource Center, a national NGO, observed an overall improvement in victim assistance coordination by the government as a result of the greater involvement by the Ministry.[22]
The Victim Assistance Strategy, part of the overall national mine action strategy, was finalized in December 2011. It was developed with input from governmental and NGO members of the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, including survivors.[23] The Strategy’s main objectives were to ensure that mine/ERW victims have rights-based access to all services and to include victims in socio-economic rehabilitation initiatives. The strategy sought to achieve these objectives for all victims by 2020.[24] The Victim Assistance Strategy included a budget for victim assistance activities.[25]
Lebanon provided an update on its progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2012, at the Second Meeting of States Parties that was held in Beirut in September 2011, and through its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report.[26] In its Article 7 report, which was developed with input from members of the National Steering Committee, Lebanon identified those victim assistance activities that were supported with national funds and those for which international assistance was needed.[27]
Survivor inclusion and participation
Survivors were included in the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance as representatives of NGO service providers.[28] Survivors developed recommendations that were incorporated into the 10 Year Victim Assistance Strategy.[29] Survivors and their representative organizations also provided input in the preparation of Lebanon’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report.[30] The majority of victim assistance activities were implemented by local NGOs, some of which had survivors in management positions while many involved survivors in planning activities.[31]
Service accessibility and effectiveness
Victim assistance activities[32]
|
Name of organization |
Type of organization |
Type of activity |
Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2011 |
|
Ministry of Health |
Government |
Medical attention and prosthetics |
Ongoing |
|
Ministry of Social Affairs |
Government |
Disability benefits; socio-economic inclusion |
Established a victim assistance unit; increased enforcement of national disability law |
|
Landmine Resource Center (LMRC) |
National NGO |
Advocacy, training/capacity building for survivors |
Maintained activities despite decreased funding |
|
Al-Jarha Association for the War Wounded and Disabled in Lebanon |
National NGO |
Medical, physiotherapy, prosthetics production, sports activities, loans, peer support, psychological support, vocational training |
Ongoing/ Decreased number of beneficiaries for physical rehabilitation services among some local NGOs due to decreased funding |
|
Islamic Risala Scouts Association |
National NGO |
Ambulances and transportation, vocational training |
|
|
Islamic Health Commission (IHC) |
National NGO |
Psychosocial support, mobility devices, loans |
|
|
Lebanese Association for Health and Social Care |
National NGO |
Basic medical care, vocational training, etc. |
|
|
Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped |
National NGO |
All types of rehabilitation activities for people with disabilities |
|
|
National Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC) |
National NGO |
Rehabilitation, psychological care, prosthetic limbs |
|
|
Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and Care |
National NGO |
Prosthetic limbs workshop, loans, vocational training, psychological care, advocacy |
|
|
Jezzine Landmine Survivor Development Cooperative |
Cooperative |
Survivor managed cooperative producing and selling eggs, chickens, and honey |
|
|
World Rehabilitation Fund |
International NGO |
Capacity-building support and funding to the Jezzine Landmine Survivor Development Cooperative |
|
|
NPA |
International NGO |
Advocacy, capacity-building support and funding of physical rehabilitation through local partners |
Decrease in support for physical rehabilitation; maintained quality of services despite funding decrease |
|
Lebanese Red Cross |
National society |
Emergency Medical attention; training in first aid and upgrading of emergency medical service stations with equipment and supplies |
Ongoing; responded to increased demand for services at the Syrian border |
|
ICRC |
International organization |
Increased capacity to provide adequate emergency medical response with training and supplies |
Continued ongoing support |
In 2011, decreased funding for public hospitals increased the cost of some medical services affecting the affordability for mine/ERW victims.[33] During the same period, the Ministry of Social Affairs increased awareness about the right for persons with disabilities to receive free medical attention under the national disability law. However, the impact of this action was not yet felt with some mine/ERW survivors reporting having been rejected for care at hospitals despite holding disability cards.[34]
Reduced international funding resulted in a decreased number of survivors benefiting from NGO-implemented physical rehabilitation programs though the quality of services was maintained during the period. This decline in the availability of services was worsened temporarily when some organizations delayed the implementation of physical rehabilitation projects from 2011 to 2012 due to their involvement in the preparations for the Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties.[35] As in previous years, physical rehabilitation was dependent on funding from external donors and national charities.[36]
No significant changes were identified in the availability of economic inclusion projects or social support, both of which were very limited compared with the level of need. Psychological support was the least developed area of assistance in Lebanon,[37] with efforts needed to overcome cultural obstacles that prevented survivors from seeking this support.[38]
While most mine/ERW survivors in Lebanon were adult males, efforts were made to ensure that women and children had access to needed services, for example by prioritizing their inclusion in NGO programs.[39]
Greater government efforts to implement the National Disability Law increased awareness of the 3% quota for all employers to hire persons with disabilities;[40] however, there was little to no impact among persons with disabilities.[41] The law required that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but changes to the building code that would have made the law operable had not been made by the end of 2011.[42]
Lebanon signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 14 June 2007.
[1] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, Head of Information Management and Victim Assistance Sections, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[2] “Cluster bomb claims life of Syrian worker in Tyre,” The Daily Star (Beirut), 24 May 2011, www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/May-24/Cluster-bomb-claims-life-of-Syrian-worker-in-Tyre.ashx#ixzz1NgALKhr7, accessed 29 May 2011.
[3] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 31 May 2011.
[4] 209 casualties were recorded between August and December of 2006. Presentation by Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meeting, Side Event, Geneva, 28 June 2011.
[5] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[6] LMAC, “Cluster Munitions in Lebanon Fact Sheet,” June 2011 p. 5.
[7] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 27 October 2011 to 9 April 2012), Form H.
[8] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[9] Prior to July 2006, 338 casualties occurred, and 369 casualties occurred between August 2006 and December 2011. It was not clear if the casualties during use were included in this total. Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 121; Patrick Galey, “Living without a leg,” Bikya Masr (Nabatieh), 14 November 2009, www.bikyamasr.com; and email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[10] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[11] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[12] UNDP, “A review of the Lebanon National Mine Action Programme and UNDP support to mine action in Lebanon,” September 2011, p. 5.
[13] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 27 October 2011 to 9 April 2012), Form H.
[16] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, MRE/MVA Program Coordinator, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), 17 June 2012.
[17] Responses to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012; and Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[18] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[19] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Habbouba Aoun, Coordinator, Landmine Resource Center (LMRC), 8 March 2012.
[20] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[21] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[22] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Habbouba Aoun, LMRC, 8 March 2012.
[23] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[24] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 27 October 2011 to 9 April 2012), Form H.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Statement of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meeting, Working group on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 16 April 2012; Statement of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 15 September 2011; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 27 October 2011 to 9 April 2012), Form H.
[27] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 27 October 2011 to 9 April 2012), Form H.
[28] Interview with Ziad Khwaiss, Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance Coordinator, National Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC), Beirut, 24 February 2010; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Khaled Yamout, NPA, 15 May 2011.
[29] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Habbouba Aoun, LMRC, 8 March 2012.
[30] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[31] Ibid.; and Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[32] ICRC, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 397; email from Col. Fares, LMAC, 31 May 2011; and responses to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012; Habbouba Aoun, LMRC, 8 March 2012; and Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[33] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Habbouba Aoun, LMRC, 8 March 2012.
[34] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[39] Ibid.
[40] Ibid.
[41] US Department of State, “2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012; and response to Monitor questionnaire from Khaled Yamout, NPA, 17 June 2012.
[42] US Department of State, “2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012.
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