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South Sudan

Last Updated: 21 September 2012

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2011

At least 4,791 mine/ERW casualties (1,340 killed; 3,451 injured)

Casualties in 2011

206 (2010: 82)

2011 casualties by outcome

87 killed; 119 injured (2010: 25 killed; 57 injured)

2011 casualties by device type

42 antipersonnel mines; 145 antivehicle mines; 17 ERW; 2 unknown

In 2011, the Monitor identified 206 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in South Sudan.[1] The age or sex was not reported for the majority of the casualties identified, making it difficult to determine incidence rates and trends. Among civilian casualties for which the age was known, 39% were children (16 of 41), most of whom were boys. At least 12 casualties were women. There was one casualty among deminers: a female deminer was killed by an antivehicle mine in the Equatoria region.

Casualties were recorded in eight of South Sudan’s 10 states in 2011, with the majority (167 of 206) in Unity state.[2] Unity state borders Sudan and was within the region where new mines were laid by non-state armed actors.[3] For most casualties, the civilian or military status was unknown (122 of 206). Civilians accounted for 58% of those casualties for which this status was known. Of the 35 military casualties, 32 occurred in Unity state.

The 206 casualties identified in 2011 were more than double the 93 casualties recorded for 2010.[4] The increase was attributed to the evacuation of people caught in conflicts in South Kordofan state and Abyei in Sudan into South Sudan and the laying of new mines near South Sudan’s northern border.[5]

There were at least 4,791 casualties (1,340 killed; 3,451 injured) in South Sudan for the period from 1964 to December 2011.[6] Of the total for which the sex was recorded, 3,378 or 71% were male and 666 were female;[7] when the sex among the injured was known, 2,542 survivors were male and 470 were female. There were 599 child casualties, or 21% of all casualties for the cases in which the age was known.

Cluster munition casualties

The UN Mine Action Coordination Centre–South Sudan (UNMACC) reported 65 casualties from cluster submunitions in South Sudan, all of which occurred in 2009 or before.[8] Another 16 casualties which occurred during cluster munition strikes in South Sudan have been reported.[9]

Victim Assistance

South Sudan is known to have landmine survivors, cluster munition victims and survivors of other types of ERW. South Sudan has made a commitment to provide victim assistance as a States Party to the Mine Ban Convention.

As of the end of 2011, 3,451 mine/ERW survivors were identified in South Sudan.[10] The Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare (MGCSW) estimated that there were a total of some 50,000 mine/ERW victims, including survivors, their families, and the families of people killed.[11]

Victim assistance since 1999[12]

As a result of decades of conflict, throughout the period mine/ERW survivors in South Sudan lacked access to basic services of all kinds. The limited services available were almost entirely provided by international organizations. Through to the end of 2011, emergency medical care was inadequate to address the needs of mine/ERW survivors and others wounded as a result of the armed conflict. Ongoing medical care reached just a fraction of the population.

There were some improvements in the availability of physical rehabilitation for mine/ERW during the period. In 1999, South Sudan had just one physical rehabilitation center, in the capital Juba. In 2003, Medical Care Development International (MCDI) began developing an additional rehabilitation center at the Rumbek Regional Hospital. By the end of 2010, MCDI had transferred full management of the center to the regional government. In 2008, the ICRC introduced a physical rehabilitation training program at the Juba rehabilitation center and by 2009 it had been upgraded to a Rehabilitation Referral Center.

From 1999, there were little to no economic inclusion initiatives for mine survivors, a situation that improved somewhat with increased international funding for victim assistance from 2007-2011. These programs were implemented by national organizations, including disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), and coordinated by the South Sudan Demining Authority (SSDA) with support from the United Nations Mine Action Office (UNMAO), and later the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre – South Sudan (UNMACC), within the framework of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. However, these programs were insufficient to address the need. Psychological support for mine/ERW survivors was entirely absent in South Sudan.

Victim assistance in 2011

As in previous years, long distances, the lack of a transportation system, the cost of transport when it existed, and the increasingly difficult security situation made access to all victim assistance services difficult for the majority of survivors, who were based outside of Juba.[13] Services were very limited in comparison with the level of need and most were provided by international organizations.[14] Already inadequate medical and rehabilitation services and infrastructure struggled to address the increased need during the year as refugees returned from Sudan and the number of new landmine/ERW survivors in South Sudan increased.

In early 2012, the government of South Sudan approved the South Sudan National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012-2016, which included victim assistance.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No comprehensive victim assistance needs assessment was undertaken in 2011.[15] In early 2012, MGCSW carried out a pilot disability survey in the cities of Wau, Torit and Bor with technical support from Handicap International (HI) and funding from UNMACC.[16] Data collected was to be used in developing a national disability policy by the end of 2012.[17] Previously, needs assessments had been carried out in specific areas of the country by the South Sudan Demining Authority (SSDA) and the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare (MGCSW), with support from the UNMACC and by the South Sudan Disabled Persons Association (SSDPA). Data was collected in Juba and in Upper Nile state in October and November 2010 were included in the national casualty database, maintained by UNMACC.[18] The SSDA needs assessment in Juba collected data on 238 survivors. The SSDPA collected data on 1,188 survivors in Upper Nile state.[19]

Victim assistance coordination[20]

Government coordinating body/focal point

 MGCSW and the SSDA

Coordinating mechanism

Victim Assistance Working Group chaired by MGCSW and co-chaired by SSDA; met monthly with government, NGO, and UN stakeholders

Plan

National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011; South Sudan National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012-2016

In 2011, the Victim Assistance Working Group continued to hold monthly meetings, chaired by the MGCSW, co-chaired by the SSDA and facilitated by UNMACC.[21] Participants included government ministries, DPOs, NGO service providers, and other stakeholders. The meetings provided a forum to share information about victim assistance activities implemented during the month.[22]

There were also several meetings organized during 2011 to prepare the South Sudan National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012-2016.[23] The Strategic Plan, finalized in February 2012, includes victim assistance and was developed to address the impact of landmines and all kinds of ERW, including cluster submunitions.[24]

In 2011, MGCSW began to develop a national disability policy for South Sudan. Consultations were held with ministries, including representatives of the Ministry of Social Development from each of South Sudan’s 10 states, and with DPOs to provide input to a draft policy. These meetings were also used to lay the groundwork for the signing and ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[25] As of the end of 2011, the national disability policy was still being developed; it was expected to be finalized by the end of 2012.[26]

Prior to July 2011, South Sudan was not yet an independent country and thus updates on progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance in the region of South Sudan were included in the statement made by Sudan at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.[27] In addition, an informal statement prepared by South Sudan was distributed at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.[28] South Sudan made a general statement at the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2011 that included limited information on mine/ERW casualties and victim assistance.[29] South Sudan did not make a statement at the Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in May 2012. As of 1 July 2012, South Sudan had not submitted its initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, due January 2012.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were included in the Victim Assistance Working Group and in the process to develop a national disability policy. In 2011, there were no associations of mine/ERW survivors in South Sudan and it was reported that funding was needed to develop such associations and to strengthen the capacity of existing DPOs.[30] DPOs were involved in implementing survivors’ needs assessments, in income-generating activities and in providing basic health services.[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 Social Development of Central Equatoria and Lakes States

Government

Physical rehabilitation through the Rumbek Center and the Nile Assistance for the Disabled Center in Juba

Ongoing

Central Equatorial State Government

Government

Physical rehabilitation and psychosocial counseling through the Juba Rehabilitation Center (national referral center)

Ongoing

Sudanese Disabled Rehabilitation and Development Agency (SDRDA)

National NGO

Income-generating activities and skills trainings in Rumbek, Lakes state

Ongoing

Christian Women’s Empowerment Program

National NGO

Vocational training and income-generating activities in Yei county, Central Equatoria state

Ongoing

Sudan Evangelical Mission (SEM)

National NGO

Economic empowerment of persons with disabilities through training in business skills, distribution of some mobility aids; in Wau, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state

Ongoing

Equatoria State Association of Disabled (ESAD)

National NGO

Skills trainings and income-generating activities in Juba, Central Equatoria state

Ongoing

Handicap International

International NGO

Basic rehabilitation services; training for health professionals in rehabilitation; referrals for victim assistance services; micro-grants to disabled persons organizations; awareness raising and advocacy on disability rights

Increased number of beneficiaries; added psychosocial support in April 2012

Organization of Volunteers for International Cooperation (OVCI)

International NGO

Community based rehabilitation in Kator district, Juba

Expanded geographic coverage

ICRC

International organization

Emergency surgeries and training in war-surgery; Support for the Juba Rehabilitation Center with materials and capacity building; transportation to some patients; developed national rehabilitation referral system and outreach visits to increase accessibility

Ongoing support; increased number of mine survivors receiving prosthetics; enhanced wheelchair services

In 2011 and into 2012, hospitals throughout the country and particularly in Unity state “struggled to cope” with the influx of wounded patients, most of whom had weapons-related injuries.[33] Armed violence and the laying of new landmines near the northern border of South Sudan limited the ability of humanitarian organizations to reach vulnerable populations, including mine/ERW survivors.[34] During the year, the ICRC worked to improve emergency care through training in first-aid and war surgery skills, distributing needed materials, and continuing to support a mobile surgical team as part of its staff.[35]

South Sudan’s public health system was “on the brink of collapse” in 2011.[36] It was estimated that medical facilities were available to just 25% of the population. Most care was provided by local and international NGOs. With the return of refugees in 2011, demand for these services increased and the quality deteriorated.[37] Several international organizations working with mine/ERW survivors assisted survivors in accessing these services alongside other program activities.[38]

As in previous years, transportation to either of the two physical rehabilitation centers proved the greatest obstacle to accessing services for survivors. Survivors in very remote areas were generally unaware that rehabilitation services existed or how to access them.[39] Access was further hindered by increasing levels of violence.[40] The ICRC-supported rehabilitation center in Juba provided prosthetics to more mine/ERW survivors than it had in 2010. Through a new partnership with the NGO Motivation, the ICRC increased the availability and improved the quality of wheelchairs provided through the Juba center.[41]

Psychological support and social inclusion initiatives, including peer-to-peer support, were very limited in 2011. Disabled veterans of war were given preference for inclusion in social programs. In early 2012, HI introduced a new psychological support component to its victim assistance activities.[42]

Local NGOs implemented some economic inclusion projects targeting survivors, focused on vocational training and income-generating activities, coordinated through UNMACC.[43] However, this was insufficient compared to the needs of mine/ERW survivors.[44]

South Sudan lacked laws and policies to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[45] As of 2011, the government had made no efforts to make buildings accessible to persons with disabilities.[46] Joining the CRPD was a priority for the MGCSW and other members of the Victim Assistance Working Group following the independence of South Sudan.[47]

As of 1 June 2012 South Sudan had not signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

 



[1] This casualty figure does not include those casualties that occurred in Sudan. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011, but was previously part of Sudan. For more information on casualties and victim assistance in Sudan, please see ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Sudan: Casualties and Victim Assistance,” www.the-monitor.org. All casualty details, unless otherwise specified, provided by email from Mohammad Kabir, IMSMA Officer, UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC), 22 June 2012; and from media monitoring from 1 January to 31 December 2011.

[2] No casualties were identified in the states of Warrap or Western Equatoria.

[3] UNMAS, “South Sudan: Fact Sheet,” May 2012.

[4] In the 2011 Country Profile for South Sudan, the Monitor reported 82 casualties in South Sudan for 2010 based on emails from Mohammad Kabir, Chief Information Officer, UNMAO, 5 April 2011, 13 April 2011, and 4 May 2011; and from media monitoring from 1 January to 31 December 2010. By June 2012, the casualty total for 2010 had been revised by UNMACC to 93.

[5] UN Secretary General, “Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan,” 2 November 2011, S/2011/678, p. 10; and UNMAS, “South Sudan: Fact Sheet,” May 2012.

[6] Of these, 4,758 were registered by UNMACC. Email from Mohammad Kabir, UNMACC, 22 June 2012. Another 33 were identified through media monitoring from 1 January to 31 December 2011 and were not included in UNMACC data.

[7] The sex was not specified for 747 casualties.

[8] Email from Mohammad Kabir, UNMACC, 22 June 2012.

[9] HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 56; and Titus Peachey and Virgil Wiebe, “Chapter IV: Cluster Munition Use in Sudan,” Clusters of Death, (The Mennonite Central Committee: July 2000), pp. 79-85. The casualties during cluster munition strikes were reported in locations including Akak, Bahr el Ghazal; Nimule, Magwi County; and Yei, Yei County in South Sudan in the period 1995-2000.

[10] The sex of 439 survivors was not specified. Email from Mohammad Kabir, UNMACC, 22 June 2012.

[11] MGCSW, “Victim Assistance Report Southern Sudan for the year 2010 and 2011. Southern Sudan Presentation, On States Party Meeting As From 20 To 24th June, 2011,” provided by Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, Director General, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[12] See previous Sudan and South Sudan country profiles at the Monitor, www.the-monitor.org.

[13] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 37.

[14] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, Program Director, HI, 9 July 2012.

[15] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI South Sudan, 9 July 2012.

[16] Email from Celine Lefebvre, Program Director, HI South Sudan, 23 July 2012.

[17] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI South Sudan, 9 July 2012.

[18] UNMAO, “Sudan Mine Action Sector, Multi Year Plan 2010–2014,” February 2011, p. 48.

[19] Statement of Sudan, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010; and email from Tim Horner, UNMAO, 25 July 2011.

[20] Interview with Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011; statement of Sudan, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 1 December 2010; and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Government to assume responsibility for mine action in South Sudan,” 22 February 2012, www.npaid.org/en/news/?module=Articles&action=Article.publicShow&ID=18719, accessed 28 February 2012.

[21] Following Independence in July 2011, the United Nations Mine Action Office (UNMAO) in Sudan was discontinued, and the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Sudan (UNMACC-SS) was established.

[22] Interview with Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012.

[23] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012.

[24] NPA, “Government to assume responsibility for mine action in South Sudan,” 22 February 2012, www.npaid.org/en/news/?module=Articles&action=Article.publicShow&ID=18719, accessed 28 February 2012.

[25] Interview with Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[26] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012.

[27] Statement of Sudan, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011.

[28] MGCSW, “Victim Assistance Report Southern Sudan for the year 2010 and 2011. Southern Sudan Presentation, On States Party Meeting As From 20 To 24th June, 2011,” provided by Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[29] Statement of South Sudan, Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Phnom Penh, 29 November 2011.

[30] Interview with Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[31] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012; and MGCSW, “Victim Assistance Report Southern Sudan for the year 2010 and 2011. Southern Sudan Presentation, On States Party Meeting As From 20 To 24th June, 2011,” provided by Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[32] MGCSW, “Victim Assistance Report Southern Sudan for the year 2010 and 2011. Southern Sudan Presentation, On States Party Meeting As From 20 To 24th June, 2011,” provided by Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011; OVCI, “South Sudan – Community based rehabilitation,” undated, www.ovci.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47:sud-sudan-impegno-rbc&catid=87, accessed 17 July 2012; UNMACC, “Weekly Situation Report #6,” 4-10 February 2012; response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012; email from Tim Horner, UNMAO, 25 July 2011; ICRC, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 159; and ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programme (PRP), “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 37.

[33] ICRC, “South Sudan: thousands displaced as fighting escalates,” 16 May 2012, www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2012/south-sudan-update-2012-05-16.htm.

[34] “SUDAN: Land mines add to security worries in south,” IRIN News (Juba), 6 June 2011, www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=92912.

[35] ICRC, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 159.

[36] Medicins Sans Frontieres, “MSF’s Year In South Sudan: Responding To Urgent, Unmet Medical Needs,” 2 July 2012, www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/articlefull.cfm?id=6101&cat=slideshow&ref=news-index.

[37] Livelihoods, basic services and social protection in South Sudan, (London: Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium, July 2012), p. 30.

[38] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012.

[39] UNMAO, “Sudan Mine Action Sector, Multi Year Plan 2010–2014,” February 2011, p. 48.

[40] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 37.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Celine Lefebvre, HI, 9 July 2012.

[43] UNMACC, “Weekly Situation Report #6,” 4-10 February 2012; MGCSW, “Victim Assistance Report Southern Sudan for the year 2010 and 2011. Southern Sudan Presentation, On States Party Meeting As From 20 To 24th June, 2011,” provided by Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.

[44] UNMAO, “Sudan Mine Action Sector, Multi Year Plan 2010–2014,” February 2011, p. 49.

[45] US Department of State, “2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Sudan,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Interview with Nathan Wojia Pitia Mono, MGCSW, in Geneva, 24 June 2011.