Zambia
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Victim assistance commitments
The Republic of Zambia is responsible for landmine survivors and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW). Zambia has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty, and is also a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Casualties
No mine/ERW casualties were reported in Zambia in 2013.[1] The last ERW casualty was reported in 2009.[2] As of April 2014, no cluster munition victims had been identified in Zambia.[3]
The 2007 Zambia Anti-Personnel Mine Action Centre (ZMAC) “Victim Assistance and MRE [mine risk education] Needs Survey” identified 152 casualties in 122 communities, of which 46 had died.[4] The 2009 “Landmine and other ERW Survey in Zambia,” conducted by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), identified 46 casualties, of which 26 had died.[5] The two surveys employed differing methodologies and the 2009 survey only included mine/ERW survivors living in mine-affected areas.[6]
Victim Assistance
There are at least 112 mine/ERW survivors in Zambia.[7]
Zambia has designated ZMAC as the victim assistance focal point.[8] Zambia designated funds in ZMAC’s 2014/2015 budget to carry out a survey of landmine and cluster munition victims leaving near suspected hazardous areas.[9]
The Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training as well as and the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health have responsibility for ensuring the welfare of persons with disabilities more generally.[10]
The Zambia Foundation for Landmine Survivors (ZFLAS) is the only survivor association in Zambia.[11] The Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD), a government agency, included persons with disabilities on its board.[12]
The law prohibits discrimination in general, but there is no law that specifically prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to healthcare, the provision of other state services, or in other areas. Persons with disabilities faced significant societal discrimination in employment and education. The government did not mandate accessibility to public buildings and services for persons with disabilities. Schools and hospitals and other public buildings rarely had facilities to accommodate persons with disabilities.[13]
Zambia ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 1 February 2010.
[1] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form H, 30 April 2014.
[2] Emails from Sheila Mweemba, Director, ZMAC, 28 May 2009, and 13 May 2010; ZMAC, “ZMAC Director’s Report on Operations, 1 July–31 December 2008,” provided by email from Sheila Mweemba, ZMAC, 28 May 2009; “Serious injuries and death as a group of men try to extract mineral from bomb,” Afrik.com, 27 September 2008; “Suspected landmine [explodes], injures three in Katete,” Lusaka Times, 25 September 2008; and email from Sheila Mweemba, ZMAC, 28 May 2009. Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified three casualties in 2005, none in 2006, 19 in 2007, 11 in 2008, and one in 2009. See Landmine Monitor Reports 2006–2009.
[3] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form H, 30 April 2014.
[4]Email from Ngosa Kaloto-Lesa, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, 22 July 2008; and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Landmine and other ERW Survey in Zambia, Final Report,” 30 September 2009, p. 20. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 17 April 2008 states that the survey identified 110 survivors but this information has been contradicted by more recent data.
[5] NPA, “Landmine and other ERW Survey in Zambia, Final Report,” 30 September 2009, p. 20.
[6] Ibid.; and email from Sheila Mweemba, ZMAC, 13 May 2010.
[7] This figure includes the 106 survivors identified by the 2007 ZMAC survey, plus survivors reported in 2008 and 2009. Email from Ngosa Kaloto-Lesa, UNICEF, 22 July 2008; NPA, “Landmine and other ERW Survey in Zambia, Final Report,” 30 September 2009, p. 20; “Serious injuries and death as a group of men try to extract mineral from bomb,” Afrik.com, 27 September 2008; “Suspected landmine [explodes], injures three in Katete,” Lusaka Times, 25 September 2008; ZMAC, “ZMAC Director’s Report on Operations, 1 July–31 December 2008,” provided by email from Sheila Mweemba, ZMAC, 28 May 2009; and email from Sheila Mweemba, ZMAC, 13 May 2010.
[8] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form H, 30 April 2014.
[9] Ibid.
[10] United States (US) Department of State, “2011 Human Rights Report: Zambia,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012.
[11] Email from Yona Phiri, ZFLAS, 4 March 2013.
[12] ZAPD, “Composition of the Agency Board,” undated.
[13] US Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zambia,” Washington, DC, 27 February 2014.