Casualties

Casualties in 2009

 

In 2009, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified 421 casualties from antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Pakistan.[1] Adult men (327, or 78%) continued to make up the largest casualty group; nearly a third of adult male casualties (103) were security forces. Fifty-seven child casualties were identified (39 killed and 18 injured); 36 were boys and 21 were girls. The vast majority of casualties (310) occurred in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), followed by 107 in Balochistan.[2] Victim-activated IEDs caused nearly half of all casualties, killing 82 people, including 15 children, and injuring 108 people.

There was a 23% increase in casualties from 2008 to 2009. While a lack of complete casualty information makes it difficult to confirm trends, this increase could be attributed to the upsurge in fighting, particularly in the tribal areas and in the NWFP throughout 2009.[3] While IEDs (including some that were victim-activated) and mines were mainly used to target military convoys and law enforcement agencies, their use in roads and areas with civilians contributed to the high rate (321 of 421, or 76%) of civilian casualties.[4]

The total number of casualties in Pakistan is not known and there is no official data collection mechanism. In 2010, for the first time, the government reported that there were no ERW casualties in Pakistan,[5] though between 1999 and 2009, Landmine Monitor identified at least 2,390 casualties  (917 persons killed, 1,378 injured, and 95 unknown) from victim-activated explosives, including ERW, through media monitoring, field visits, and information provided by service providers.[6]

Victim Assistance

There are at least 1,378 mine/ERW survivors in Pakistan; there are no specific victim assistance programs. No efforts were identified in 2009 to assess survivors’ needs.[7]  

Victim assistance coordination

Pakistan does not have any specific coordination mechanisms or national plans for mine/ERW victim assistance. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education and the National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons are responsible for disability issues and specifically the implementation of the 1981 law for the employment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and the 2002 National Policy for Persons with Disabilities.[8]

No information was available as to whether or not mine/ERW survivors were included in government coordination, implementation, or monitoring of disability plans.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2009[9]

 

The continued and intensifying conflict throughout 2009 in mine-affected regions of the country prevented survivors from accessing needed services because of insecure travel conditions.[10] It also caused some non-governmental service providers to cease operations, while others, including the ICRC and HI, expanded services in an attempt to meet the increasing demand.[11] The ICRC was unable to consistently supply health centers or provide planned staff trainings at some partner health and rehabilitation centers in Balochistan and parts of the NWFP and FATA because of security conditions.[12]

While the government reported that there are systems in place to provide free medical support, employment, and monetary compensation for both mine and ERW survivors and families of those killed,[13] field research in March 2010 confirmed a continuing lack of the necessary emergency and continuing medical care services in mine-affected areas of Balochistan, FATA, and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.[14] The provincial government of the NWFP reported having provided financial assistance to the survivors for health and physical rehabilitation services.[15]

Military hospitals provided better medical care to mine/ERW casualties than civilian hospitals but, with some exceptions in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, civilians were unable to access these services.[16]

As part of HI’s emergency relief program launched in June 2009, psychosocial support was provided to persons with disabilities and other vulnerable persons in internally displaced persons camps.[17] While the ICRC continued providing small grants and business training through the Muzaffarabad Physical Rehabilitation Centre,[18] most activities were focused on emergency relief and medical care.

The law provides for equality of the rights of persons with disabilities, though there was a lack of adequate enforcement mechanisms.[19] In August 2009, the government began issuing national identity cards for persons with disabilities to help them access benefits and introduced reduced rates for mass transportation.[20]

Pakistan signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 25 September 2008, but had not yet ratified it as of 20 July 2010.