Summary action points based on 2013 findings

·         Adequate data collection mechanisms for the identification of victims and assessment of their needs are needed. Lack of a comprehensive and nationwide data collection system impairs accessibility and delivery of services.

·         Increased support to the rehabilitation sector is needed; it was estimated that less than 10% of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors were able to access rehabilitation programs.

·         More opportunities were needed for survivors and other persons with disabilities to participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of coordination and planning.

·         Greater efforts are needed to provide psychological support to victims.

Victim assistance commitments

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

Details and trends

On the basis of incomplete data,[1] at least 50 new mine/ERW casualties were identified in Vietnam in 2013, including four from cluster submunitions. All casualties were civilians and male. Children made up 48% of recorded casualties in 2013. Just four incidents with multiple casualties accounted for more than two-thirds (36) of the total casualties.[2] Whereas in previous years recorded casualty data showed the high impact of mines/ERW on civilians in the Quang Tri province, a significant decrease was recorded in this province in 2013.[3] While the 2013 total represented a significant decrease from the 73 casualties reported in 2012, with no nationwide data collection mechanism it is impossible to say whether casualties actually increased or if the higher figures were due to an increased NGO presence and improved monitoring of Vietnamese-language media.

At least 105,023 mine/ERW casualties (38,957 killed; 66,066 injured) have been reported in Vietnam. It was reported that from 1975 to the end of 2007, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) recorded 104,701 mine/ERW casualties (38,849 killed; 65,852 injured).[4] The total number of casualties is not known due to a lack of adequate data and the absence of a nationwide casualty data collection mechanism.[5] The semi-governmental organization Project RENEW recorded 7,081 mine/ERW casualties (including 2,637 people killed) between 1975 and the end of 2011 in Quang Tri province alone.[6]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 2,121 casualties from incidents involving cluster munition remnants were reported as of the end of 2013. However, one estimate put the likely total of such casualties as high as 34,000.[7] In many cases, the type of explosive remnants causing casualties could not be determined and all these were recorded as ERW casualties, although there were likely many among them caused by unexploded submunitions.[8] In addition, numerous casualties during cluster munition strikes have been reported.[9] A 2012 study of data for the period 1975–2009 found that 1% of the population of Quang Tri province had been involved in mine/ERW incidents and that unexploded submunitions were the main cause.[10]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors is unknown but has been estimated to be between 66,000 and 100,000.[11]

Summary of victim assistance efforts since 1999[12]

Vietnam does not have a national casualty data collection system. However, a major study of survivor needs was undertaken in 2006 and updated in 2010. Clear Path International (CPI) in Vietnam transitioned to national management. CPI continued the geographic expansion of passive casualty surveillance, while providing services to new survivors. Coordination among governmental bodies responsible for the provision of victim assistance and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities improved considerably since 2010.[13] The number of survivors that received services by both government agencies and civil society organizations or NGOs gradually increased. The NGO and local government collaboration, Project RENEW, steadily increased its services to survivors and to the capacity-building of local medical institutions. Landmine Survivors Network Vietnam (LSNV) became the first organization to include survivors in the design and provision of services and the only international NGO to successfully transition from an international to a national NGO, becoming the Association for Empowerment for Persons with Disability (AEPD) in 2010.

By 2010, survivors had more opportunities to access free healthcare programs and inclusive education programs provided by the government and relevant organizations. Physical rehabilitation also improved in both quality and in the number of services available from existing service providers. Since 1995, the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) has assisted the Vietnamese rehabilitation sector to both increase the quality of its services and expand their geographical coverage to virtually the entire country, while serving the country’s most vulnerable populations.

The greatest improvements seen by organizations representing mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities since the Monitor began reporting on Vietnam in 1999 have been in the development of laws designed to protect their rights and provide access to services. Gradual improvements were made in economic reintegration by creating more employment opportunities, increasing accessibility to available services and in social inclusion activities. Poor survivors in rural areas were especially vulnerable. Reaching survivors in remote and rural areas remained difficult for service providers and generally these populations did not receive adequate assistance.[14]

Victim assistance in 2013

In 2013, services for mine/ERW survivors continued to improve in quality, quantity, and accessibility in Vietnam. The number of survivors that received services from both government agencies and civil society organizations or NGOs rose again, in line with an overall gradual increase in recent years. However, outside major population centers, accessibility to services and activities was lacking, particularly in remote areas.

Assessing victim assistance needs

An ongoing nationwide impact survey conducted by the National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA) included information regarding casualties. The Vietnam Bomb/Mine Action Center (VBMAC), which is the secretariat for the NSCMA, also hosts the national database on casualties, which became operational in September 2011.[15] Despite these efforts, a lack of nation-wide reliable data on victims, affected communities, and their needs remained a barrier for effective victim assistance in Vietnam in 2013.[16]

MoLISA is responsible for the collection and management of information regarding persons with disabilities overall, including mine/ERW survivors.[17]

In 2013, there were ongoing NGO activities to assess the needs of the survivors through regular implementation of projects and services.[18] During the year, Project RENEW worked with local institutions including Health Service, Farmer’s Union, Women’s Union, and the Vietnamese Red Cross Society to identify mine/ERW victims and families in need of support and what their needs were.[19] CPI routinely employs a participatory process with survivors to determine the type and extent of the services to be provided.[20] Also, during 2013, CPI assessed the needs of 369 ERW-impacted families in seven communes in Quang Trach districts (Quang Binh province) and two communes in Trieu Phong district (Quang Tri province) for the implementation of a Livelihood Improvement Project.[21]

Victim assistance coordination in 2013[22]

Victim assistance is coordinated under the “National Mine Action Program for Vietnam Period 2010–2025,” as well as the “Victim Assistance Project for the Period 2012–2015” managed and implemented by MoLISA in cooperation with relevant local authorities. MoLISA’s Department of Social Protection is directly responsible for coordination[23]

 The “Victim Assistance Project for the Period 2012–2015” framework details key actions to be taken, responsible or cooperating agencies, and annual budgets. The project framework does not specify timeframes for the actions or the method of coordination. On 4 December 2013, MoLISA chaired the first national workshop on victim assistance in Hanoi, which gathered representatives of different ministries and governmental bodies, local authorities, foreign countries, national and international organizations, as well as three mine/ERW survivors. This event led to improved coordination and cooperation among different stakeholders in the project.[24]

The National Coordinating Council for Disabilities (NCCD) is responsible for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It also liaised with national and foreign organizations to provide protection, support, physical access, education, and employment to persons with disabilities.[25]

Non-governmental service providers also discussed national implementation of victim assistance at meetings of the Landmine Working Group. In 2013, the Landmine Working Group organized three coordination meetings.[26]

The first official national coordination body of disabled persons’ organizations, the Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD), was established in March 2011.[27]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

The inclusion of mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities or their representative organizations in planning and provision of victim assistance again increased in 2013.[28] Survivors and other persons with disabilities or their representative organizations were consulted in the planning or monitoring of programs and activities. They also attended meetings, seminars, or workshops to contribute recommendations and share lessons learned.[29]

Survivors and other persons with disabilities did not have many opportunities to participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of plans. MoLISA officially consults ministries and departments, however, in some cases the opinions and comments of survivors and other persons with disabilities or their representative organizations were taken into account.[30] Persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were consulted in the development or review of national programs, such as the national poverty reduction program, vocational laws, and various educational policies.[31]

Many NGOs have consulted survivors and other persons with disabilities on issues related to their needs and adjusted their services in accordance with survivors’ recommendations.[32]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[33]

Emergency and continuing medical care

In Vietnam’s central provinces, CPI continued to cover emergency medical care, surgery, rehabilitation, and prosthetics as directed by the survivor’s physicians for survivors immediately following mine/ERW incidents and also provided transportation and per diems during the patients’ treatment period. In 2013, these services were extended to northern and southern provinces on a case-by-case basis.[34]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

The Ministry of Health has estimated that less than 10% of mine/ERW survivors were able to access rehabilitation programs in Vietnam.[35] About one third of newly-registered ICRC beneficiaries continued to be war victims; many were being assisted for the first time. In 2013, the ICRC continued to provide support to seven rehabilitation centers located primarily in the south of the country where 85% of its beneficiaries are located. As part of the systematic quality monitoring system, the ICRC also conducted missions for technical support and quality assessment of services provided in six supported rehabilitation centers. Random assessments of patients receiving direct subsidies from the ICRC SFD were made and quality issues addressed with the partners concerned. The results of these missions were considered acceptable but improvements were introduced, especially in the Da Nang Rehabilitation Hospital. In March 2013, MoLISA issued a decision officially endorsing ICRC and partners’ recommendations regarding prosthetic and orthotic operational standards, which had been drawn up in December 2012.[36]

The results of an ICRC-commissioned impact assessment of its work in Vietnam were published in March 2013 by the independent Norwegian research organization, SINTEF. Among the findings were that only 10% of those receiving services would seek prostheses if required to pay for them because of the cost compared to the quality of prosthetics available from other sources, as well as travel and time restrictions. The report also highlighted that around two-thirds of the beneficiaries link income improvement directly to access to prosthetic services.[37] The assessment further found that there was relative gender parity regarding accessibility of services.[38]

In 2013, new international funding enabled Project RENEW to reactivate its mobile prosthetic and orthotic outreach program after six months of inactivity. The program conducted field examinations and delivered prostheses and assistive devices in Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri province.[39]

Economic and social inclusion and psychological support

Only 30% of persons with disabilities in Vietnam have stable employment or sufficient income to lead independent lives and support their families. A lack of decent work inhibits persons with disabilities from realizing their rights and often means they are living in poverty at much higher rates than the general population.[40]

Those who require prostheses face even greater challenges if they are not able to acquire them.[41] In 2013, the VFD launched a project to be carried out in Hanoi and the three central provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh over a three-year period to improve access to socioeconomic services for persons with disabilities.[42]

In 2013, CPI maintained its micro-credit programs and increased the number of home and/or small business grants provided for livelihood projects and provided these services in new provinces on a case-by-case basis.[43] During the year, Project RENEW worked towards increasing support to extremely disadvantaged communities in the Quang Tri province by providing cattle to mine/ERW victims to build income-generating activities. Project RENEW also selected more families to participate in mushroom-growing for a sustainable income.[44]

Psychological support was not widely available[45] and, although it was integrated in rehabilitation processes, did not receive separate government resources. Social inclusion services for survivors and other persons with disabilities were provided through both government and NGO programs.[46]

Laws and Policies

The first comprehensive national law providing for the rights of persons with disabilities came into effect in January 2011. The law prohibits discrimination against or maltreatment of persons with disabilities and requires equality in healthcare, rehabilitation, accommodation, education, vocational training, employment, and local transportation.[47]

The provision of services to persons with disabilities, although limited, improved during the year. The Ministry of Transportation implemented accessibility codes for public transportation facilities, continued to train transportation agency officials and students on the use of the codes, and developed training materials for bus drivers to assist individuals on and off buses. The government also reduced the bus fares for 33,000 individuals with disabilities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.[48]

Legislation requires that the construction or major renovation of new government buildings and large public buildings must include access for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Construction units enforced accessibility regulations, primarily in major cities and pilot locations, as well as provided training on construction codes for inspectors and architectural companies in more than 22 provinces during the year.[49]

Vietnam signed the CRPD on 22 October 2007.