Action points based on findings

·         Approve the proposed new law on the inclusion of persons with disabilities swiftly and dedicate resources to its implementation.

·         Develop a means to monitor the implementation of accessibility standards to ensure widespread compliance, including in rural areas.

·         Ensure that all mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and other persons with disabilities have equal access to programs and services.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of El Salvador is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors and survivors of other ERW who are in need. El Salvador has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and is a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Casualties Overview

There were no casualties from mines or ERW identified in El Salvador in 2013.[1] The last reported casualties occurred in 2011 when one person was killed and another injured from explosives abandoned during armed conflict.[2] The last confirmed mine casualty was in 1994.

There were known to be at least 4,037 casualties in El Salvador through the end of 2013.[3] Of the total, the number of people killed and injured was not reported, but most registered mine/ERW casualties are thought to be survivors.[4]

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2013, at least 3,159 mine/ERW survivors were registered in El Salvador. However, the total number is likely closer to 4,000 since the majority of recorded mine/ERW casualties were people who were injured, and most additional casualties registered in 2010 and 2011 were survivors.[5]

Victim assistance since 1999[6]

Since 1999, El Salvador’s Protection Fund for the Injured and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict (Fondo de Protección de Lisiados y Discapacitados a Consecuencia del Conflicto Armado, Protection Fund) has enabled military and civilian survivors[7] to access a range of services and benefits including medical and rehabilitation services, pensions, subsidies and economic benefits, vocational training, and economic inclusion programs. However, services were initially only available in El Salvador’s capital and most, except for medical care, were provided via international organizations. Starting in 2005, the Ministry of Health began to decentralize healthcare throughout the country. In 2009, the Protection Fund also decentralized its offices. By 2009, nearly all services for survivors and others disabled by armed conflict were conducted through national capacity with national funds, thus ensuring their sustainability following the withdrawal of international donors.

In 2001, Landmine Survivor Network (LSN, later re-named Survivor Corps) initiated the only peer-to-peer support program and one of the only psychological support programs available to mine/ERW survivors. The program was nationalized in 2009 as the Network of Survivors and Persons with Disabilities (Network of Survivors) and has continued to be pivotal in assisting survivors and other persons with disabilities to access services and promote their rights.

Throughout the period, efforts have been made to develop the physical rehabilitation capacity by opening new prosthetics workshops and through the University of Don Bosco School of Prosthetics and Orthotics’ training program. However, progress was slow with survivors only noting modest improvements since 2009.

Starting in 2009, an enhanced political focus on the rights of El Salvador’s war-wounded increased availability of all services provided through the Protection Fund. The availability of programs offering microcredit, peer-to-peer support, and group therapy increased as the Protection Fund expanded coverage throughout the country. This has resulted in more services available to a growing number of mine/ERW survivors and others disabled by armed conflict. All other service providers, including both NGOs and some government-supported providers, have reported static or decreasing budgets to respond to the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance coordination and planning in El Salvador has been intermittent; changes in government leadership have resulted in frequent restructuring of coordination mechanisms for war-victims, victim assistance, and disability issues. Overlapping functions among the Protection Fund, military and veteran agencies, and the Council for Integrated Attention for Persons with Disabilities (Consejo Nacional de Atención Integral a las Personas con Discapacidad, CONAIPD) have also complicated coordination efforts.

Victim assistance in 2013

There were some increases in the availability of medical care and rehabilitation for mine/ERW survivors during 2013, though perceptions of change during the year were not widespread. The Protection Fund—the largest service provider (either directly or through sub-contracts) for mine/ERW survivors—maintained its programs, opened a new rehabilitation center in San Salvador, and increased levels of activity in regional offices somewhat. No overall changes were identified for economic inclusion and psychological support. All of the same governmental and non-governmental service providers who were active in 2012 remained active in 2013, with similar numbers of beneficiaries and geographic coverage.

In terms of laws and policy, important advances were made to develop a new national policy on disability issues and to begin the reform of the national disability law to align it with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Representatives of the Network of Survivors participated fully in planning, monitoring, and implementing services and programs for armed conflict victims and persons with disabilities.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, the Protection Fund held three consultations with 22 organizations and associations of survivors of armed conflict to collect feedback on the needs of survivors and ways to better address those needs.[8] Between January and November, representatives of the Protection Fund visited 12 locations throughout the country, meeting with 1,260 survivors. Information collected was distributed throughout the different units of the Protection Fund to find the appropriate means to address the identified needs.[9]

The Network of Survivors reported that the Protection Fund had made a significant effort to maintain a permanent dialogue with survivors regarding their needs.[10] However, the Salvadoran Association of Disabled Members of the Armed Forces (Asociación Salvadoreña de Lisiados de la Fuerza Armada, ALFAES) found the efforts of the Protection Fund to assess the needs of armed conflict victims to be limited and, as a result, found responses to address these needs to be inadequate.[11]

The Protection Fund also provided information to its beneficiaries on how to access a range of services, including health and rehabilitation, economic inclusion, and psychological support. This was done via a radio program, and also through its website, home visits, and consultations held throughout the country.[12]

Between October and November, the Network of Survivors surveyed 417 armed conflict survivors, both civilians and former combatants, including mine/ERW survivors. Survey participants were selected from 12 of El Salvador’s 14 departments. The purpose of the survey was to assess their current situation, their remaining needs in the areas of health, human rights, economic inclusion, and social inclusion/recreation. It also recorded their perceptions of how well the government had implemented the commitments made to address the needs of armed conflict victims through the peace agreements in the early 1990s that ended El Salvador’s armed conflict.[13] The results of the survey were shared with those associations of armed conflict survivors who assisted with the survey; it was used to inform the planning of services for their members. The Network of Survivors planned to share the results with government representatives in the second half of 2014.[14]

As in previous years, various victim assistance actors collected information from their members and beneficiaries on an ongoing basis in order to determine priorities in providing support.[15]

Victim assistance coordination[16]

In 2013, there was no active interministerial coordination of victim assistance for mine/ERW survivors in El Salvador. However, there was regular coordination of assistance for survivors of armed conflict, including mine/ERW survivors, convened by the Protection Fund, as well as coordination of disability issues through CONAIPD.

In 2013, the Protection Fund’s Consultative Group held three national meetings as well as additional regional coordination meetings. Eighteen national and local associations of survivors of armed conflict participated in the national meetings. These meetings resulted in the development of a proposal for the reform of the national law on the protection of survivors of armed conflict and in improved coordination among stakeholders at the local level. They also promoted the inclusion of survivors in relevant activities in their communities.[17]

In 2013, CONAIPD held regular meetings of its general council and its technical committee. Two major areas of work for CONAIPD in 2013 and into 2014 were the presentation of El Salvador’s initial report on the implementation of the CRPD to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the development of a national policy on the comprehensive attention of persons with disabilities.[18] In April 2013, CONAIPD presented El Salvador’s initial CRPD report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ 9^th Session. It presented responses to issues raised by committee members during the committee’s 10^th Session in September 2013.[19] The national policy was approved on 14 May 2014, following extensive consultations with government representatives and persons with disabilities to identify and develop a strategy to promote the full inclusion of persons with disabilities.[20]

The Protection Fund participated in meetings organized by CONAIPD to represent the perspective of armed conflict victims. It served on the technical committee on employment, participated in consultations to develop the national policy on persons with disabilities, and contributed to the evaluation of El Salvador’s efforts to implement the CRPD.[21]

The National Council for the Defense of Human Rights (Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos No Gubernamental, PDDH) convened a multi-stakeholder coordinating committee on the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2014, the coordinating committee drafted a new law on the inclusion of persons with disabilities (see Laws and policies section below) and formed a mechanism to monitor the government’s implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[22]

Although it has self-identified as a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty with a significant number of survivors and need for assistance, El Salvador did not report internationally on its victim assistance activities for 2013. It did not provide any updates on progress or challenges for victim assistance at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2013, at the Third Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo in June 2014, or through its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2013.[23]

Survivor inclusion and participation

Mine/ERW survivors and their representative organizations were included in the planning and coordination of the activities of the Protection Fund as members of the Consultative Group and were represented on the board of directors of the Protection Fund.[24] The Network of Survivors provided input into the Protection Fund’s accountability report for 2013.[25]

Half of the members of CONAIPD’s general council are representatives of disabled persons’ organizations.[26] The Network of Survivors participated in CONAIPD’s technical committee on employment. The Network of Survivors also participated in the PDDH’s inter-institutional coordinating committee on the rights of persons with disabilities through which it contributed to the preparation of the alternative report reviewing El Salvador’s implementation of the CRPD between 2008 and 2013.[27] The Network’s director served as a member of the NGO delegation during the presentation of the report before the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in September 2013.[28] In 2014, the Network of Survivors participated in the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations to El Salvador by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Network of Survivors also contributed to the development of the draft reform to the national disability law.[29]

The following organizations included survivors in the implementation of services in such roles as administrators, prosthetists, trainers, and peer-to-peer counselors as well as in running economic inclusion programs: the Protection Fund (with a significant percentage of survivors among its staff), Association of the Organization of Disabled of El Salvador (Asociacion Promotora de la Organizacion de Discapacitados de El Salvador, PODES), and the Network of Survivors.[30] Other associations, such as the Salvadoran Association of War Wounded and Disabled (Asociación Salvadoreña de Lisiados y Discapacitados de Guerra, ASALDIG) and ALFAES included survivors and/or persons with disabilities in leadership roles.[31]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2013[32]

Emergency and ongoing medical care

The Protection Fund established an agreement with the national military hospital to allow survivors of armed conflict (both former combatants and civilians) to access medical care there for health issues related to their war injuries. This was said to have improved the quality of medical care available to this population.[33] The Protection Fund’s expenditure on medical assistance in 2013 was not significantly different than in 2012.[34]

Among armed conflict survivors surveyed by the Network of Survivors in 2013, 39% indicated that they faced obstacles in accessing medical care due to the following reasons: a lack of decentralized assistance services, insufficient supply of medicines, long distances to reach health centers, and difficulties in securing appointments.[35]

Physical rehabilitation

The most significant change to the availability of physical rehabilitation in 2013 was the inauguration of the Protection Fund’s newly constructed physical rehabilitation facility. It began providing services to beneficiaries of the fund in early 2013 and was considered “fully equipped” by November.[36] The Protection Fund also increased its budget for mobility devices by one-third in comparison to 2012.[37] PODES likewise registered a slight increase in the number of beneficiaries receiving prosthetic limbs.[38]

The perception of changes to the availability of physical rehabilitation in 2013 varied significantly among associations of survivors and persons with disabilities. The Network of Survivors saw improvements in the availability of mobility devices, whereas ALFAES judged that access to rehabilitation had decreased, and PODES did not observe any change from among its members.[39]

Economic and social inclusion

The Protection Fund remained the main provider of social protection and support for income-generating projects for mine/ERW survivors in 2013. It slightly increased its annual budget for monthly pensions in 2013 as compared with 2012. It also continued programs to provide credit and goods to survivors to start small businesses as well as a few cases of assistance for home purchase or renovation.[40] PODES recognized improvements in the economic inclusion program by the Protection Fund, particularly in the area of support for small business development.[41] According to ALFAES, assistance provided by the Protection Fund was still insufficient to meet the level of need among armed conflict survivors, including mine/ERW survivors.[42]

The Network of Survivors also continued to provide financial support for new businesses for individual survivors and other persons with disabilities, as well as for collectives. They also provided small business training and employment placement assistance at a similar level to 2012.[43] As in 2012, UCADFA further reduced its provision of food support to veteran survivors as a result of budget cuts caused by national budgetary austerity measures.[44]

UCADFA continued to support the national amputee soccer team, made up primarily by survivors of armed conflict. UCADFA assistance covered travel costs for local and international games, equipment for the players, and national sporting events.[45]

Psychosocial inclusion

The Protection Fund remained the only provider of professional psychological support to survivors, via its national and department offices;[46] this support was considered to be of good quality in 2013.[47] UCADFA continued to offer peer support to veteran survivors through the Club of Amputees based at the military hospital in San Salvador, with the support from the Network of Survivors.[48] The Network of Survivors maintained its peer-to-peer support, which continued to operate in 12 of the country’s 14 departments.[49]

Laws and policies

In 2013, discrimination based on the cause of disability continued to exist in the provision of services to persons with disabilities; those injured during or as a result of the war, both veterans and civilians, including mine/ERW survivors, received benefits through the Protection Fund that were not available to other persons with disabilities. In September 2013, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities noted that “social protection measures primarily protect persons with disabilities as a consequence of armed conflict and that [El Salvador] lacks strategies designed to satisfy the right to an adequate standard of living...”[50] At the same meeting of the committee, civil society organizations, including El Salvador’s national survivor network, recommended that the government “create a system of services and benefits for all persons with disabilities, similar to those provided to persons with disabilities as a result of armed conflict, via the Protection Fund…”[51]

In 2013, CONAIPD and the PDDH’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities worked on developing a draft law, aligned with the CRPD, to replace the existing law on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The law will combine input from organizations of persons with disabilities through the PDDH consultative process. CONAIPD expected to prepare the draft law for legislative approval by the end of 2014.[52]

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended that El Salvador develop a monitoring mechanism for compliance with accessibility standards and increase efforts to ensure access in rural areas and to community services.[53] It was estimated that physical barriers to access for persons with disabilities had been removed in one third of public buildings by the end of 2013. However, this was primarily in urban areas and some architectural improvements were considered “temporary” rather than long-lasting renovations.[54]

El Salvador ratified the CRPD on 14 December 2007.