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Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
No casualties from mines, explosive remnants of war (ERW), or cluster munition remnants were confirmed in Serbia in 2009.[1] In July 2009, a 50-year-old man was killed by what was suspected to be an unexploded submunition on the bank of the Nišava river, but the cause of the explosion was not confirmed.[2] This is a decrease from the three casualties reported in 2008 and in line with the trend of reduced numbers of annual casualties, following a peak in 1999 and 2000.[3]
The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Serbia is not known. In 2004, Serbia reported 1,360 casualties (24 killed, 1336 injured) between 1992 and 2000 in Serbia and Montenegro.[4] The last confirmed mine casualties were reported in 2005. Between 1999 and 2008, 191 casualties (31 people killed and 160 injured) by cluster submunitions were identified.[5]
Victim Assistance
The total number of survivors in Serbia is not known but is estimated to be between 1,300 and 8,000.[6]
No efforts were made by the Serbian government in 2009 to identify survivors or assess their needs. In late 2009, Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia, a national survivors’ association, began a national survey to collect data on survivors and their needs.[7]
Victim assistance coordination
|
Government coordinating body/ focal point |
Special Hospital for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Prosthetics: inactive |
|
Coordinating mechanism |
None |
|
Plan |
None |
While the Special Hospital for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Prosthetics was the designated victim assistance focal point,[8] no coordination or planning of activities for survivors was identified in 2009. As of the end of 2009, no victim assistance plan had been developed and no progress had been identified toward the 2005–2009 victim assistance objectives that Serbia presented at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005.[9]
In September 2009, the State Expert Commission on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was formed to monitor the provision of services in rehabilitation centers throughout Serbia.[10]
No survivors or their representative organizations were included in the coordination, planning, monitoring, or implementing of victim assistance activities in 2009.[11] The Sector for Protection of Persons with Disability within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy ran two grant programs in 2009 to promote increased accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities.[12] Several local survivor organizations reported that their applications for participation in these grant programs were denied on the grounds that their needs could only be addressed by the Sector for Protection of Veterans with Disabilities.[13]
Service accessibility and effectiveness
Victim assistance activities in 2009[14]
|
Name of organization |
Type of organization |
Type of activity |
Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2009 |
|
Special Hospital for Orthopedic Rehabilitation and Prosthetics |
Government |
Physical rehabilitation |
No change |
|
Sector for Protection of Veterans with Disability, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy |
Government |
Housing project for disabled veterans |
No change |
|
Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia |
National NGO |
Survivor needs assessment, advocacy |
New organization, founded in December 2009 |
In 2009, no significant changes were identified in the accessibility or quality of victim assistance services in Serbia.
A study of physical rehabilitation services, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and conducted in September 2009, found that beneficiaries received inadequate services. It pointed to an excessive demand for services given the number of available trained prosthetic technicians and levels of staffing. It was also found that disabled veterans were unable to receive services since military health insurance programs excluded physical rehabilitation.[15]
Members of the Association of Veterans with Disability, Novi Sad, participated in a study on post-traumatic stress disorder carried out by the Trauma Center of Novi Sad. Study participants believed they would receive psychological counseling in return for their participation but never did.[16]
In March 2009, the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination and in May 2009, the Law on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, were adopted. However, legislation was not fully enforced and discrimination was frequent.[17]
On 31 July 2009, Serbia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
[1] Fax from Dragan Popovic, Officer in Charge, Bureau for Information of Public Importance, Cabinet of the Minister, Ministry of Interior, 1 April 2010.
[2] “Razneo se bombom kasikarom!” (“Blew himself up with a hand grenade!”), Press (Niš), 20 July 2009, www.pressonline.rs; and M. Smiljković, “Razneo se kasikarom pored Nisave” (“Blew himself up with a hand grenade on Nisava river bank”), Blic (Daily newspaper), 19 July 2009, www.blic.rs.
[3] Email from Srecko Gavrilovic, Ministry of Defense, 13 July 2009; and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Report on the impact of unexploded cluster submunitions in Serbia,” Belgrade, January 2009, pp. 40–41.
[4] This figure includes 260 mine survivors registered in Montenegro. Presentation by Serbia and Montenegro, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 10 February 2004; and Article 7 Report, Form J, 25 October 2004.
[5] NPA, “Report on the impact of unexploded cluster submunitions in Serbia,” Belgrade, January 2009, p. 10.
[6] Presentation by Serbia and Montenegro, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 10 February 2004; and “Zaboravljene zrtve mina” (“Mine Victims Forgotten”), Politika (Daily newspaper), 3 September 2009.
[7] Email from Jelena Vicentic, Executive Director, Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia, 6 April 2010.
[8] Letter from Tomica Milosavljević, Minister of Health, Sector for European Integration and International Cooperation, Ministry of Health, 18 March 2010.
[9] The government of Serbia did not respond to repeated requests by Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor for information on victim assistance planning and coordination. Statement of Serbia, Workshop on Progress and Challenges in Achieving a Mine-Free South Eastern Europe, Tirana, 8 October 2009; and statement of Serbia, Second Review Conference, Cartagena, 30 November 2010. Neither statement included information on victim assistance coordination and planning.
[10] Ministry of Health, “Report on State expert commission on physical medicine and rehabilitation,” Belgrade, 30 September 2009.
[11] Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor interviews with representatives of associations and networks of veterans with disability and civilian war victims, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Negotin, Kruševac, Kraljevo, Niš, and Valjevo, February–April 2010.
[12] Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, “Annual report on activities for the period 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009,” www.minrzs.gov.
[13] Interviews with Vera Tegeltija, Secretary, Civilian War Victims Organization, Vojvodina, 23 February 2010; Jovica Pavlović, Secretary, Association of Veterans with Disability, Kragujevac, 10 February 2010; and Milorad Aksin, Head, Municipal Association of Veterans with Disability, Pančevo, 25 February 2010.
[14] Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, “Annual report on activities for the period 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009,” www.minrzs.gov; and email from Jelena Vicentic, Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia, 6 April 2010.
[15] Ministry of Health, “Report on State expert commission on physical medicine and rehabilitation,” Belgrade, 30 September 2009.
[16] Interview with Slobodan Vračarić, President, Association of Veterans with Disability, Novi Sad, 23 February 2010.
[17] Commission of the European Communities, “Serbia 2009 Progress Report,” Brussels, 14 October 2009, pp. 16–17.
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