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Casualties and Victim Assistance
No new mine or explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in 2011. However, in 2012, there were media reports of two casualties. In March 2012, a male civilian was injured by ERW near the city of Calama, in Northern Chile.[1] The device that caused the incident was initially reported to be an antipersonnel mine, but an investigation conducted by the Police’s Special Operations Group (GOPE) indicated that the incident was caused by unexploded ordnance.[2] In May 2012, a Peruvian man was killed when his car hit an antivehicle mine in the Arica and Parinacota region, on the border with Peru.[3]
Prior to 2012, the last casualty reported in Chile was in 2007, when a man was killed by an antipersonnel mine while crossing the border with Peru.[4] The Monitor has identified 30 casualties (4 killed and 26 injured) between 1999 and December 2011. As of May 2012, 140 people were registered as victims of mines/ERW of which 56 were civilians and 84 were military.[5] However, in 2009, Chile had confirmed a total of 181 casualties (60% military and 40% civilian) since 1970. Sixty-eight were caused by antipersonnel mines, 57 by antivehicle mines, 20 by ERW, and 36 by unknown explosive devices.[6]
Victim Assistance
As of December 2011, there are at least 26 survivors in Chile, though probably there are many more given the total number of registered casualties. In April 2012, Chile reported on the development of a registry of mine/ERW victims that would be maintained and updated regularly by the National Humanitarian Demining Commission (Comisión Nacional de Desminado Humanitario, CNAD).[7]
Military survivors receive medical and social care from the army. Most civilians with disabilities, including civilian landmine survivors, qualify for free healthcare through the National Health Fund and social support through the Ministry of Planning. However, in 2009, the government recognized that “many civilian cases” have problems accessing services because of their poverty or remote location.[8] The Group of Mine and Munitions Victims (GMMV), a national survivors’ network, actively advocates for increased attention to the needs of mine and ERW survivors and their families.[9] In May 2012, with financial support from local authorities, a local chapter of the GMMV was founded in Caldera, in Northern Chile, expanding the geographic coverage of the network.[10]
On 29 February 2012, Chile announced the introduction of a draft law designed to address the needs of mine/ERW victims through support for their comprehensive rehabilitation and financial compensation.[11] If approved by the Chilean Congress, the draft law would provide reparations to mine/ERW victims as a means to comply with Chile’s international obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as well as other international agreements.[12] A representative of the GMMV was consulted in the development and presentation of the draft law.[13]
On 29 July 2008, Chile ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
[1] “Topógrafo perdió siete dedos ayer al estallarle una mina antipersonal” (“Topographer lost seven fingers in landmine explosion”), El Mercurio, 27 March 2011, www.elmercurio.com, accessed on 30 March 2012.
[2] Email from Elir Rojas Calderón, Director, Centro Zona Minada, 27 March 2012.
[3] “Chile-Peru landmine blast kills at least one in car,” BBC News, 27 May 2012, www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18223274, accessed on 6 June 2012.
[5] Statement of Chile, Mine Ban Treaty, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012.
[6] Presentation by Felipe Illanes, Advisor, Ministry of National Defense, Managua Workshop on Progress and Challenges in Achieving a Mine-Free Americas, 25 February 2009.
[7] Statement of Chile, Convention on Cluster Munitions Working Group on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 16 April 2012.
[8] Presentation by Felipe Illanes, Ministry of National Defense, Managua Workshop on Progress and Challenges in Achieving a Mine-Free Americas, 25 February 2009.
[9] Email from Elir Rojas Calderón, Centro Zona Minada, 22 February 2012.
[10] Ibid., 10 May 2012.
[11] “Ministros de Defensa y Hacienda presentaron anteproyecto de ley que otorga atención a víctimas de minas antipersonal” (“Ministries of Defense and Planning Present a Bill that would Provide Assistance to Antipersonnel Mine Victims”), Ministry of Defense, 29 February 2012, www.defensa.cl/2012/02/29/ministros-de-defensa-y-hacienda-presentaron-anteproyecto-de-ley-que-otorga-atencion-a-victimas/, accessed 29 February 2012; and “Draft Law for the Assistance to Victims of Accidents from Antipersonnel and Antitank Mines or from Munitions, Submunitions and other explosive artefacts belonging to the military that are abandoned or unexploded”, undated.
[12] “Ministros de Defensa y Hacienda presentaron anteproyecto de ley que otorga atención a víctimas de minas antipersonal” (“Ministries of Defense and Planning Present a Bill that would Provide Assistance to Antipersonnel Mine Victims”), Ministry of Defense, 29 February 2012, www.defensa.cl/2012/02/29/ministros-de-defensa-y-hacienda-presentaron-anteproyecto-de-ley-que-otorga-atencion-a-victimas/, accessed 29 February 2012; and Statement of Chile, Convention on Cluster Munitions Working Group on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 16 April 2012.
[13] Email from Elir Rojas Calderón, Centro Zona Minada, 10 May 2012.
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