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Sri Lanka

Last Updated: 18 October 2010

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties

Casualties in 2009

Casualties in 2009

38 (2008: 79)

Casualties by outcome

6 killed; 32 injured (2008: 11 killed; 68 injured)

Casualties by device type

15 antipersonnel mines; 1 antivehicle mine; 17 ERW;  5 unknown devices

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified a total of 38 casualties in Sri Lanka in 2009. UN agencies reported 28 civilian mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties. Four people were killed and 24 injured in 18 incidents. Of the total civilian casualties, 18 were adults (15 men and three women) and 10 casualties were children (nine boys and one girl).[1] Another 10 mine/ERW casualties were identified in media reports (two killed and eight injured). All were military; one was an engineer attempting to defuse a stock of antipersonnel mines.[2] 

Landmine Monitor identified at least 79 new mine/ERW casualties in Sri Lanka for 2008. UNDP recorded six civilian casualties, including one deminer: one person killed and five injured in four incidents. The rest of the casualties were identified through media reports.[3] From 2006 to 2009 accurate casualty information was difficult to access, probably resulting in under-reporting.[4] The decrease in mine/ERW casualties recorded from 2008 is not likely indicative of a trend, particularly in the case of military casualties during the conflict.

It was reported that since the 1980s, there were a total of 21,993 landmine casualties, including 1,419 civilian returnees. According to the same report, 3,770 amputees had been recorded among the armed forces, police, and civil defence forces; the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had had 16,804 mine casualties.[5] A limited survey carried out in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2009 indicated that a large number of IDPs had mine-related disabilities; 750 people with amputations were identified, many had been injured while fleeing conflict in the last months of the conflict.[6]

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified 1,310 casualties in Sri Lanka from 1999 to the end of 2009 (123 killed, 453 injured, and 734 unknown).[7]

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors in Sri Lanka was estimated to be in the thousands. [8]

Generally data on war injuries and disabilities was not available and the topic was highly sensitive in the post-conflict context in Sri Lanka.[9] It was planned to establish a fully functional data collection mechanism on persons with disabilities, including mine survivors, and available services, by the end of 2010. In 2009, the system remained in discussion and no concrete progress in establishing a system was made.[10]

However, some pilot assessment activities were undertaken in 2009. Limited screening of people with physical injuries in four zones of the Menik Farm IDP camps was undertaken by Handicap International in September 2009.[11] UNICEF partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ministry of Health and Nutrition (MoHN) to implement a Retrospective Community and Household Survey in Jaffna (the most mine-affected district) in July through September 2009. The survey included questions for measuring the impact of mines/ERW. Almost 30% of communities surveyed were found to have residents with mine/ERW-related injuries.[12] The survey was undertaken to create a 10-year baseline to support the MoHN in expanding its injury surveillance system.[13]

Victim assistance coordination[14]

Government coordinating body/ focal point

None; the Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare is responsible for coordinating the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities

Coordinating mechanism

UNICEF acted as the coordination point for victim assistance activities; Technical Working Group meetings included NGOs

Plan

None

UNICEF organized quarterly Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings at which victim assistance was discussed with relevant stakeholders, including UNDP and the Ministry of Social Services and Social Welfare (MoSS). The meetings analyzed needs, planed activities, and sought agreement on common approaches.[15] A national strategy on victim assistance had not been developed by the end of the year as efforts were focused on building relationships to encourage key government partners to carry out their responsibilities.[16]

The MoHN Directorate of Rehabilitation for Youth, Elderly, Disabled and Displaced and the MoSS shared responsibility for disability issues more generally.[17] Coordination among key physical rehabilitation stakeholders took effect during 2009 with the MoHN increasingly taking on a lead role.[18]

UNICEF worked with victim assistance officers from the staff of NGO partners who supported victim assistance coordination and facilitated access to services for persons with disabilities. Coordination networks for people with disabilities also existed in some mine-affected districts, including Batticaloa, Mannar, Trincomalee, and Vavuniya.[19] Attempts to revive disability coordination in Jaffna began in 2010.[20]

Disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) are included in the various coordination mechanisms. Survivor representatives and persons with disabilities also participated in TWG meetings and played key roles in the drafting of the victim assistance strategy for 2010. [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

MoSS

Government

Community-based rehabilitation

No change

Ranaviru Sevana Rehabilitation Centre

Government

Provided physical rehabilitation, social support, economic inclusion, and other assistance to disabled veterans

No change

Jaffna Jaipur Center for Disability Rehabilitation

Local NGO

The only center providing physical rehabilitation on the Jaffna peninsula; produced prostheses for amputees, wheelchairs, and other mobility devices,  and provided micro-credit for persons with disabilities and financial support for students with disabilities; operated an outreach

program for those unable to travel to the center

Increased services for war-injured persons

Sarvodaya

Local NGO

Psychological assistance

No change

Valvuthayam Mannar Rehabilitation Center and Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development (Caritas)

Local NGO with international NGO management

Prosthetics and mobility devices

No change

Leonard Cheshire Disability Resource Centre

Local NGO branch of international NGO

Provided economic inclusion opportunities including skill development, self employment, social protection, and promoting inclusive education and medical interventions in Trincomalee

No change

Motivation

International NGO

Provided  wheelchairs to war-disabled in Vavuniya and Mannar with UNICEF support

No change

Handicap International (HI)

International NGO

Supported physical rehabilitation center in Batticaloa; rehabilitation treatment, assistive devices, referral and training support for medical staff in IDP camps

Increased services for war-injured IDPs

UNICEF

UN

Support to MoSS and NGO rehabilitation services; provided financial support to implementing NGOs and referrals through a victim assistance network

Increased support to rehabilitation centers

ICRC

International organization

Support to the Jaffna Jaipur Center for Disability Rehabilitation with materials; trained and reimbursed some patients for the cost of treatment

Overall increase in services provided (33%),  but a slight decrease (8%) in prosthetics for mine survivors

The situation for persons with disabilities (including mine/ERW survivors) reportedly improved during 2009, following the end of the conflict.[23] However there were few reports of improvements in the quality of services in 2009.

UNICEF found that there was a large funding gap for victim assistance due to the relatively slow donor response in 2009. This was in part a result of competing humanitarian needs and concerns about access and security, and also since victim assistance received less attention from donors overall than other areas of mine action.[24]

In 2009, medical structures in government-controlled areas struggled to cope with the large influx of patients from the conflict zone. The ICRC supported some hospitals and medical facilities, but planned war-surgery seminars and emergency-room trauma courses were cancelled as medical staff were overstretched by the high numbers of casualties. Facilities in LTTE-controlled areas suffered from decreasing staff levels and a lack of supplies.[25] HI established a temporary emergency unit to treat injured persons who fled the fighting.[26]

Relief efforts were further hampered by the government reportedly refusing to extend dozens of international aid workers’ visas in June 2009.[27] The ICRC continued supporting the Jaffna Jaipur Center for Disability Rehabilitation, but some planned training activities were not implemented because an ICRC specialist could not obtain a visa.[28] Instead, prosthetic technicians attended courses abroad, but the training of physiotherapists was postponed to 2010.[29] To cope with the increased workload, the Jaffna Jaipur Center for Disability Rehabilitation increased services to six days a week in September 2009. [30]

On the Jaffna peninsula, persons with disabilities continued to face many obstacles in obtaining rehabilitation services. Irregular public transport, poor roads, and the high cost of transportation continued to make travel to access services costly and time consuming.[31] However near the end of 2009, overall accessibility in Jaffna was rapidly changing with the opening of the main A9 road, which had been closed since 1990.[32] 

There were ongoing concerns that the technology used to make prostheses at the Mannar physical rehabilitation center was not of internationally accepted standards and the training level of technicians was insufficient.[33] The center’s Caritas management agreed to change to internationally accepted standards and received funding support from Catholic Relief Services and UNICEF in late 2009 and for 2010.[34]

Psychological assistance and social support were very limited in Sri Lanka.[35] No improvements were reported. There was a need to strengthen and improve the quality of existing community-based programs for psychological support such as problem sharing and peer support.[36] The government reportedly incorporated vocational training in rehabilitation activities for some disabled former LTTE fighters in detention camps, prior to their release.[37]

The MoSS provided a community-based rehabilitation program for people with disabilities, however the mine-affected North and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka were yet to be included in the program in 2009.[38]

The law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka, however discrimination continued to occur in employment, education, and the provision of state services. There were regulations on physical accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities, but these were rarely implemented. In October 2009, the Supreme Court directed that measures be taken to provide access to public buildings for persons with disabilities.[39]

Sri Lanka signed the UN Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities in March 2007.



[1] Casualty data for calendar year 2009 provided by email from Sebastian Kasack, Mine Action Specialist, UNICEF, 7 August 2010.

[2] Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor media monitoring for calendar year 2009.

[3] Casualty data provided by email from Birendra Katugampola, Project Assistant, UNDP, 13 July 2009; and Landmine Monitor media monitoring for calendar year 2008.

[4] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Birendra Katugampola, UNDP, 13 July 2009.

[5] Statement by Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, Chief Field Engineer, Sri Lanka Army, in “On landmines and explosive remnants of war: raising awareness and taking Action,” Asian Tribune (Colombo), 30 April 2010, www.asiantribune.com. Although not stated, presumably all these casualties were included in the 30-year total.

[6] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,” 18 January 2010, p. 5, mdtf.undp.org; and UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, p. 36.

[8] Based on casualty figures in statement by Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, Sri Lanka Army, in “On landmines and explosive remnants of war: raising awareness and taking Action,” Asian Tribune (Colombo), 30 April 2010, www.asiantribune.com.

[9] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,” 18 January 2010, p. 5, mdtf.undp.org.

[10] UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, pp. 33, 36.

[11] Ibid, p. 36.

[12] CDC, “General Health and Injury among Residents in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka: Results from a Retrospective Community and Household Survey,” 5 July 2010, pp. 15, 26.

[13] UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, p. 11.

[14] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,”  18 January 2010, p. 14, mdtf.undp.org; response to Monitor questionnaire by Birendra Katugampola, UNDP, 13 July 2009; and UNICEF, “Assessment on UNICEF Survivor Assistance Programme and Mine Victims Needs,” undated but 2009, p. 42. The assessment was carried out between August and September 2008.

[15] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,” 18 January 2010, p. 14, mdtf.undp.org.

[16] UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, pp. 11, 33.

[17] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, June 2010, p. 47.

[18] UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, p. 11.

[19] Ibid, p. 37.

[20] Email from Sebastian Kasack, UNICEF, 10 August 2010.

[21] Ibid.

[22]  Dhaneshi Tatawara, “Avurudu celebrations at Ranaviru Sevana,” Sunday Observer, 2 May 2010, www.sundayobserver.lk; Hiranthi Fernando, “On your feet, wounded soldier,” The Sunday Times (Colombo), 7 June 2009, sundaytimes.lk; ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, June 2010, p. 47; ICRC, “Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 229; ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, May 2009, p. 213; UNICEF, “Assessment on UNICEF Survivor Assistance Programme and Mine Victims Needs,” undated but 2009, p. 27; UNICEF  and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,”  18 January 2010, p. 6, mdtf.undp.org; Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director, “Sarvodaya Movement,” Sarvodaya, 18 June 2009, healthexchangenews.com; UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, p. 37; and email from Sebastian Kasack, UNICEF, 10 August 2010. There were approximately 15 rehabilitation centers in Sri Lanka managed either by the government or by local NGOs; only those reporting services to mine/ERW survivors are listed here.

[23] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, June 2010, p. 34.

[24] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,” 18 January 2010, p. 7, mdtf.undp.org. However, UNICEF raised some US$1 million for victim assistance in late 2009 from the UN Peacebuilding Fund and HI secured funding from the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission for 2010. Email from Sebastian Kasack, UNICEF, 10 August 2010.

[25] ICRC, “Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 229.

[26] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Hilde Bergsma, Mine Action Programme Manager, HI, 15 July 2009.

[27] Jeremy Page, “Aid workers forced to leave Sri Lanka under strict new visa rules,” Times Online, 3 June 2009, www.timesonline.co.uk.

[28] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, June 2010, p. 47.

[29] ICRC, “Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, May 2010, p. 229.

[30] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2009,” Geneva, June 2010, p. 47.

[31] Ibid, p. 34.

[32] CDC, “General Health and Injury among Residents in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka: Results from a Retrospective Community and Household Survey,” 5 July 2010, p.49; and N. Parameswaran, “After 19 years, the A9 road opens for public transport,” The Sunday Times, 20 December 2009, sundaytimes.lk.

[33] To address this, Motivation and UNICEF jointly drafted a project proposal. UNICEF, “Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Advocacy in Sri Lanka through UNICEF: Interim Progress Report,” 9 October 2009, p. 37.

[34] Email from Sebastian Kasack, UNICEF, 10 August 2010.

[35] UNICEF, “Assessment on UNICEF Survivor Assistance Programme and Mine Victims Needs,” undated but 2009, p. 27.

[36] CDC, “General Health and Injury among Residents in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka: Results from a Retrospective Community and Household Survey,” 5 July 2010, p. 49

[37] Jason Burke, “Sri Lanka releases first former Tamil fighters,” Guardian Weekly, (Vavuniya) 9 April 2010, pp. 48–49.

[38] UNICEF and UNDP, “Project Document: Support to Mine Action Project,” 18 January 2010, p. 13, mdtf.undp.org.

[39] US Department of State, “2009 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2010.