Casualties Overview

In 2011, the National Demining Institute (Instituto Nacional de Desminagem, IND) reported nine mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Mozambique.[1] There were six civilian casualties including three women, one girl, one boy, and a man. All the civilian casualties occurred in Sofala province. In addition, there were three casualties among deminers during clearance operations. One deminer was killed and two were injured in two separate incidents with antipersonnel mines in Gaza province.

The nine casualties identified in 2011 represented a significant decrease from the 36 casualties reported in 2010.[2] Although IND attributed the decline in casualties in 2011 to an increase in the effectiveness of its mine risk education program, it also associated a lack of funding for mine risk education with a rise in the annual casualty rate in 2010.[3] There was no information available as to whether any of the nine casualties had received risk education. It was known that many casualties went unreported.[4]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Mozambique is unknown, but there were at least 2,444 through the end of 2011. The most comprehensive collection of casualty data remains the nationwide Landmine Impact Survey (LIS), completed in 2001; it recorded 2,145 mine/ERW casualties, but did not provide a breakdown of those killed and injured.[5] An additional 299 casualties (80 killed; 216 injured; three unknown) had been identified between 2002 and 2011.[6] There were known to be casualties from incidents involving cluster munition remnants, though these were not distinguished from ERW in the data and would require a survey to identify them.[7]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Mozambique is not known. In 2009 and 2010, 865 survivors were identified through needs assessments which were limited to just a few districts in each of three provinces (Maputo, Inhambane and Sofala). The Monitor has recorded at least new 220 survivors throughout the country since 1999.[8]

Victim assistance since 1999[9]

Since monitoring began in 1999, most mine/ERW survivors in Mozambique have lacked access to victim assistance services of all kinds. With most survivors based in rural areas, far from where services are located, a lack of affordable transportation and knowledge of available services have been among the greatest obstacles to access. Thirty years of armed conflict damaged or destroyed some 40% of Mozambique’s medical facilities; the rebuilding of facilities, particularly outside of major urban centers, has been slow. Since 2005, there have been some improvements in the availability of medical care in rural areas. During this period, six rehabilitation centers have been renovated.

By 2009, all medical and rehabilitation centers were managed by the government, many of which had previously been managed by international organizations such as POWER, Handicap International (HI) and the Mozambique Red Cross. Rehabilitation centers remained dependent on international financial assistance. Seven of Mozambique’s 10 rehabilitation centers offered accommodation but it was reported that demand for space had sometimes exceeded availability. The supply of rehabilitation services was limited due to a lack of trained technicians and materials. The launching of a national training course for prosthetists and orthotists in 2009, the first of its kind in the country, was expected to improve the quality and availability of services, though this impact had not been felt through 2011.

Throughout the period, survivors have had almost no access to economic and social inclusion programs or psychological assistance. International and national NGOs, including the Network for Mine Victims (Rede para Assistência às Vítimas de Minas, RAVIM), have reached a limited number of survivors to assist them in accessing services, provide basic economic relief or provide support for income generating projects.

Since 2004, Mozambique identified victim assistance as the weakest component of its mine action program. The IND, the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Saude, MISAU), and the Ministry of Women and Social Action (Ministério da Mulher e da Acção Social, MMAS) officially shared responsibility for the coordination of victim assistance, but Mozambique has lacked a coordination mechanism and a victim assistance plan. In 2010, IND and MMAS began efforts to integrate victim assistance into broader disability frameworks.

Victim assistance in 2011

In 2011, there was increased awareness about the availability of free medical and rehabilitation services for mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities. This resulted in greater demand for these services without any corresponding increase in number of medical professionals or medical and rehabilitative supplies available. Consequently, waiting lists to receive care grew throughout the country.[10] During the year, the greatest obstacle to accessing services remained the lack of transportation available for survivors living in rural communities and the lack of services in these areas.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2011, no efforts were made to assess the needs of mine/ERW survivors and very little information was available about where survivors were located and what their needs were. Starting in 2012, clearance operators began conducting survivor surveys as part of their ongoing district–to–district clearance operations.[11] Previously, a limited survey was undertaken in specific geographic areas. In 2009, RAVIM carried out a pilot survey of survivors needs in four districts in Maputo province, identifying 542 survivors.[12] As part of this survey, survivors were assisted in accessing needed services within the limited funding available for the survey.[13] In 2010, RAVIM and HI conducted a needs assessment in 12 districts in Inhambane and Sofala provinces, identifying 323 survivors.[14]

In 2011, RAVIM and HI held meetings with IND and MMAS to coordinate a nine-month needs assessment of a representative sample of survivors to be carried out in 2012. The survey was to identify the needs of survivors, develop recommendations on how to address these needs and disseminate survey findings to victim assistance stakeholders in the country, including to MMAS and MISAU.[15]

Victim assistance coordination in 2011[16]

IND, the MISAU, and MMAS officially shared responsibility for the coordination of victim assistance. However, there was no coordination for victim assistance specifically; no coordination meetings were held for victim assistance during the year.[17] In 2012, Mozambique reported that the Chief of the Department for Persons with Disabilities within the MMAS was the designated Victim Assistance Focal Point for the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[18]

The National Disability Council, formed in 2009, held two high level meetings as well as four meetings of the technical committee during 2011. Meetings focused on completing the evaluation of the implementation of the National Disability Plan 2006–2010 and the development of a new plan for the period 2012–2019. IND provided input during the evaluation of the previous plan and worked to ensure the inclusion of victim assistance in the new plan.[19] As a result, victim assistance was included in the final version of the plan. As of 1 June 2012, the National Disability Plan 2012–2019 was completed but had not yet been approved.[20] The plan reportedly included a budget, but as of May 2012 funding to implement the plan had not been identified.[21]

Provincial disability councils, established in each of the 11 provinces of Mozambique, were to become operational in 2012.[22] Coordination by the Disability Council remained weak and largely ineffective and the Council was seen to have little impact on the lives of persons with disabilities. This was attributed to a lack of funding for its operations.[23]

The evaluation of the National Disability Plan for 2006–2010 found that a lack of financial and human resources, and other constraints, had resulted in the slow progress of its implementation. However, due to the efforts of NGOs and some government institutions, there were some specific improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities.[24] Representatives of disabled person’s organizations (DPOs) found the Plan’s implementation to have been “a real disappointment.”[25] Constraints on the implementation of the National Disability Plan included the lack of a budget associated with the plan, the concentration of its implementation in provincial capitals and not in rural areas, the frequent turnover of staff in institutions that were responsible for monitoring the plan’s implementation, the failure of ministries involved to provide disability services to integrate the plan into relevant plans and budgets of each ministry, a decline in international support for disability in Mozambique during the five-year period of the Plan, and a lack of involvement of DPOs in the monitoring and implementation of the Plan.[26]

Mozambique provided an update on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Phnom Penh in December 2011 and at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2012.[27] It provided limited casualty data in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2011.[28] At the Convention on Cluster Munition Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut in September 2011, Mozambique indicated that cluster munition victims would be assisted through existing disability mechanisms and that the country required international assistance to identify and survey cluster munition victims.[29] In its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report, submitted in 2012, Mozambique named the victim assistance focal point and stated that the needs of cluster munition victims were addressed within a broader disability framework.[30]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2011, survivors or their representative organizations did not participate directly in coordination meetings of the National Disability Council. The National Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities (FAMOD), which represents such organizations, did attend; however, all three representatives of FAMOD who participated in coordination meetings indicated that their views were not considered.[31] Representatives of FAMOD participated in the development of the National Disability Plan 2012–2019 and also formed part of a team that conducted interviews throughout the country as part of the plan development process. [32]

Survivors were involved in implementing socio-economic reintegration activities, carrying out advocacy and assisting other survivors in accessing health and rehabilitation services through RAVIM.[33]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[34]

No notable improvements were seen in the quality or availability of medical care or physical rehabilitation services; waiting times to access these services increased during the year.[35] RAVIM and HI established an “Information, Orientation and Social Support Service” in Maputo and Matola, two cities in Maputo province, to assist persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, to access available services and find other needed assistance. RAVIM and HI coordinated with local authorities in both cities.[36]

Psychological support and social inclusion programs remained entirely absent with no changes reported.[37] RAVIM implemented a new, short-term project to support income-generating activities for survivors and their families in Sofala province.[38]

The National Strategy for Basic Social Protection (ENSSB), approved in August 2011, included persons with disabilities among the priority groups of the new program.[39] As in previous years, MMAS continued to provide food subsidies and other basic social assistance to persons with disabilities.[40] However, there was no information on how many, if any, of these beneficiaries were mine/ERW survivors and RAVIM found that most survivors lacked any support to promote their economic inclusion.[41]

As part of the Strategy for Persons with Disabilities in Public Service, MMAS provided job training, managed a database of public sector jobs, and worked to promote employment for persons with disabilities through a quota system within the public sector.[42] However, throughout 2011, few persons with disabilities were employed in the formal sector and they continued to face discrimination in seeking employment.[43]

Legislation guaranteed the rights and equal opportunities of persons with disabilities. However, the government lacked the resources to implement the law and discrimination remained common.[44] There was no law requiring the accessibility of public buildings, though the Ministry of Public Works made slow progress in ensuring access to public buildings in Maputo for persons with disabilities.[45]

The evaluation of the National Disability Plan 2006–2010 found that many programs for persons with disabilities sought to promote the inclusion of women with disabilities but that, despite these efforts, women with disabilities still suffered greater discrimination than men with disabilities, with more living in poverty and experiencing lower employment rates.[46]

Mozambique ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 January 2012.