Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Peru is responsible for a significant number of survivors of landmines, including survivors of victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Peru has made a commitment to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

No new casualties were identified in Peru in 2013.[1] In 2012, in the region of the River Apurímac, River Ene valley, and Mantaro (VRAEM), one incident involving a victim-activated IED, also referred to as a “homemade mine,” caused four casualties among the soldiers from the antipersonnel mine deactivation unit of the Peruvian army.[2]

Since 2007, when the last confirmed casualty caused by factory-made mines was recorded,[3] most casualties identified have been caused by victim-activated IEDs, in areas of coca cultivation.[4]

In 2013, a Peruvian citizen was injured by a landmine when crossing the border to enter Chile.[5] In 2012, a Peruvian was killed while crossing the border from Peru to Chile when his car hit an antivehicle mine.[6]

The total number of mine/IED and ERW casualties identified in Peru since 1991 is 460 (62 people killed and 398 injured).[7]

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2013, there were 398 mine/ERW survivors in Peru.[8]

Victim assistance in 2013

In 2013, some efforts were made to increase access to physical rehabilitation and to register mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities in government social programs such as medical insurance and pensions. However, access to services remained difficult for survivors throughout the year because most were living in extremely remote and rural areas. In December 2012, with the approval of the General Law on Persons with Disabilities, Peru started the adaptation of national legislation in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Implementing regulations of the disability law were passed in April 2014.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, the Peruvian Center for Mine Action (Centro Peruano de Acción contra las Minas Antipersonales, CONTRAMINAS) maintained regular communication with landmine survivors and conducted workshops and discussions, in order to verify and update information on mine/ERW survivors and their needs. During the year, CONTRAMINAS visited the regions of Junin, Huancavelica, and Tacna to update information about survivors already registered and to identify any other mine survivors who remained unregistered.[9]

Victim assistance coordination[10]

CONTRAMINAS held several bilateral victim assistance coordination meetings which included other government ministries and relevant actors such as the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS), the National Disability Council (CONADIS), victim assistance service providers such as the National Institute of Rehabilitation (Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, INR) and the Polus Center, as well as survivor associations.[11]

In April 2013, CONTRAMINAS and CONADIS co-hosted a national victim assistance meeting with support from the Mine Ban Treaty’s Implementation Support Unit. The meeting brought together mine victims, persons with disabilities, and their representative organizations, along with government and NGO participants from rural and remote areas of Peru to ensure the explicit inclusion of mine victims and their perspectives in Peru’s Plan for Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.[12] Three regional meetings were held in Tacna, Junín, and Huancavelica bringing together survivors, local authorities, and representatives of CONTRAMINAS.[13]

In 2013, CONTRAMINAS and the Polus Center continued implementing Peru’s national victim assistance work plan, developed in 2010.[14] The plan’s objectives include providing individualized support for socio-economic reintegration for all registered survivors and strengthening local healthcare and rehabilitation facilities in mine affected areas.[15]

Peru provided updates on victim assistance and disability policy at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2013.[16] Peru provided information on progress in victim assistance through its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.[17]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Survivors and other persons with disabilities participated in the national victim assistance meeting in April 2013 and in regional victim assistance meetings.[18] The Association of Victims and Survivors of Minefields (Asociación de Víctimas y Sobrevivientes de Campos Minados, AVISCAM) has been inactive since 2012.[19]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

As in previous years, medical facilities and the country’s main rehabilitation center were centralized in the capital, while most survivors were based in rural communities. The time and expense of traveling to these services prevented most survivors from accessing them.[20] The national Transportation Development Plan included consideration of the needs of persons with disabilities and actions to gradually address these needs. The National Rehabilitation Institute and other hospitals had begun implementing some actions from the plan as of early 2014.[21]

CONTRAMINAS continued to assist survivors in securing medical assistance and in applying for national health insurance and/or disability pensions.[22] Many survivors found the application process for national health insurance and pensions to be complicated and the coverage itself very limited.[23]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

In January 2013, the INR officially opened the newly built national rehabilitation center offering comprehensive rehabilitation services, including prosthetics, occupational therapy, and psychological support. The construction of new facilities was financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with a national contribution from Peru. The National Rehabilitation Institute offers a comprehensive rehabilitation program including physical and psychological care. However, the new center located in Lima remained inaccessible to most survivors living in rural, remote areas.

CONTRAMINAS, with support from the OAS and the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD), facilitated access to rehabilitation services for mine survivors at the INR, National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital Daniel A. Carrión de Huancayo.[24]

In early 2013, the Polus Center began a multi-year training course at the INR to increase the staff capacity through periodic modular trainings.[25] The ICRC SFD continued to support the training of staff at the INR to improve the quality of physical rehabilitation in Peru.[26]

Economic Inclusion

Through May 2013, CONTRAMINAS continued to work jointly with the Polus Center in the implementation socio-economic inclusion projects for civilian and military victims. These include education and training and/or micro-finance to start small businesses. By May, 108 civilian victims had received support for income-generating projects, approximately one-third of all registered survivors.[27] In the first quarter of 2013, CONTRAMINAS and the Polus Center monitored the results of the economic inclusion projects and found that 98% were successful.[28]

The Polus Center strengthened the capacity of the regional employment center in Junin, providing equipment, tools, and materials for vocational training courses. It also provided training to the center in adapting courses and occupational counseling for persons with disabilities and established a quota of 15% of its spaces for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[29]

Laws and Policies

In April 2014 the implementing regulations for the national Law for Persons with Disabilities were approved.[30] The law establishes budgetary requirements and quotas for various government ministries to ensure the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities.[31] It mandates that all public spaces must be accessible, though few efforts were made in 2013 to remove barriers to access.[32]

The pilot program Accessible Tumbes (Tumbes Accessible), launched by CONADIS in 2012, aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities by providing a regional census, visiting them, assessing their needs and the obstacles they face in accessing services, as well as providing immediate attention as needed.[33] The outcomes of the pilot program are to be used to develop regional disability policies.[34] In early 2014, the program was replicated in the regions of Huánuco and Piura. [35]

Peru ratified the CRPD on 30 January 2008.