Action points based on findings

·         Ensure that mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and others with similar needs have access to psychosocial support and economic inclusion opportunities, following the end of international funding for these programs.

·         Sustain the improved coordination and availability of services for ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities made possible through the victim assistance program in Darfur.

·         Dedicate resources to the approval and full implementation of the revised disability policy and new policies and programs to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities across a range of government programs.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Sudan is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW who are in need. Sudan has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2013, the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) recorded 30 mine/ERW casualties in Sudan; all but two were civilians.[1] The majority (59%) of civilian casualties for which the age was known were children (16 of 27); most of these (13) were boys.[2] Two-thirds of child casualties occurred in Darfur. Among adult civilian casualties, women made up more than half (six of 11).

One-third of all civilian casualties in 2013 (nine of 28) were internally displaced persons (IDPs), with most of these (six) occurring in Darfur. More than half (17 of 30) of all casualties in 2013 occurred in Darfur, including all five casualties recorded from unexploded submunitions; three of the five casualties were children injured in two separate incidents. The remaining casualties occurred in Blue Nile (nine) and Kassala (four), two states bordering South Sudan. There were no casualties among deminers in 2013, a significant decrease compared with the five casualties among deminers in 2012.

The 30 mine/ERW reported casualties in 2013 were a significant decrease compared to the numbers reported in 2012 (108) and in 2011 (122).[3] The casualty figures for 2011 and 2012 were the highest annual figures ever registered in Sudan; the elevated casualty rates in those years were attributed to armed conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states that increased population movement and the related laying of new mines and increased ERW contamination.[4]

NMAC registered 1,913 mine/ERW casualties for the period from 2002 to the end of 2013.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

In 2013, there were five cluster submunition casualties in two separate incidents, both in Western Darfur.[6] There were a total of 35 casualties from cluster munitions in Sudan through the end of 2013, 23 of which occurred in 2009 or before.[7]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 1,349 mine/ERW survivors in Sudan at the end of 2013.[8]

Victim assistance since 1999[9]

Assistance for landmine survivors in Sudan has been irregular and insufficient to address the size of the problem since 1999, in large part due to years of conflict that have seriously damaged infrastructure. However, in that time there have been some improvements in physical rehabilitation and, until 2012, in economic inclusion.

With support from the ICRC, the National Authority for Prosthetic and Orthotics (NAPO) grew Sudan’s rehabilitation capacity from a single rehabilitation center, in Khartoum, to a total of six satellite centers and mobile units by 2009. However, reduced funding to NAPO from 2007 to 2010 decreased the supply of raw materials, created long waiting periods, and contributed to the closing of one center, in Kadugli, by the end of 2010. While rehabilitation services were free for mine/ERW survivors, a lack of funding and insufficient raw materials meant that waiting periods were long, while the cost of transportation and accommodation made the cost of accessing services prohibitive.

In 1999, there were few to no economic inclusion initiatives or psychosocial support available for mine survivors. The situation improved significantly with increased international funding for victim assistance from 2007–2012. These programs were implemented by national organizations and coordinated by NMAC, with support from the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO), within the framework of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. In June 2011, UNMAO completed the handover of its victim assistance program to NMAC.

Following the handover, funding for economic inclusion programs and psychosocial support for survivors and other persons with similar needs began to decline causing the closure of several such programs; these programs were not replaced by other programs. At the same time, from 2011 through 2013 poor security conditions in Sudan’s southern states and the Darfur region prevented survivors from accessing those services that were available.

From 2011 through 2013, the establishment of a victim assistance program as part of the African Union/UN hybrid operation in Darfur in 2012 increased information available about the needs of ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities and increased their economic inclusion opportunities.

The establishment of the National Disability Council (NDC) in 2010 increased opportunities for the coordination of victim assistance and disability issues at national and state levels.

Victim assistance in 2013

Outside of Darfur, as a result of a decline in funding, there was a further decrease in the availability of psychosocial support and economic inclusion reaching mine/ERW survivors and others with similar needs. The NMAC no longer coordinated victim assistance programs in Sudan, with the exception of programs in Darfur targeting ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities. Advances were made in the introduction of inclusive disability policies across several different government ministries such as health, education, environment, employment, media, and culture, among others. The 2009 Disability Act had been revised to align it with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and was under legislative review by the end of 2013.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, NMAC coordinated the ongoing collection on information on the needs of mine/ERW survivors that was gathered by service providers during the implementation of victim assistance projects. Such data was shared widely with the Victim Assistance Working Group (VAWG) members, relevant government authorities, disability stakeholders, and donors; it was also shared on a monthly basis through the NDC’s information platform. Information was used to link survivors with available services, to inform the development of government policies and proposal writing, and to raise awareness.[10]

In Darfur, a regional disability and casualty surveillance mechanism was established in early 2013 by NMAC and the Ordnance Disposal Office (ODO). Data collection on the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities was carried out through the mechanism, which was implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Health.[11]

In 2013, two studies on the situation of persons with disabilities were underway in Sudan. The NDC conducted a situational analysis on children with disabilities, with support from UNICEF. Alazhari University launched a study on the status of persons with disabilities, with support from UNESCO and in coordination with the NDC.[12]

Victim assistance coordination[13]

In 2013, NMAC continued to convene monthly meetings of the VAWG to share information on progress in implementing ongoing projects, to exchange information on experiences and best practices, to prioritize needs and mobilize resources, and to discuss issues such as the CRPD, data collection, physical rehabilitation, and socioeconomic reintegration.[14] The VAWG included relevant government ministries and some 20 NGOs, including disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), involved in implementing victim assistance and disability projects.[15]

NMAC and the Ordnance Disposal Office, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs, jointly convened monthly meetings of the VACWG in Darfur. These meetings served as the main forum where all actors working in victim assistance and disability met to share information and experiences.[16]

The National Strategic Framework of Victim Assistance and the Victim Assistance Multi-Year Plan 2007–2011 had expired by 2012. Steps were taken in 2013 to develop a new victim assistance plan, but as of February 2014 no new plan had yet been developed.[17] Sudan noted that the Victim Assistance Work Plan was also in need of revision.[18]

In 2013, the NDC continued to hold monthly meetings of its seven committees; the number of specialized working groups was increased from 13 to 14.[19] The Victim Assistance department of NMAC, as well as other members of the VAWG, were active members of the NDC and participated in regular coordination meetings in 2013.[20] Progress made toward the implementation of the plan included: 1) the revision of the 2009 disability act in line with the CRPD and its submission to the Sudan legislative approval process; and 2) steps taken to introduce inclusive policies, strategies, and plans across a range of government ministries in accordance with ministerial decrees calling for the design of inclusive policies for persons with disabilities.[21]

By the end of 2013, as projected in the Five Year Strategic Disability Plan 2012–2016, State Disability Councils were established in 17 of 18 states; the council for the remaining state (newly created in 2013) was in the process of being established as of April 2014. During 2013, the implementation of the Disability Plan was monitored through five meetings in which representatives of the Sudan Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, Sudanese Disability Unions, and other NGOs participated.[22]

Sudan provided comprehensive updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2013 and through the completion of Form J of the Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2013. Both oral and written reporting provided information on victim assistance implementation, capacity-building of local organizations, including DPOs, and on efforts to coordinate victim assistance and disability efforts.[23]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

Towards the implementation of the Cartagena Action Plan, the Ministry of Social Welfare issued a decree in 2010 recommending the involvement of all mine/ERW survivors associations in all decisions and activities related to victim assistance policies and plans.[24] Survivors, their representative organizations, and DPOs were included as members of the VAWG and the VACWG in Darfur.[25]

In 2013, government authorities and international organizations provided training to strengthen the capacity of DPOs. In Darfur, the ODO conducted two training sessions with persons with disabilities on how to run effective NGOs, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the inclusion of ERW survivors.[26] In Darfur, survivors and other persons with disabilities were involved in the provision of psychosocial support and income-generating projects.[27]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[28]

Emergency and continuing medical care

No significant changes to the accessibility or availability of medical care were reported in 2013. No information was available about efforts to address obstacles that survivors faced as reported in recent years such as the lack of medical facilities in mine-affected areas with a capacity to address the emergency medical needs of mine survivors, the lack of affordable healthcare for civilian survivors, and the failure of the National Health Insurance System to cover a number of disability-related claims.[29]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

In 2013, the number of mine/ERW survivors who received prosthetics through ICRC-supported NAPO rehabilitation centers increased by about a third compared to those of those who had received similar support in 2012. In 2013, overall prosthetics production increased by a quarter in NAPO rehabilitation centers.[30] Monthly outreach visits by the NAPO mobile rehabilitation workshop to rural areas and the development of the Elfasher Prosthetics repair center in North Darfur increased access to rehabilitation services for survivors living far from existing rehabilitation centers.[31] However, ongoing security risks in Darfur and the southern states of Sudan along with a lack of public transport continued to hamper access to physical rehabilitation for many survivors and other persons with disabilities.[32]

Economic inclusion

In 2013, the availability of economic inclusion programs targeting mine/ERW survivors outside of Darfur was further reduced, resulting in the closure of the two programs remaining from the six that had been operating in 2010. This was due to the continued decline in funding available for victim assistance through the NMAC, a decline that had begun in 2011.[33] In Darfur, two new programs targeting ERW victims, but inclusive of all persons with disabilities, continued to provide economic inclusion opportunities in 2013.[34]

Psychological support and social inclusion

With support from the ODO, in 2013 FSD began carrying out peer support visits with ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities in Darfur to provide psychosocial support. During the year, a peer support training workshop was held in Khartoum for persons with disabilities.[35]

In 2013, the Ministry of Education established a special education department and began developing a national strategy for the education of children with disabilities. Some children with disabilities attended public schools and some specialized schools existed for children with disabilities but these schools lacked resources; appropriate facilities to educate children with disabilities in rural areas were rare.[36]

Laws and Policies

The NDC, in cooperation with Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization, designed a draft building code to improve physical accessibility for persons with disabilities.[37] As of April 2014, the code was under review by a technical committee before being approved as law.[38]

Draft revisions to the 2009 disability act aligned the law to the CRPD, but approval into law was pending as of April 2014.[39] Existing legislation was not implemented effectively and many public officials lacked awareness of the law and the rights of persons with disabilities more generally.[40]

Sudan ratified the CRPD on 24 April 2009.