Casualties Overview

In 2010, the Monitor identified 82 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties.[1]  There was no active or reliable data collection in southern and central Iraq.[2] It is certain that there are many more casualties in these regions that were not identified.[3]

Children made up nearly a third (32%) of civilian casualties for which the age was known (18 of 56), 14 of whom were boys. Most child casualties, 13 of 18, were caused by ERW. As in previous years, men made up the single largest casualty group, representing 52% of all casualties; six casualties were women. Five clearance accidents caused five casualties, all in the Iraqi Kurdistan region of northern Iraq; four deminers were injured; the fifth was killed by a cluster submunition. Civilians made up the vast majority of reported casualties, 70, with just seven casualties among security forces.

At least 10 casualties were caused by victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including one child. This was similar to the 12 IED casualties identified in 2009.[4]

The 82 casualties identified in 2010 represented a slight increase in the number of registered annual casualties as compared with the 78 casualties in 2009.[5] In the governorates of Erbil and Duhok, there was a reduction reported in the number of casualties, from 21 to 17.[6] In southern and central Iraq, where the media served as the only source of casualty data in both 2009 and 2010, the number of casualties reported was not thought to reflect an accurate picture of the total number of casualties that occurred in either year.[7]

The total number of casualties in Iraq is unknown, though there are known to be many thousands.[8]  In the governorate of Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, the General Directorate of Mine Action (GDMA) recorded 9,093 casualties (4,019 killed; 5,074 injured) through the end of 2010.[9] The 2004–2006 Landmine Impact Survey Phase I, which included 13 of Iraq’s 18 governorates, estimated 18 new victims per 100,000 people in affected communities.[10] It was estimated that 25% of mine/ERW casualties are children under the age of 14.[11]

By the end of 2010, there were at least 388 cluster munition casualties during strikes (128 killed; 260 injured). Another 1,672 casualties of cluster munition remnants were reported (747 killed; 921 injured; four unknown) and unexploded submunitions caused another 935 casualties with no further details on use (411 killed; 507 injured; 17 unknown).[12] However, due to the level of contamination, it is estimated that there have been between 5,500 and 8,000 casualties from cluster munitions since 1991, including casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes, and that children made up one quarter of these casualties.[13]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Iraq is estimated to be 48,000–68,000.[14] There have been approximately 14,000 survivors identified in the three governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan.[15]

Assessing victim assistance needs

There were no national or regional efforts to assess the needs of survivors in Iraq in 2010. In southern and central Iraq the lack of available data made it difficult to identify survivors and to prioritize and address their medical and rehabilitative needs.[16] The Directorate for Mine Action’s (DMA’s) 2009 pilot victim survey was not expanded to all parts of the country in 2010 as planned, due to a lack of funding.[17] In early 2011, the DMA began working with the Ministry of Health to develop a national disability registry that would collect information on types and causes of disabilities and the needs of all persons with disabilities. By June 2011, representatives of health centers and physical rehabilitation centers in pilot districts of Baghdad, Erbil, Salahedin and Thiqar had received training on data collection.[18] Information collected was to be shared with relevant actors in victim assistance and the wider disability field.[19]

As in previous years, victim assistance service providers reported the ongoing collection of information on the needs of their beneficiaries.[20] The Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS) collected survivor data during impact surveys, risk education trainings, and from survivors visiting the IRCS rehabilitation center in Mosul and provided data to the DMA.[21] GDMA provided casualty data on a regular basis to relevant government ministries in Iraqi Kurdistan.[22]

Victim assistance coordination[23]

In March 2010, the first national victim assistance conference was held to discuss the development of a victim assistance strategy and included government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, and disabled persons’ organizations. A follow up meeting was planned for August 2011.[24]

In Iraqi Kurdistan, GDMA held regular meetings to share information about victim assistance activities and planning. UNDP held bi-monthly victim assistance coordination meetings with implementing partners. Meetings were seen to improve coordination among service providers.[25]

In 2010, the DMA was the focal point for victim assistance coordination for all of Iraq, except Iraqi Kurdistan, but was not active because of a lack of capacity. The establishment of a community liaison department within the DMA in early 2011 was seen as a critical first step to develop the capacity to coordinate and plan victim assistance.[26]

In southern and central Iraq, the Higher Committee for Physical Rehabilitation (HCPR), within the Ministry of Health, coordinated physical rehabilitation. The HCPR included representatives of other relevant ministries, the ICRC, and all physical rehabilitation centers.[27] Coordination activities in 2010 included budgeting and funding for centers, supply and control of materials, training, and sharing of best practice among centers.[28] In 2010, links were established between the HCPR and the DMA to coordinate roles and responsibilities around disability assistance, including victim assistance.[29] There was no equivalent body responsible for the coordination of physical rehabilitation in Iraqi Kurdistan.[30]  Efforts were underway in 2010 to establish a national disability council; as of June 2011, it had not yet been formed.[31]

Initial efforts were made to develop a national victim assistance plan at the national Victim Assistance Conference in March 2010, but as of June 2011, no further progress had been made.[32] The Iraq Mine Action Strategy 2010–2012 included as its third objective to “establish an integrated and capable program for mine/UXO [unexploded ordnance] victim rehabilitation and reintegration in the society.”[33] Planned activities included targets for providing physical rehabilitation and economic reintegration services to survivors, but no efforts were reported to monitor progress towards set targets.[34] The Ministry of Health’s plan included objectives designed to improve medical and physical rehabilitation services for all persons with disabilities throughout Iraq.[35]

Iraq provided updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2010 and at the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.[36] Iraq also provided limited casualty data through form J of its Article 7 report.[37]

Survivor Inclusion

The involvement of survivors and other persons with disabilities in victim assistance coordination was very limited.[38] GDMA and IKMAA worked with disabled persons organizations and survivors in the implementation of victim assistance activities, including physical rehabilitation and peer support.[39] More than one-third of technicians in physical rehabilitation centers were persons with disabilities.[40]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[41]

In 2010, the improving security situation allowed mine/ERW survivors to access victim assistance services more safely. This encouraged survivors in southern and central Iraq to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan where there was support available for transportation and housing costs while receiving services.[42] The improved security situation also expanded the geographic coverage for the ICRC in southern and central Iraq.[43] However, the increased mobility of survivors led to a greater demand for health and rehabilitation services. The demand was beyond the capacity available from existing service providers due to insufficient supplies and technical staff.[44] In Iraqi Kurdistan, decreasing international support put pressure on government service providers to fill the gap.[45]

In 2010, the Ministry of Health was better able to provide the supplies necessary for emergency medical attention. That progress, coupled with a reduction in the need for emergency care as a result of the reduction in armed violence, decreased the need for hospitals to rely on ICRC emergency medical supplies.[46] However, some 260 out of 298 communities in southern Iraq still lacked sufficient medical facilities.[47] The government was not able to provide all needed medical supplies, while NGO support in providing supplies was considered “unorganized and uncontrolled.”[48]

There were increasing numbers of survivors from southern and central Iraq seeking physical rehabilitation services in Iraqi Kurdistan.[49] KORD, which operated five rehabilitation centers in the region, coordinated with three national disabled persons organizations from outside Iraqi Kurdistan that provided referrals.[50] The improved security situation and communications increased survivor mobility, allowing survivors to benefit from free transportation and accommodation available at centers in Iraqi Kurdistan, but not available at centers in the south.[51] The increase in people from the south seeking physical rehabilitation services was believed to have lengthened the wait list in Sulaymaniyah governorate,[52] whereas centers elsewhere in Iraqi Kurdistan were coping adequately with the increased demand despite perceived decreases in funding available.[53] The construction of a new rehabilitation center in Nasiriyah, in southeastern Iraq, was completed by the end of 2009, but it still had not opened by mid-2011.[54]

Throughout Iraq, a lack of raw materials and components,[55] as well as insufficient trained technicians limited the availability of physical rehabilitation services. In 2010, the Ministry of Health estimated that existing rehabilitation services met just 40% of needs.[56]  The 12 prosthetic-orthotic workshops produced approximately 5,000 mobility devices during the year, just 25% of the estimated needed by people with disabilities. There were 130 rehabilitation physicians as compared with the need for 600 and 180 prosthetic technicians while there was an estimated demand for 400.[57] To address the need for trained technicians, the ICRC continued to provide scholarships for study outside of Iraq, including support to four candidates for training to ISPO Category I level to serve as teachers and strengthen the teaching capacity at the Baghdad Prosthetics and Orthotics School.[58]

Aside from the launch of the peer support program by KORD, no improvements were seen in access or availability of psychological support or social inclusion initiatives for survivors.[59]

Economic inclusion activities continued to be carried out on a limited basis in Iraqi Kurdistan by NGOs[60] and the ICRC increased its coverage by making its micro-economic initiative program available in two rehabilitation centers, up from one in 2009.[61]As in previous years, all information provided by Iraq on progress and challenges in victim assistance was focused on medical attention and physical rehabilitation.[62]

The law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities.[63] However in 2010 the legal framework and the enforcement of existing laws were weak and had not improved. Legal reforms to improve the protection of rights for persons with disabilities that had been underway since 2008 were still not seen to be a government priority and did not advance in 2010.[64] Iraqi Kurdistan lacked legislation to promote the rights of persons with disabilities and public spaces were not accessible for persons with disabilities. [65]

As of 1 August 2011, Iraq had not signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.