Bangladesh
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
In 2012, no new landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The last recorded casualties occurred in 2008 when there were three reported ERW casualties in two incidents.[1] The last reported mine casualties were in 2001.
The total number of casualties from mines and ERW in Bangladesh is not known. Between 1993 and the end of 2008, there were at least 198 mine/ERW casualties; 66 people were killed and another 132 injured in landmine/ERW incidents.[2]
Victim Assistance
The total number of mine/ERW survivors living in Bangladesh is not known.
There is no specific victim assistance policy or program in Bangladesh. There is, however, an overall legal framework regarding persons with disabilities. The 2013 Disability Rights and Protection Act provides for equal treatment and freedom from discrimination for persons with disabilities. The law focuses on prevention of disability, treatment, education, rehabilitation, social protection, employment, transport accessibility, and advocacy. The law contains extensive accessibility requirements for new buildings. However, construction plans for new buildings were approved without compliance with these requirements.[3]
The Ministry of Social Welfare and the National Foundation for the Development of the Disabled are the government agencies responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30November 2007.
[1] “Bomb blows away farmer’s hand in Jhenidah,” The Daily Star (Jhenidah), 30 April 2008; and “2 women killed as grenade goes off,” The Daily Star (Bandarban), 13 December 2008.
[2] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2004: Toward a Mine-Free World (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2004), accessed 18 September 2013. In addition to the 64 people killed and 131 injured reported until 2001, three casualties (two killed, one injured) were recorded in 2008. ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Mines Action Canada, 2009), accessed 18 September 2013.
[3] United States Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh,” Washington, DC, 24 June 2014.