Landmine
casualties continue to be reported in every region of the
world.[88] In 2001 and through June
2002, Landmine Monitor finds that there were new landmine/UXO casualties
reported in 70 countries; down from 73 countries reported in the Landmine
Monitor Report 2001. Landmine Monitor also registered mine casualties in
eight regions it monitors because of their significant landmine/UXO
problem.[89] In calendar year 2001,
new casualties were recorded in 69 countries and all eight regions. In early
2002, additional casualties were recorded in Algeria. The data sources used to
identify new casualties includes official databases, government records,
hospital records, media reports, surveys/assessments, and interviews.
Landmine Monitor has identified at least 7,987 new landmine/UXO casualties in
calendar year 2001.[90] About 70%
of reported casualties are civilians. However, it is important to remember that
this figure represents the reported casualties and does not include the
thousands of casualties that are believed to go unreported as innocent civilians
are killed or injured in remote areas away from any form of assistance or means
of communication. There is no reliable reporting in some heavily
affected countries such as Burma (Myanmar), Sudan, and Vietnam. Comprehensive
data on landmine/UXO casualties is difficult to obtain, particularly in
countries experiencing ongoing conflict, or with minefields in remote areas, or
with limited resources to monitor public health services.
While acknowledging that it is impossible to arrive at an exact figure of
casualties, it is likely that the number of new landmine casualties is between
15,000 and 20,000 per year.
Although there are three fewer countries with reported casualties in this
year’s Landmine Monitor Report compared to last year’s, it
should be noted this represents the addition of eight countries with new
reported casualties (Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Hungary,
Oman, Poland, Syria and Tunisia), and the subtraction of eleven countries which
had casualties previously, but not in this time period (Belgium, Bolivia, China,
Djibouti, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia, and Morocco).
From January 2001 to the end of June 2002 landmine/UXO casualties were
reported in:
Landmine and UXO Casualties in 2001-2002
Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe/
Central Asia
Middle East/
North Africa
Angola
Burundi
Chad
DR Congo
Rep. Congo*
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Mauritania
Mozambique
Namibia
Rwanda
Senegal
Somalia
Sudan
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Somaliland
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Ecuador
El Salvador*
Guatemala*
Nicaragua
Peru
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Burma
Cambodia
India
Korea, RO
Laos
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Vietnam
Albania
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus*
Bosnia & Herz.
Croatia
Czech Republic*
Estonia*
Georgia
Greece
Hungary*
Kyrgyzstan
Macedonia FYR
Poland
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkey
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Yugoslavia
Abkhazia
Chechnya
Kosovo
Nagorno-Karabakh
Algeria
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman*
Syria
Tunisia*
Yemen
Northern Iraq Palestine
Western Sahara
* Casualties identified as being caused by UXO only
SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
In 2001-2002, as shown in the preceding table,
mine/UXO casualties are still occurring in every region of the world: in 20
countries in Europe and Central Asia, in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in
13 countries in Asia and the Pacific, in 11 countries in the Middle East and
North Africa, and in 8 countries in the Americas. While ongoing conflict is a
major problem in several mine-affected countries, Landmine Monitor has found
that a majority (46) of the 70 countries that suffered new mine/UXO casualties
in 2001-2002 had not experienced any active armed conflict during the research
period. In many cases, the conflict had ended a decade or more ago.
There are twenty mine-affected countries that are not on the list of new
mine/UXO casualties in 2001-2002. It is probable that there were new mine
casualties in some of these; however, there was a lack of tangible evidence to
confirm new casualties in 2001. In some other mine-affected countries, there
was a clear statement of no new casualties, for example in Swaziland. It should
be noted that although Tanzania is not mine-affected, the country does provide
assistance to mine survivors coming over the border from Burundi and DR
Congo.
For all eight countries added to the list, the reason for inclusion was that
new incidents of mine/UXO casualties were reported, rather than the onset of a
new conflict.
In several mine-affected countries, databases have been set up to collect
information on landmine incidents and casualties. In others, international
agencies and NGOs are carrying out surveys to assess the extent of the problem.
Although Landmine Monitor considers that in some instances reported casualty
figures are incomplete and understated, a sampling of the findings from the
Landmine Monitor Report 2002 country reports follows. These findings are
for the calendar year 2001, unless otherwise stated.
In countries/regions with established mine casualty databases, there is no
clear pattern of increasing or decreasing casualty rates:
Afghanistan: 1,368 casualties recorded (ICRC), up from 1,114 casualties
recorded in 2000 (ICRC);
Albania: 9 casualties recorded, down from 35 in 2000;
Angola: 660 casualties recorded, down from 840 in 2000;
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 87 casualties recorded, down from 100 in 2000;
Cambodia: 813 casualties recorded, down from 847 in 2000;
Croatia: 34 casualties recorded, up from 22 in 2000;
Eritrea: 154 casualties recorded, in May/June 2000 49 casualties reported;
Kosovo: 22 casualties recorded, down from 95 in 2000;
Laos: 122 casualties recorded, up from 103 in 2000;
Mozambique: 80 casualties recorded, up from 29 in 2000;
Nagorno-Karabakh: 18 casualties recorded, up from 15 in 2000;
Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan): 30 casualties a month, down from 48 per
month in 2000.
In other countries, data on landmine/UXO casualties
is collected from government ministries and agencies, international agencies and
NGOs, hospitals, the media, and in some cases, databases that have been
established by the country campaigns of the ICBL.
Chechnya: 1,153 casualties reported, it is also reported that 30 to 50
civilians are injured each month in landmine incidents;
Colombia: 201 casualties reported to October 2001, up from 83 reported for
all of 2000;
DR Congo: 135 casualties reported;
Ethiopia: 71 casualties reported, down from 202 in 2000 (data is only
available for the Tigray and Afar regions);
Georgia: 98 casualties reported;
India: 332 casualties reported;
Lebanon: 90 casualties reported, down from 113 in 2000;
Macedonia: 48 casualties reported;
Namibia: 50 casualties reported, down from 140 in 2000;
Nepal: 424 casualties reported, up from 182 in 2000;
Pakistan: 92 casualties reported, up from 62 in 2000 (figures do not include
incidents that may have occurred on the Pakistan-India border);
Palestine: 20 casualties reported, up from 11 in 2000;
Rwanda: 23 casualties reported, up from 20 in 2000;
Senegal: 54 casualties reported, down from 65 in 2000;
Somalia: 224 casualties reported, up from 147 in 2000;
Sri Lanka: more than 300 casualties reported;
Sudan: 123 casualties reported to June 2001;
Tajikistan: 29 casualties reported;
Turkey: 49 casualties reported, up from 5 in 2000;
Uganda: 32 casualties reported, down from 38 in 2000;
Yemen: 21 casualties reported, up from 12 in 2000.
In a number
of mine-affected countries and areas the casualty rate increased in 2001-2002.
In some countries and regions the increase appears to be due to a new or
expanded conflict, or the movement of refugees and internally displaced persons
(IDPs): Afghanistan, DR Congo, India, Palestine, and Sri Lanka. In other
countries and regions the increase appears to be largely the result of improved
data collection, for example, Chechnya, Georgia, Pakistan, and Turkey. In
Colombia, both factors contribute to a higher number of reported casualties.
Casualties continue to be reported in 2002, for example: in Afghanistan, 658
new casualties reported to 30 June; in Cambodia, 343 new casualties reported to
30 April; in Croatia, 13 new casualties reported to 30 June; and in Palestine,
45 new casualties reported to 15 May.
In this reporting period, landmine/UXO casualties also include nationals
coming from mine-free countries, and in some cases from other mine-affected
countries, killed or injured while abroad engaged in military or demining
operations, peacekeeping, or other activities. These countries include Albania,
Algeria, Australia, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia,
France, Gambia, Germany, Honduras, India, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Morocco,
Mozambique, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa,
Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
In 2001 and the first half of 2002, incidents during clearance operations or
in training exercises caused casualties among deminers in: Abkhazia,
Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Colombia, Croatia, Eritrea, Estonia,
Greece, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Yemen. There were unconfirmed reports of
demining casualties in several other countries.
In 2001, the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
released a revision of the “Database of Demining Incident Victims”
(DDIV). The new version, called “Database of Demining Accidents”
(DDAS), incorporates various software improvements. The current DDAS includes
details of incidents involving a total of 466 deminer casualties and contains
data from Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Eritrea, Iraq,
Laos, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
While progress has been made since the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force,
landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to claim too many new casualties in
too many countries and in most cases these are civilians. Based on the
information gathered for Landmine Monitor Report 2002, it is clear
that:
The vast majority of new landmine casualties (70% of reported casualties in
2001) continue to be civilians.
It is not only mine-affected countries that have a problem with landmines.
In addition to the countries reporting new casualties, nationals from 29
countries (including 13 mine-free countries) were killed or injured by landmines
while outside their own borders.
LANDMINE CASUALTIES: NEEDS AND ASSISTANCE
A landmine/UXO incident can cause various injuries
to an individual including the loss of limbs, abdominal, chest and spinal
injuries, blindness, deafness, and less visible, psychological trauma not only
to the person injured in the incident, but to the families of those killed or
injured.
The principal actors in landmine victim assistance generally agree that
assistance includes the following
components:[91]
Pre-hospital Care (first aid and management of injuries)
Hospital Care (medical care, surgery, pain management)
Rehabilitation (physiotherapy, prosthetic appliances and assistive devices,
psychological support)
Social and Economic Reintegration (associations of persons with
disabilities, skills and vocational training, income generating projects,
sports)
Disability policy and practice (education and public awareness and
disability laws)
Health and Social Welfare Surveillance and Research capacities (data
collection, processing, analysis, and reporting)
SURVIVOR/VICTIM ASSISTANCE
The Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration promotes a comprehensive integrated
approach to victim assistance that rests on a three-tiered definition of a
landmine victim. This means that a victim includes directly affected
individuals, their families, and mine-affected communities. Consequently,
victim assistance is viewed as a wide range of activities that benefit
individuals, families and communities.
However, throughout the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 the term
Survivor Assistance is used in the country reports to describe activities
aimed at the individuals directly affected in landmine incidents. The use of
the term survivor is intended to emphasize this distinction.
CAPACITIES OF AFFECTED STATES TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO LANDMINE SURVIVORS
A detailed analysis of States’ efforts and
capacities to address the needs of landmine survivors, and persons with
disabilities in general, is beyond the scope of the research undertaken for this
report.[92] Nevertheless, since its
first edition Landmine Monitor has gathered a great deal of information on the
various categories of survivor assistance in 45 States Parties, 37 non-States
Parties, and the eight regions covered in this
report.[93] Information has been
collected on the activities of States through the public health system, and of
international agencies and NGOs, that assist all persons with disabilities,
including mine survivors. However, it is acknowledged that most information
provided has come from international agencies and NGOs rather than from the
relevant ministries in mine-affected countries. In many countries it is
difficult to access official data. Landmine Monitor is assessing how to rectify
this imbalance in future reports.
Based on a purely quantitative analysis of the information available it would
appear that many countries have facilities to address some of the needs of
landmine survivors, but in 2001/2002 Landmine Monitor has identified 42
mine-affected countries and six regions where one or more aspects of survivor
assistance are inadequate. Furthermore, even when services exist, they are
often inaccessible to most survivors, in being long distances from mine-affected
areas, too expensive for survivors to afford, or bureaucratically off-limits to
one group or another.
In most reports of mine-affected countries, data is available on the
facilities that have been identified as providing assistance to landmine
survivors and other persons with disabilities. These centers were asked to
report on how many people were assisted in 2001, and how many of those were
landmine survivors. Landmine Monitor was not always able to get this
information and some facilities do not keep records on the cause of injury, as
all persons with disabilities are treated equally. Nevertheless, while
acknowledging that the data is far from complete, it does give an indication of
where the focus is for landmine survivor assistance. It is also recognized that
these figures do not represent the total number of individuals assisted as one
person may have accessed several of the services recorded.
Hospital Care – 1,620 landmine casualties were identified in
hospital records: Africa 709, Americas 6, Asia Pacific 456, Europe and Central
Asia 330, and Middle East and North Africa 119.
Rehabilitation (patients assisted or prostheses supplied) –
104,173 assisted, including at least 21,617 landmine survivors: Africa 26,887
assisted, at least 5,433 survivors; Americas 1,274, at least 394 survivors; Asia
Pacific 33,051, at least 10,193 survivors; Europe and Central Asia 39,376, at
least 4,227 survivors; Middle East and North Africa 3,585, at least 1,370
survivors.
Psychosocial Support –12,763 assisted, including at
least 4,662 survivors: Africa 4,060, at least 1,142 survivors; Americas 872, at
least 58 survivors; Asia Pacific 5,885, at least 1,955 survivors; Europe and
Central Asia 1,554, at least 1,351 survivors; Middle East and North Africa 392,
at least 156 survivors.
Vocational Training and Economic Reintegration – 8,022 assisted,
at least 2,937 survivors: Africa 986, at least 295 survivors; Americas 392, at
least 92 survivors, Asia Pacific 6,469, at least 2,467 survivors; Europe and
Central Asia 116, at least 24 survivors; Middle East and North Africa 59, all
were mine survivors.
Capacity Building – training of local health care providers
including surgeons, nurses, first aid providers, and prosthetic/orthotic
technicians – at least 1,587 people received training in 2001: Africa 434,
Americas 5, Asia Pacific 970, Europe and Central Asia 118, Middle East and North
Africa 60.
Data Collection – an analysis of data collection capacities in
73 mine-affected countries revealed that only 12 have a comprehensive system in
place; a further 28 countries have some
capacity.[94] Even with a data
collection system in place it is believed that not all mine casualties are
reported. IMSMA has the capacity to record mine casualty data; however a lack
of resources sometimes prevents this facility from being used. In at least four
countries where Landmine Impact Surveys have been completed it appears that
there was no continuation of data gathering by the mine action centers to record
new mine casualties: Chad, Mozambique, Thailand, and Yemen. In Kosovo it
appears that there has been no data collection since the closure of the mine
action center even though the ICRC trained data collectors to take over this
function. The principal collectors of mine casualty data are the mine action
centers, the ICRC, UNICEF, and some NGOs.
In summary, six key general observations can be made from the research
collected in 2001/2002:[95]
In many of the countries reporting new casualties, the assistance provided
to mine survivors continues to be inadequate to meet their needs;
Most services continue to be located in urban centers whereas the majority
of mine survivors can be found in rural areas where the concentration of mine
pollution is greatest;
The majority of resources continue to be directed towards medical and
physical rehabilitation;
Without accurate data on casualties it is not possible to ensure that
survivor assistance programs and limited resources are directed to where the
need is greatest;
International organizations, international and local NGOs, and UN agencies
continue to play a key role in the delivery of services to mine survivors;
and
The economic situation of many mine-affected countries remains an obstacle
to the provision of adequate assistance to landmine survivors.
SAMPLE OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND KEY FINDINGS
GLOBAL
In 2001, ICRC-supported
hospitals treating war-wounded in 22 countries assisted around 1,500 mine/UXO
casualties.[96]
In 2001, ICRC prosthetic/orthotic centers produced 16,501 prostheses, of
which 9,779 were for landmine amputees, and 16,637 crutches and 1,163
wheelchairs.[97] NGOs and other
agencies working in mine-affected countries also produced or distributed at
least 14,573 prostheses, 5,640 crutches, 2,253 wheelchairs, and 7,828 other
assistive devices.
Form J, the voluntary reporting attachment to the Article 7 Report for 2001
was submitted by eight mine-affected States and 23 non-affected States up to the
end of July 2002 to report on victim assistance and other mine action
activities. The mine-affected States include Albania, Cambodia, Colombia,
Ecuador, Honduras, Mozambique, Peru, and Thailand. The non-affected States
include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. In
addition, Croatia, Nicaragua, and Yemen provided victim assistance information
as part of Article 7’s Form I.
AFRICA
In Angola, in July 2001 a new Victim Assistance
Subcommission of the National Intersectoral Commission for Demining and
Humanitarian Assistance was established.
In Chad, according to the Landmine Impact Survey, of 217 recent survivors
none reported receiving physical rehabilitation or vocational training after
their accident.
In Eritrea, the ICRC and the Eritrean authorities signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on the establishment of a physical rehabilitation program for
persons with disabilities in the country.
In Mozambique, the National Demining Institute (IND) has developed a draft
policy for Survivor and Victim Assistance which attempts to define the role of
the IND concerning mine survivor assistance.
In Namibia, on 24 September 2001, the Disability Advisory Office, within the
Prime Minister’s office, started operations.
In Uganda, in September 2001 a new integrated mine awareness and survivor
assistance program started in northern Uganda.
AMERICAS
In Colombia, the government launched the
Antipersonnel Mine Observatory which collects data on landmine incidents and
casualties.
In El Salvador, the National Family Secretariat, headed by the First Lady of
El Salvador, is implementing a Law of Equal Opportunities for Disabled
Persons.
In Honduras, a new orthopedic workshop commenced production in San Pedro
Sula.
Mexico, during the January 2002 Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and
Socio-Economic Reintegration, announced their initiative at the United Nations
to create an international convention for the promotion and protection of the
rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
In Nicaragua, efforts are being made to ensure that survivor assistance
becomes an integral part of the public health system, and of other State
institutions including the Ministry of the Family (MIFAMILIA), the Institute for
Youth, and the National Technological Institute (INATEC).
ASIA-PACIFIC
In Afghanistan, according to the World Health
Organization, 65 percent of Afghans do not have access to health facilities.
Only 60 out of 330 districts have rehabilitation or socioeconomic reintegration
facilities for persons with disabilities and even in those districts the needs
are only partially met.
In Burma, the ICRC reported that in 2001 the country ranked third out of
their 14 prosthetic/orthotic programs worldwide for the highest number of mine
survivors receiving prostheses, after Afghanistan and Angola.
In India, in the mine-affected area of Jammu and Kashmir the State
government has pledged to improve medical services in all health institutions in
the State.
In Laos, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare formally approved the
constitution of the Lao Disabled People’s Association, after five
years.
In Sri Lanka, the NGO Hope for Children introduced a mobile artificial limb
manufacturing and fitting vehicle to provide assistance in remote areas.
In Thailand, from 6-8 November 2001, representatives from Burma, Cambodia,
Laos, Thailand and Vietnam attended the South East Asia Regional Conference on
Victim Assistance.
In Vietnam, the Community-Based Rehabilitation program expanded from 40 to
45 provinces.
EUROPE/CENTRAL ASIA
In Armenia, in January 2002 the Yerevan
Prosthetic-Orthopedic Enterprise stopped providing assistance because of a lack
of State funding. This is a repeat of the situation reported previously when
the center closed between October 2000 and February 2001. Operations were due
to resume in August 2002.
In Azerbaijan, in 2002 the ICRC is opening a new rehabilitation center in
Ganja, the second largest city, and upgrading an existing facility in
Nakhichevan.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the average distance between amputees and a
limb-fitting center is 100-150 kilometers.
In CIS countries, on 31 May 2001, the “International Complex Program
on the Rehabilitation of War Veterans, Participants of Local Conflicts and
Victims of Terrorism for 2001-2005” was approved by a resolution of the
Council of the Heads of Government of the CIS countries.
In Croatia, the Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department of the Martin
Horvat hospital in Rovinj was renovated to provide rehabilitation and
psychosocial support to young mine survivors.
In Chechnya, many hospitals and clinics often function without running
water, proper heating or sewage systems. The ICRC has signed an agreement with
the Chechen Ministry of Health and the Chechen branch of the Russian Red Cross
to assist the health facilities in Chechnya. To July 2002, there were no
rehabilitation centers operating inside Chechnya.
In Georgia, specialized medical rehabilitation and psychological support
appears to remain inaccessible, or unavailable, for many mine survivors.
In Kosovo, concerns have been raised that rather than seeking to establish
sustainable rehabilitation programs in Kosovo some programs provide assistance
by transporting those requiring rehabilitation or prosthetics to other
countries.
In Slovenia, on 1-2 July 2002, a workshop entitled “Defining
Strategies for Success” was held at the International Trust Fund for
Demining and Mine Victims Assistance center in Ig, to identify strategies for
improving survivor assistance in the Balkans.
In Turkey, a new center for prosthetics and rehabilitation was opened at
Dicle University, near the mine-affected areas.
In Ukraine, on 13 November 2001, the President accepted a new decree on the
medical and social protection of persons with disabilities, including veterans
and victims of war.
In FR Yugoslavia, Handicap International signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Serbian Ministry of Social Affairs to assist in the
process of reforms and creation of a new policy addressing the needs of persons
with disabilities.
MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
In Algeria, the ICRC signed an agreement with the
Ministry of Health to create a production unit at the Ben Aknoun
prosthetic/orthotic center in northern Algiers.
In Lebanon, the National Demining Office established a National Mine Victim
Assistance Committee, which includes all the major actors in survivor
assistance. The national disability legislation that was approved in May 2000
is not yet in effect.
In Syria, a new physiotherapy center was opened in Khan Arnaba close to the
mine-affected area.
In Yemen, Presidential Law Number 2 establishing a care and rehabilitation
fund for persons with disabilities came into effect.
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF SURVIVORS
The number of mine/UXO survivors requiring
assistance continues to grow every year. Nevertheless, it has been noted that in
many mine-affected countries, the assistance provided to mine survivors is
inadequate to meet their needs. In addition to the new casualties registered in
2001-2002, Landmine Monitor has identified 38 other countries with, in medical
terms, a “residual caseload” of landmine survivors from previous
years. In other words, many countries with no new landmine casualties in
2001-2002, nevertheless have landmine survivors from prior years that continue
to require assistance. Consequently, almost two-thirds of the countries in the
world, 121 countries, are affected to some extent by the landmine/UXO problem
and the issue of survivors.
A survey of 897 landmine/UXO survivors conducted by the Landmine Survivors
Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina, found that only 22 percent, around 200
people, were psychologically and physically well, and self-sustaining. The
other 78 percent of survivors needed continuous follow-up and support. Using
this survey and based on earlier estimates of 300,000 landmine survivors in the
world, it could be argued that at least 234,000 individuals require continuous
follow-up and support.
As with all human services, landmine survivor assistance is a complex and
long-term issue. Prostheses wear out, need repairs, and replacement. Medical
problems can resurface years after the original incident. Someone who walked
well with a prosthesis for years may need a wheelchair later in life. Likewise,
socio-economic reintegration is not a result that is easily achievable or
sustainable. Vocational training programs and other methods to facilitate
economic reintegration struggle to succeed in economies where everyone is
under-employed. And while very few survivors suffer from actual post-traumatic
stress disorder, many have lingering psychological issues which when left
un-addressed, can cause severe harm to the survivor and all those who are close
to them.
Whether the disability is an amputation, a visual impairment, deafness, or
something else, landmine survivors often face discrimination, barriers to the
built environment and communication systems, social isolation, exclusion from
educational opportunities, and segregation from formal and informal labor
markets. To rectify this, two approaches need to happen simultaneously. First,
assistance to landmine survivors should be viewed as a part of a country’s
overall public health and social services system. Second, within those general
systems, deliberate care must be built in to ensure that landmine survivors and
other persons with disability receive the same opportunities in life – for
health care, social services, a life-sustaining income, education, and
participation in the community – as every other sector of a society.
Striking a balance is crucial. Landmine survivors should not be viewed as a
group separate from other war victims or persons with disabilities. The
ultimate goal of survivor assistance programs should be survivors’
complete rehabilitation, and their reintegration into the wider community.
In many mine-affected countries this goal cannot be reached without financial
assistance from the international community. The Mine Ban Treaty requires, in
Article 6, Paragraph 3, that “Each State in a position to do so shall
provide assistance for the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic
reintegration, of mine victims....”
THE INTERSESSIONAL STANDING COMMITTEE
Since September 2001 the Standing Committee on
Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration[98] (SC-VA) has been
co-chaired by Canada and Honduras, having taken over this role from Japan and
Nicaragua. The co-rapporteurs are France and Colombia (who will become
co-chairs in September 2002). The SC-VA continues to make progress in achieving
its mandate to identify practical means to assist States Parties in meeting
their obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty in relation to the care and
rehabilitation of landmine survivors.
In October 2001, Canada hosted a “Standing Committee Planning
Workshop” in Ottawa, to promote discussion on establishing a framework for
the SC-VA’s future activities and identifying key issues to be addressed.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the governments of Canada,
Honduras, France, Nicaragua and Japan, together with the Chair of the ICBL
Working Group on Victim Assistance, and representatives from UNMAS, Landmine
Monitor, the ICBL, and other NGOs.
Two intersessional meetings were held in January and May 2002, in Geneva,
Switzerland. In January, the SC-VA welcomed eight participants from
French/English-speaking African nations taking part in the second phase of the
Raising the Voices of Landmine Survivors Initiative. The main themes of the
meeting were: measuring progress in implementing the treaty; critical issues and
advancements in medical care, in psychological and social rehabilitation, and in
physical rehabilitation; and human rights and disability. One of the key
outcomes of this meeting was the introduction of a consultative process,
coordinated by UNMAS, to identify new opportunities for the Standing
Committee.
In the May intersessional meetings, the main themes of the SC-VA were:
overview and status of implementation; update on implementation plans and
progress – prosthetics and orthotics, psychosocial rehabilitation,
economic reintegration of persons with disabilities, and human rights and
persons with disabilities. More participants in the second phase of the Raising
the Voices Initiative, this time from Portuguese/English-speaking Africa, had an
opportunity to address the meeting on the priorities for survivor assistance.
UNMAS presented preliminary findings from the consultative process and four
items were identified as desired areas of focus for future SC-VA meetings:
national level planning and coordination of victim assistance by the governments
of mine-affected countries; emergency medical care; prosthetics and orthotics;
and economic reintegration.
[88] For the purposes of Landmine Monitor
research, casualties include the individual killed or injured as a result of an
incident involving antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, improvised explosive
devices and unexploded ordnance. From the information available in many
countries it is not always possible to determine with certainty the type of
weapon that caused the incident. [89] These
include Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, northern Iraq (Iraqi
Kurdistan), Palestine, Somaliland, and Western
Sahara. [90] Landmine Monitor identified
8,064 casualties in 2000. [91] For further
information see ICBL Working Group on Victim Assistance, Guidelines for the Care
and Rehabilitation of Survivors; see also Providing assistance to landmine
victims: A collection of guidelines, best practices and methodologies, compiled
by the Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic
Reintegration and Mine Awareness, May
2001. [92] More detailed information on this
important area is compiled by Handicap International in Landmine Victim
Assistance: World Report 2001 which examines a wide range of indicators to
determine a State’s capacity to adequately address the needs of the
persons with disabilities, including landmine
survivors. [93] For details see
“Measuring the Progress in Implementing the Convention,”
presentation by Sheree Bailey, Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research
Coordinator, to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, Geneva, 28 January 2002, available at
www.gichd.ch. [94] For details see
“Progress in Implementing the Convention,” presentation by Sheree
Bailey, Landmine Monitor Victim Assistance Research Coordinator, to the Standing
Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 27 May
2002, available at www.gichd.ch. [95] For
more general observations see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
41. [96] ICRC Special Report, Mine Action
2001, Geneva, July 2002, p. 8. [97] Ibid.,
p. 10. [98] The committee was previously
known as the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic
Reintegration and Mine Awareness.
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