Casualties

Casualties in 2009

In 2009, the total number of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Russia was not known. Casualties from explosives, particularly those involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs), occurred regularly in Russia due to insurgent use in the South Caucasus and in criminal activities throughout the country. Most of the incidents reported were clearly caused by command-detonated devices.[1] However in other cases the types of devices involved could not be identified.[2]

In Chechnya, where there was more reliable casualty data available, 17 casualties were reported in 2009. Nine of the total casualties were reported by UNICEF (two killed and seven injured) and the other eight casualties were identified from media reports. Most casualties were civilian (13 or 76%), two were security personnel, one explosive ordnance disposal personnel was killed in a demining accident, and the civilian/military status of one casualty was unknown. At least three casualties were children; the age of one was unknown.[3] A similar number of casualties were reported in Chechnya for 2008 (18), 12 of which were reported by UNICEF (five killed and seven injured). The 2008 and 2009 casualty rates are the lowest for Chechnya since the beginning of Landmine Monitor reporting in 1999.[4] No casualties from cluster munition remnants were identified for 2009.

UNICEF reported a total of 3,115 casualties in Chechnya (727 killed and 2,388 injured) from 1994 to 2009.[5]

Cluster munitions were reported to have caused at least 612 casualties during use in Chechnya (294 people were killed and 318 injured) in the period from 1994 to the end of 1999. Another 26 casualties caused by unexploded submunitions were reported between 1994 and the end of 2007.[6]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors is not known, but are in the thousands. Most mine survivors in the Russian Federation are war veterans from the conflicts in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and the South Caucasus, and civilian casualties in Chechnya. At least 2,388 people have been injured by mines/ERW in Chechnya since 1994.[7] No needs assessments for mine/ERW survivors were reported in 2009.

Victim assistance coordination

There is no specific victim assistance coordination in Russia. The Ministry of Health and Social Development is responsible for programs and benefits for persons with disabilities.[8] The federal program “Social Support for Persons with Disabilities 2006­–2010,” includes a sub-strategy on “Social support and rehabilitation of those disabled as a result of conflict and war trauma.”[9]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Mine/ERW survivors in Russia are assisted with the same services as other persons with disabilities or as disabled veterans from post-World War II conflicts.

Numerous war veterans’ groups and associations of disabled war veterans in many regions of Russia advocated for improved benefits and implementation of legislation and also provided services including physical rehabilitation and social and economic reintegration activities.[10] Five major rehabilitation centers provided free treatment, including prosthetics, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support to war veterans, including amputee mine/ERW survivors.[11] No significant changes were reported in 2009.

Russia has legislation prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities. However, these laws were not adequately enforced. Persons with disabilities continued to face discrimination and denial of equal access to education, employment, and social institutions. Federal law required that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities; in practice most buildings were not accessible.[12]

Russia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 24 September 2008, but had not yet ratified it as of 19 July 2010.

Victim assistance services in Chechnya

Programs and activities which specifically included direct assistance to mine/ERW survivors in Chechnya continued to decrease rapidly in 2009.

The overall security and health sector situation gradually improved.[13] Several government-run medical facilities were renovated or opened in 2009. These included services offering trauma care and psychological support.[14] Hospitals reporting to the ICRC provided services to more mine/ERW survivors than in 2008.[15]

In 2009 Handicap International (HI) provided equipment and orthopedic fittings for amputees and supported medical facilities which provided services for people with disabilities. From mid-2009, HI reoriented its services in Chechnya towards supporting associations of parents of children with disabilities. HI’s regional program office moved from Moscow to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.[16] The ICRC reported that the Grozny Prosthetic-Orthopedic Centre, which was fully financed by Chechen local authorities, produced more prosthetic and orthotic devices in 2009 than in 2008 when ICRC support ended.[17]

In 2009, UNICEF ended its support to psychological assistance programs and did not support victim assistance activities, including those of the local NGO, Let’s Save the Generation, due to a lack of funding.[18] In August 2009, Let’s Save the Generation’s director, Zarema Sadulayeva, was murdered. Further assistance activities in physical and psychological rehabilitation to children with disabilities including mine/ERW survivors were not reported.[19] Local NGO, Voice of the Mountains (Laman Az) provided some social reintegration activities through sports.[20]

In July 2009 the government of Chechnya established a Council of Persons with Disabilities under the auspices of the President of the Republic.[21]