Casualties Overview

In 2011, the Monitor identified 184 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Libya.[1] All identified casualties occurred after 17 February, the start of the 2011 armed conflict in Libya. Children made up 64% (76 of 119) of all civilian casualties in cases in which the age was known. Most child casualties were boys (56); there were also 13 casualties among girls.[2] While the majority of adult casualties were men, there were at least seven women casualties. There were two casualties among Pakistani nationals, both adult males.

The vast majority of casualties were civilians: 124 of 140 for which data on civilian or military status was available. There were also 12 casualties among military personnel. There were four casualties among deminers in just two separate accidents. Deminer casualties included two British deminers.[3]

The total number of casualties in Libya is not known; all available estimates pre-date the 2011 conflict, when many new casualties occurred. The Libyan Demining Association (LDA)[4] and the Libyan Civil Defense Department had registered 1,852 mine casualties by the end of 2006. Previous estimates were approximately 12,000, with the Libyan police reporting 11,845 casualties between 1940 and 1995 (6,749 killed; 5,096 injured) and the Libyan Jihad Center for Historical Studies reporting 12,258 (3,874 killed; 8,384 injured) between 1952 and 1975.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

The number of cluster munition casualties in Libya is not known. There was no available information on casualties during the cluster munition strikes which occurred in 2011. Media reports identified four casualties from unexploded submunitions between April and June 2011, three in Ajdabiya, Al Wahat, and one in Misrata.[6] However, it was not possible to distinguish the devices that caused these casualties from other types of ERW. Two of the four reported submunition casualties, boys of 10 and 15 years old who were injured in Ajdabiya, were also later reported to have been injured by a hand grenade.[7] The explosive item type of the remaining two casualties could not be confirmed and were recorded as ERW casualties by the Libyan Mine Action Center (LMAC).[8]

Victim Assistance

Libya is responsible for survivors of landmines and other types of ERW. The total number of survivors is unknown. Outdated estimates ranged from 5,000 to 8,000 survivors through 1995. [9]

Victim assistance since 1999[10]

Throughout the period since 1999, mine/ERW survivors were able to receive free medical care through the reasonably well-developed Libyan health care system. Between 2000 and 2008, Italy provided support through building renovations, training and planning to the Benghazi Rehabilitation Center, the only physical rehabilitation center in the country. However, during the period, the center was unable to operate at full capacity due to a lack of qualified staff, materials, and a data management system. When Italy withdrew support in 2008, the center stopped producing prosthetics and orthotics.

There was no information available on economic and social inclusion initiatives or psychological support to survivors during the period. At several Meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Libya called on countries who had used mines in Libya to “provide…assistance to the victims, and to rehabilitate them.”[11]

Victim assistance in 2011

All victim assistance, but most especially emergency and ongoing medical care, was disrupted by the armed conflict that started in February 2011. International organizations responded to this disruption and assisted hospitals to resume care to the increasing numbers of new mine/ERW survivors. In August 2011, the Benghazi Rehabilitation Center resumed production of prosthetics and orthotics and became the only fully functioning prosthetics and orthotics center in the country. No victim assistance coordination or planning was possible in 2011; national and international efforts were focused on providing immediate relief to the large numbers of war-wounded, including mine/ERW survivors.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2011, the government was not able to differentiate the needs of mine/ERW survivors from the needs of all conflict victims in the country.[12]

Victim assistance coordination[13]

On 1 December 2011, the LMAC was established within the Ministry of Defense to manage all mine action activities in the country.[14] Responsibility for victim assistance lay with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Culture and Civil Society (MCCS).[15] There was no coordination of victim assistance during the year nor was there a national plan for victim assistance.

At the end of 2011, the MoH requested support from the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a plan for the reconstruction of the Libyan health system, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.[16] There was no information available on whether mine/ERW survivors, their representative organizations or disabled persons organizations would participate in this planning process.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[17]

Prior to the outbreak of conflict in 2011, Libya had a well-functioning medical system. The availability of medical care declined significantly during the year as thousands of medical professionals working in Libya returned to their countries of origin, and power cuts, lack of funding and a lack of medical supplies prevented the remaining medical professionals from responding to the increased demand for emergency care from mine/ERW survivors and other victims of the conflict.[18] Medical professionals lacked experience in addressing traumatic war injuries, such as those caused by mines/ERW.[19] The ICRC began evacuating mine/ERW survivors to ensure access to emergency medical care, and also trained medical professionals in war surgery.[20] Also, the WHO and Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières, MSF) brought teams of medical professionals to increase the capacity for emergency medical care.[21] All three organizations provided emergency medical supplies to treat the injuries of mine/ERW survivors and other victims of the armed conflict. By the end of 2011, the MoH began to plan for the reconstruction of the health care system with a focus on ensuring basic medical care throughout the country, including in rural and remote areas.[22]

Prior to the conflict, there were no physical rehabilitation centers capable of producing, fitting and maintaining prosthetics and orthotics. The only such center, the Benghazi Rehabilitation Center, ceased producing prosthetics in 2008. Until August 2011, mine/ERW survivors had to be sent outside the country for physical rehabilitation. In August, the ICRC began providing support to the center, supplying materials and training, to resume prosthetics services. Between August and December, 22% of the people who received prosthetics at the center were mine/ERW survivors.[23]

The International Medical Corps (IMC) supported the strengthening of physical rehabilitation at the center and developed a community and mobile outreach service to increase access.[24] Merlin, an international organization, provided physical rehabilitation services to mine/ERW and other war victims in the Nefusa mountains.[25] Through an agreement between the MoH and the International Trust Fund: Enhancing Human Security (ITF), a group of mine/ERW survivors received comprehensive rehabilitation in Slovenia.[26] In a second project that began in January 2012, the ITF agreed to provide additional immediate rehabilitation treatment for mine/ERW survivors outside Libya and to strengthen rehabilitation capacities in Libya.[27]

In early 2011, Libya had very few psychologists and other mental health professionals.[28] Psychologists lacked training and experience in addressing trauma related to war and explosive-related injuries. In June, MSF established a network of psychologists in Misrata, provided training in war trauma and therapeutic tools and supported their efforts through counsel members of the community.[29] IMC established a mental health and psychosocial support program in Benghazi, Misrata and Sirte to increase access to war trauma counseling and develop long-term mental health capacity in the country.[30]

There was no information available on economic inclusion initiatives for mine/ERW survivors in 2011.

The rights of persons with disabilities were protected by a law passed by the previous government.[31] As of the end of 2011, the interim government had not made any changes to existing disability laws or policies. Few public buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities.[32]

Libya signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 1 May 2008.