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Lebanon
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
Casualties in 2009
|
Casualties in 2009 |
33 (2008: 28) |
|
Casualties by outcome |
3 killed; 30 injured (2008: 2 killed; 26 injured) |
|
Casualties by device type |
17 cluster submunitions; 1 antipersonnel mine; 1 undefined mine; 5 ERW; 9 unknown |
In 2009, 33 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in Lebanon. All casualties were male, including four boys (one boy killed and three injured).[1] Cluster munition remnants caused the greatest number of casualties (17), followed by unknown devices.[2] Demining accidents accounted for five casualties. All demining casualties were injured by unexploded submunitions, including one member of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) French battalion,[3] two Mines Advisory Group (MAG) deminers,[4] and two deminers from the Lebanese Armed Forces Engineering Regiment.[5]
The 33 casualties in 2009 is an increase from the 28 casualties reported by Landmine Monitor in 2008, but is significantly lower than the 130 casualties recorded for 2007.[6] In November 2009, the UN found that there had been a “significant reduction of new victims” since the dramatic increase in casualties immediately after the 2006 conflict.[7] As in previous years, most casualties were adult men, followed by boys.[8]
The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Lebanon recorded from 1975 to June 2009 was 3,857 (960 killed and 2,897 injured).[9] Updated figures were not available as of February 2010 since the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) had not finished verifying existing casualty data, a process that was ongoing throughout 2009.[10] As of November 2009, at least 690 cluster munition casualties had been identified, most of which were believed to be included in the total casualty figure provided by LMAC. Most of these casualties were caused by unexploded submunitions. Reporting on casualties that occurred during cluster munition use was scant; only 16 (3 killed; 13 injured) were identified.[11]
Victim Assistance
There are at least 2,897 mine/ERW survivors in Lebanon.[12]
Survivor needs
In 2009, LMAC collected detailed information about the needs of survivors injured between July 2006 and the end of 2009 as part of ongoing casualty data verification. LMAC, with the involvement of National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance members, collected and shared information about victim assistance services received, and those still needed, by survivors and families.[13] Most service providers on the Steering Committee also reported conducting needs assessments for beneficiaries who registered with them in 2009.[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 services providers and relevant government ministries |
|
Plan |
No progress in developing specific victim assistance plan; LMAC’s “Long Term Plan 2008–2012” includes victim assistance objectives |
In January 2009, LMAC assumed full responsibility for victim assistance coordination in Lebanon.[16] The National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance provided a forum for the exchange of information regarding victim assistance services and new casualties. In 2009, it met as needed.[17]
Efforts to implement victim assistance objectives included in LMAC’s Long Term Plan were limited due to a lack of funding and staff time dedicated to victim assistance.[18] The first phase of the casualty data verification and the development of guidelines for victim assistance were completed in 2009, but no progress was recorded in developing a five-year victim assistance plan or an evaluation and monitoring system for victim assistance.[19]
Survivor inclusion
Survivors were included in the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, as representatives of NGO service providers.[20] In addition, some victim assistance NGOs had survivors in management positions and many had survivors involved in planning activities.[21]
Service accessibility and effectiveness
Victim assistance activities in 2009[22]
|
Name of organization |
Type of organization |
Type of activity |
Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2009 |
|
Ministry of Health |
Government |
Medical attention |
No change |
|
Ministry of Social Affairs |
Government |
Disability benefits |
No change |
|
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 |
No change |
|
Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped |
National NGO |
All types of rehabilitation activities for people with disabilities |
No change |
|
Natioanl Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC) |
National NGO |
Rehabilitation, psychological care, prosthetic limbs |
No change |
|
Landmine Resource Center (LMRC) |
National NGO |
Advocacy, training |
No change |
|
Lebanese Association for Health and Social Care |
National NGO |
Basic medical care, vocational training, etc. |
No change |
|
Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and Care |
National NGO |
Prosthetic limbs workshop, loans, vocational training psychological care, advocacy |
No change |
|
Jezzine Landmine Survivor Development Cooperative |
Cooperative |
Survivor managed cooperative producing and selling eggs, chickens and honey |
No change |
|
World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF) |
International NGO |
Capacity-building support and funding to the Jezzine Landmine Survivor Development Cooperative |
Expanded operational capacity of Coop |
|
Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) |
International NGO |
Capacity-building support and training to the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance |
No change
|
|
Islamic Risala Scouts Association |
National NGO |
Ambulances and transportation; vocational training |
No change |
|
Islamic Health Commission (IHC) |
National NGO |
Psychosocial support, mobility devices, loans |
No change |
|
Tamkeem |
National NGO |
Prosthetics, mobility aids, loans, medical support; comprehensive care from time of incident to end of treatment |
No change |
|
Lebanese Red Cross |
National NGO |
Medical attention |
Training in war-surgery provided |
There were no significant changes to the availability or quality of services and assistance to mine/ERW survivors in 2009, despite a perceived decline in available funding for victim assistance since 2008.[23] All fifteen member organizations of the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance provided a range of victim assistance services, including medical attention, physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and economic inclusion, continuing existing programs with similar numbers of beneficiaries.[24] Two representatives from victim assistance NGOs noted an increased capacity within the NGO sector, one noting improvements in the implementation of services since 2001.[25] While victim assistance suffered from a “chronic lack of funds” in 2009,[26] it was reported that all survivors were “getting their basic needs met.”[27]
Discrimination against persons with disabilities was prohibited by law, but the law was only partially implemented.[28] Provisions regarding employment quotas and building accessibility codes, among others, lacked enforcement.[29]
Lebanon signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 14 June 2007, but had not yet ratified it as of 8 July 2010.
[1] LMAC data lists seven casualties as children but defines children as 18 years old and younger. Four of these were children (under 18 years old) according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor definition.
[2] Data provided by Col. Rolly Fares, Head of Information Management and Victim Assistance Sections, LMAC, Beirut, 1 June 2010; interview with Marc Bonnet, Program Manager, UN Mine Action Coordination Centre for Southern Lebanon (MACC SL), Beirut, 25 February 2010; and email from Christina Louise Bennike, Country Program Manager, MAG, 15 March 2010.
[3] Interview with Marc Bonnet, MACC SL, Beirut, 25 February 2010
[4] Email from Christina Louise Bennike, MAG, 15 March 2010.
[5] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 10 June 2010.
[6] 2008 casualty analysis based on data provided by Habbouba Aoun, Coordinator, LMRC, 6 July 2009; Tekimiti Gilbert, Program Manager, UNIFIL, 17 July 2009; and Landmine Monitor media monitoring from January 2008 to December 2008. 2007 casualty analysis based on data for 2006–2007 provided during interview with Dalya Farran, Media and Post Clearance Officer, MACC SL, Tyre, 5 February 2008; data for 2006–2008 provided by email from Habbouba Aoun, LMRC, 18 June 2008; data for 2007 provided on CD-ROM by Lt.-Col. Youssef Mechref, Head of Victim Assistance/Mine Risk Education Department, LMAC, 4 February 2008; Landmine Monitor English-language media monitoring for calendar year 2007. Revised annual casualty figures provided by LMAC in 2010 indicated that there were 42 (not 28) casualties in 2008 and 95 (not 130) in 2007. Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 12 June 2010.
[7] UN, “2010 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” New York, November 2009, p. 219.
[8] Additional trends are difficult to discern since calendar year casualty data was not available from LMAC in 2008.
[9] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 11 June 2009.
[10] Email from Gen. Mohamed Fehmi, Director, LMAC, 24 May 2010.
[11] Prior to July 2006, 338 casualties occurred and 352 casualties occurred between August 2006 and November 2009. It was not clear if the casualties during use were included in this total. Handicap International, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 121; and Patrick Galey, “Living without a leg,” Bikya Masr (Nabatieh), 14 November 2009, bikyamasr.com.
[12] Email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 11 June 2009.
[13] Interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, Logistic and Administration Section Head and Mine Risk Education Section Head, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010; interview with Imad Khoshman, Victim Assistance Program Coordinator, Al-Jarha Association, Beirut, 24 February 2010; and response to Monitor questionnaire by the Al-Jarha Association, 24 February 2010. The needs of survivors injured prior to July 2006 were to be assessed in the second phase of the verification, underway in 2010.
[14] Interview with Abdullah Noureddine, Islamic Health Council, 23 February 2010; interview with Ziad Khwaiss, Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance Coordinator, NRDC, Beirut, 24 February 2010; and interview with Roula Ezzdein, Lebanese Association for Health and Social Care, Beirut, 24 February 2010.
[15] Email from Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, 11 June 2009; and interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010.
[16] Email from Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, 11 June 2009.
[17] Interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010; and email from Gen. Mohamed Fehmi, LMAC, 24 May 2010.
[18] Interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010; and interview with Col. Rolly Fares, 4 June 2010.
[19] Information on projected victim assistance plans provided by email from Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, 11 June 2009; and interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010.
[20] Interview with Ziad Khwaiss, NRDC, Beirut, 24 February 2010.
[21] Interview with Dr. Nasser Abou Lteif, Head, Vision Association, Beirut, 24 February 2010; and interview with Khaled Yamout, Landmine Program Coordinator, NPA, Beirut, 22 February 2010.
[22] ICRC, “Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 378; “USAID Expands Economic Opportunities for Landmines Survivors and Victims of War,” 14 September 2009, www.usaid.gov; and interviews with organizations during Monitor field mission, February 2010.
[23] Interview with Khaled Yamout, NPA, Beirut, 22 February 2010; interview with Ziad Khwaiss, NRDC, Beirut, 24 February 2010; interview with Nasser Abou Lteif, Vision Association, Beirut, 24 February 2010; and interview with Imad Khoshman, Al-Jarha Association, 24 February 2010.
[24] This includes two government ministries, nine national NGOs, a local business cooperative, and two international NGOs.
[25] Interview with Khaled Yamout, NPA, Beirut, 22 February 2010; and interview with Imad Khoshman, Al-Jarha Association, Beirut, 24 February 2010.
[26] UN, “2010 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” New York, November 2009, p. 219.
[27] Interview with Khaled Yamout, NPA, Beirut, 22 February 2010. LMAC also stated that all survivors got at least minimal services. Interview with Lt.-Col. el Sheikh, LMAC, Beirut, 22 February 2010.
[28] Interview with Corine Azar, Interim Director General, Head of Disability Department, Ministry of Social Affairs, Beirut, 22 February 2010.
[29] US Department of State, “2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2010.
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