Casualties overview

In 2011, the Monitor identified 21 mine casualties in Iran through media reports.[1] All identified casualties occurred in the northwestern border provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah. All casualties were male and most were adults; the age of eight casualties was unknown.[2] Most (13) casualties were security forces; the remaining eight were civilians. Unlike some past years, no data was available on the number of casualties among deminers in Iran in 2011.

It was not possible to determine casualty trends due to the variable quality of data available. The Islamic Republic of Iran Mine Action Center (IRMAC), which had reported 158 antipersonnel mine casualties in 2010, including 47 casualties among deminers, did not provide casualty data for 2011.[3]

The total number of casualties from mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Iran is unknown. The Ministry of Interior recorded 6,765 casualties (2,840 people killed and 3,925 injured) from 1988–2004 and the UN reported that there had been approximately 10,000 casualties as of 2006.[4]

As of June 2011, IRMAC was working to develop a single, comprehensive database of mine/ERW casualties, compiling information available from a variety of national ministries and foundations, such as the Ministry of Interior (MOI), the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA), and the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF), as well as from local authorities and NGOs working in mine affected provinces.[5] No further update on the database was available through August 2012.

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors in Iran is unknown but is estimated to be at least 6,000.[6]

Victim assistance since 1999[7]

During the reporting period, comprehensive victim assistance was available for military casualties and deminers. Civilians who were recognized as war victims could also access some services through government agencies, though psychological support and economic inclusion programs were extremely limited. Few services were available in the remote regions where many survivors are based. Starting in 2009, the Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), with support from the ICRC, identified survivors living in Iran’s western provinces and began facilitating their access to medical care and physical rehabilitation.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No victim assistance needs assessments were identified in 2011. In 2009, JMERC carried out a quality of life assessment of 345 mine/ERW survivors from five western provinces who were injured between 1988 and 2003 with relevant government authorities.[8] Information collected was used to connect survivors with necessary services.[9]

Victim assistance coordination[10]

The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for coordinating and monitoring victim assistance for all civilian survivors. Survivors or their family members must report the mine incident to the ministry office in their province to register and receive services as war victims. If war victim status is granted to the applicant by a parliamentary commission, they are referred to the FMVA for assistance.[11] About 80% of applicants are approved for war victim status.[12]

The Department of Martyrs and Veterans, within IRMAC, is responsible for the coordination for assistance to deminers that are injured or killed as a result of a demining accident. The Ministry of Defense monitors the provision of victim assistance to deminers.[13]

No information was reported regarding the inclusion of survivors in victim assistance planning and coordination or in the implementation of services.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[14]

No information was available regarding the quality or accessibility of victim assistance services in Iran in 2011. For 2010, the Monitor reported that medical care and physical rehabilitation services were generally available for registered mine/ERW survivors through government-supported health services and the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s (IRCS) network of physical rehabilitation centers. However, Iran lacked services to address survivors’ psychosocial and economic reintegration needs.[15] In 2010, an amendment to the law governing the eligibility of mine/ERW victims to receive assistance through the FMVA was approved. This was to ensure that all those people registered by the state, including family members of survivors, were eligible.[16] However, it was estimated that some 20% of mine/ERW survivors were not granted war victim status and so were not eligible for services and support from FMVA.[17] Survivors unable to receive services through FMVA could access assistance through IKRF and SWO.[18]

For 2011, JMERC and FMVA, with ICRC support, planned to facilitate better access to appropriate specialized medical attention for 186 women survivors identified through the 2009 survivor assessment.[19] However, through the end of the year, these activities were on hold.[20]

No information was available on economic inclusion initiatives for mine survivors in 2011. The 2009 JMERC survivor assessment found that just 12% of respondents were employed.[21] Vocational training opportunities for persons with disabilities were centralized in urban areas and were unable to meet the needs of the population.[22]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law in Iran. In 2011, a lack of accessibility to buildings remained a widespread problem for persons with disabilities, though some new, government-funded buildings were accessible.[23]

Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 23 October 2009.