Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         An evaluation found that there was a need to better define the role of the Intersectoral Commission on Demining and Humanitarian Assistance (CNIDAH) in victim assistance, to increase the inclusion of mine survivors, to strengthen the role of CNIDAH in advocating for the rights of survivors with other ministries, and to mobilize more funding

·         A continued lack of government funding for physical rehabilitation in 2012 caused a further decline in both the quality and accessibility of these services

·         An ongoing victim survey and needs assessment was expected to improve efforts to plan victim assistance and measure impact; as of mid-2013, six of 18 provinces had been surveyed

·         An assessment of the Republic of Angola’s 2007–2011 victim assistance plan found that implementation was limited, particularly in improving access to medical care, in physical rehabilitation, and in economic inclusion; more progress had been made in the development of laws and policies to promote the rights of survivors

Victim assistance commitments

Angola is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Angola has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

Details and trends

In 2012, the Monitor identified 34 mine and ERW casualties in Angola.[1] Boys represented the largest group of casualties (20: eight killed; 12 injured), a change from 2011 when men were the largest casualty group.[2] Casualties included five women and five girls. Incomplete data for age and sex of recorded casualties in previous years makes identifying incidence rates and trends across time difficult.

Two of the reported casualties were deminers, which represents an increase from the zero reported demining casualties in 2011 but is lower than the six deminer casualties recorded in 2010.[3] All casualties were civilians in 2012. A total of 15 incidents were reported and occurred in four provinces, with the highest numbers of casualties occurring in both Bié and Moxico. In 2011, casualties were identified in 14 of Angola’s 18 provinces. This could indicate a lack of casualty reporting from some provinces in 2012.

The 34 mine/ERW casualties identified in 2012 represented a significant decrease from the 89 casualties identified in 2011 and the 42 in 2010.[4] Given the lack of a reliable collection mechanism for casualty data and the fluctuating casualty totals as identified by the Monitor, it is not possible to determine trends over time. However, in evaluating its Strategic Mine Action Plan 2006–2011, CNIDAH found that there had been a decline in the overall number of mine/ERW incidents recorded annually during the five-year period, but that the decline was not linear and did not reach the plan’s goal of reducing the number of incidents to “almost zero.”[5] Based on CNIDAH data, at the start of the Mine Action Plan in 2006 there were some 50–80 incidents on average per year. By 2010–2011, the average number of incidents had been reduced to 20–40 per year. The evaluation found that landmine incidents had decreased while those caused by ERW increased slightly.[6] However, when looking at the total annual number of casualties recorded by CNIDAH between 2006 and 2011, it is impossible to discern a corresponding trend. CNIDAH recorded 48 mine/ERW casualties in 2006, 23 in 2007, 247 in 2008, 36 in 2009, one in 2010, and 78 in 2011.[7]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Angola is unknown, though estimates range from 23,000[8] to 80,000.[9] No details were available to substantiate these figures. By June 2013, 4,770 survivors had been registered in the provinces of Cabinda, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Namibe, and Zaire as part of the national mine/ERW victim survey.[10] Between 2000 and 2012, the Monitor identified 2,857 mine/ERW casualties, including 950 people killed, 1,762 injured, and 145 for which the outcome was unknown.[11] Between 2006 and 2011, CNIDAH registered 433 mine/ERW casualties, including 77 people killed and 356 injured.[12]

As of April 2013, the national victim survey had identified at least 354 cluster munition survivors in the province of Huambo.[13] While this number was reported to be incomplete for the province, it was the first available data from Angola with confirmed casualties from cluster munitions. Data collected from the four other provinces surveyed did not include specific information regarding the number of cluster munition victims.[14] The survey questionnaire developed in 2011 offered just three options as the cause of disability: “a mine,” “an accident,” or “unknown” with no place to report on cluster submunitions as the cause. [15] It was not known if the questionnaire had been revised for use in Huambo province.

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors in Angola is unknown, but there are many thousands. As of June 2013, 4,770 survivors had been identified in the first six (of 18) provinces surveyed as part of the national victim survey.[16]

Victim assistance since 1999[17]

When victim assistance monitoring began in 1999, Angola was still in the midst of a series of armed conflicts that began in 1961 and did not officially end until 2002. In 1999, several international organizations, including the ICRC, Handicap International (HI), and the Swedish Red Cross, among others, were providing basic victim assistance services such as emergency medical care and physical rehabilitation. Despite these humanitarian relief efforts, overall care was grossly inadequate throughout the country. This was the result of the destruction or deterioration of infrastructure such as health centers, hospitals, and roads during armed conflict. In 1999, a lack of transport meant that mine/ERW victims were often delayed by as much as 36 hours before receiving life-saving care at the nearest medical post.

By 2002, it was estimated that fewer than 30% of Angolans had access to any healthcare services. Those limited services that were available were located in major cities and provincial capitals while mine/ERW survivors were predominately based in rural areas of the country. With the stabilization of the security situation, the government and international community began investing in rebuilding the country’s healthcare system and other basic infrastructure, such as roads, which increased access to basic medical facilities around the country including in rural areas.

In 2005, international organizations began closing victim assistance programs and transferring management of healthcare facilities and rehabilitation centers to the government. By 2008, all 11 physical rehabilitation centers were managed by the Ministry of Health. By 2009, production of prosthetics in all centers had declined due to a lack of materials and unpaid staff salaries. This decline continued through the end of 2012.

Some economic inclusion projects have been available to survivors over the period, either through international organizations, national and local organizations of persons with disabilities, or government agencies such as Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration (MINARS) and CNIDAH which began coordinating and facilitating victim assistance in 2001. However, the available assistance throughout the period fell far short of the overall need.

International organizations supported the development of local survivor networks and disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs). However, these groups were hamstrung by lack of funding and the distances between them that prevented collaboration among the groups. Through the Comprehensive National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2007–2011, CNIDAH aimed to support the development of a national survivor network, but no progress was made toward this objective within the timeframe of the plan due to insufficient funding and organizational problems.

In 2012, there were no significant improvements in the accessibility or quality of victim assistance services in Angola. The departure of HI by the end of 2011 completed the withdrawal of international organizations that had been providing support for victim assistance. A continued lack of government funding for physical rehabilitation in 2012 caused a further decline in both the quality and accessibility of these services.[18]

While there continued to be some improvement in the quality of roads in some provinces, a lack of affordable transportation and the poor quality of roads in many parts of the country remained the greatest obstacles to accessing services for survivors living outside the provincial capital. [19] A new collaborative project was initiated in 2012, working with the police and fire department to facilitate emergency medical transport to hospitals.[20]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The data collection phase of the National Victim Survey and Needs Assessment was suspended in 2012 due to funding constraints and potential confusion of those surveyed with the national election registration process that occurred in 2012.[21] Launched in October 2010, the purpose of the survey is to identify and register mine and cluster munition survivors with disabilities, to understand their living situation, and to determine how to promote their socio-economic inclusion.[22] The survey resumed in 2013 in the provinces of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, and Moxico; by June, 4,770 survivors with a disability had been registered in a total of six provinces.[23] The timeline for completing the survey in the remaining twelve provinces had yet to be determined.[24]

In 2011, HI reported having received training to assist in the implementation of the survey.[25] However, local participation appeared to be severely lacking; of nine DPOs, survivor associations, and NGO service providers interviewed by the Monitor in Huila province in 2011, just one was consulted in the collection of data in that province. Furthermore, not all the questionnaires completed by this organization were included in survey results.[26] The provincial MINARS in Huila, with responsibility for maintaining a registry of all persons with disabilities in the province, was also not contacted during data collection.[27] A local NGO assisted in the data collection in 2013 but it was not an organization working with survivors or with people with disabilities. In provinces where the survey had been conducted, training was provided to the local CNIDAH offices in data collection to assist with the national survey and for ongoing casualty data collection.[28] In 2011, it was reported that survey results were to be shared through a public report released in each province after its completion.[29]

Through the five-year review of the Strategic Mine Action Plan, CNIDAH recognized that baseline data on survivors and their needs was necessary to determine the impact of government programs to improve health and rehabilitation services on the lives of survivors. The ongoing survey and needs assessment was expected to improve efforts to plan victim assistance and measure impact.[30]

Victim assistance coordination[31]

CNIDAH’s victim assistance coordination efforts in 2012 were focused on implementing the National Victim Survey, improving coordination at the provincial level, and contributing to the development of the CNIDAH National Strategic Mine Action Plan 2013–2017 and the concurrent PNIAVM for 2013–2017.[32] In April 2013, CNIDAH reported that the PNIAVM 2013–2017 was “successfully completed and the assistance sector now has an updated plan in accordance with CNIDAH Strategic Plan.”[33]

In April 2012, the Sub-Commission for Assistance and Reintegration held a national forum to evaluate progress in implementing the Comprehensive National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2007–2011 and to develop recommendations for a victim assistance plan for 2013–2017. Participants at the forum concluded that progress towards the implementation of the previous plan was limited, particularly in improving access to medical care, in physical rehabilitation, and in economic inclusion, but that more progress had been made in the development of laws and policies to promote the rights of survivors.[34] A subsequent regional workshop was hosted in the second half of 2012 by the Sub-Commission in Lunda Sul and attended by government and non-government representatives from Lunda Sul, Moxico, and Lunda Norte provinces. The regional workshop sought to improve coordination between provincial offices and activities, as well as to evaluate priorities for inclusion in the national victim assistance plan for 2013–2017.[35] The updated PNIAVM was developed in consultation with representatives from international NGOs, church groups, UN agencies, foreign embassies, and private enterprises.[36]

During 2012, CNIDAH continued to work with the provincial offices to improve victim assistance planning and implementation. Towards this end, a provincial level workshop was held in Kuando Kubango, following similar workshops held in Bengo, Humbo, and Zaire in 2011.[37] Provincial CNIDAH representatives and other governmental and nongovernmental victim assistance stakeholders attended the workshops, evaluating the outcomes of the 2007–2011 national victim assistance plan and contributing to the drafting of provincial victim assistance plans and to the 2013–2017 national victim assistance plan.[38]

The evaluation of the Strategic Mine Action Plan 2006–2011 found that there was a need to more clearly define the role of CNIDAH in victim assistance, to develop a database of mine victims to facilitate planning and the inclusion of mine survivors, to strengthen the role of CNIDAH in advocating for the rights of survivors with other ministries such as MINARS and the Ministry of Health, and to mobilize more funding to increase access to medical and rehabilitation services.[39] Progress towards the specific victim assistance objectives within the plan was limited, mainly due to the “economic crisis” in the country during the period. In some areas, such as access to medical services or economic inclusion, the evaluation found that progress could not be quantified due to a lack of data.[40]

In 2012, Angola provided an update on victim assistance activities in a statement at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty and a further update at the Intersessional Meeting in Geneva in May 2013.[41] Angola provided information on victim assistance activities in Form J of its 2012 Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, including an update on its planning and coordination activities.[42]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Survivor associations and DPOs participated in national and provincial coordination meetings convened by CNIDAH as part of the Sub-Committee for Social Support and Reintegration. Through the sub-committee, survivor associations contributed to the evaluation of the Strategic Mine Action Plan 2006–2011 and the Comprehensive National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2007–2011 and also contributed recommendations for the next national victim assistance plan.[43]

Some survivors and/or representatives of survivor associations collected data for the national victim survey in 2011.[44] Survivors implemented socio-economic reintegration projects and were involved in advocacy for the rights of persons with disabilities through survivor associations and DPOs.[45]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[46]

In recent years, the government increased its expenditure on the national healthcare system, increasing the number of health centers in rural areas, improving accessibility to health services, and increasing the availability of medicine. While it was likely that this would have improved basic healthcare services for mine/ERW survivors along with the rest of the population, there was no information available on the impact of these changes.[47]

In 2012, all 11 national physical rehabilitation centers faced difficulties in responding to the demand for their services.[48] In most centers, production of prosthetics decreased due to a lack of supplies. In 2012, the majority of the prosthetic/orthotic centers reported receiving no financial support for material supplies from the National Rehabilitation Program, with one center successfully seeking funds directly from the Ministry of Finance.[49] Others were unable to produce any prosthetics whatsoever and could only respond to the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities by dispensing medication and providing physiotherapy.[50] A number of centers reported insufficient funds were available to meet the needs of patients in 2012.[51]

CNIDAH conducted training for technicians in 2012 in several rehabilitation centers for a range of staff, including 41 senior and intermediary physiotherapy technicians and 30 orthopedic technicians.[52] In May 2013, a new physical rehabilitation project was initiated by CNIDAH seeking to improve the quality of services in five provinces, funded by the National Rehabilitation Program. Project activities include re-establishing physical therapy units in hospitals to meet basic needs and referral systems to the rehabilitation centers for more complex cases as well as training for orthopedic technicians and provision of new equipment for manufacturing of orthopedic devices.[53]

There was some limited progress in planning the development of psychological support services for survivors in 2012. CNIDAH recruited a psychologist who coordinated meetings with partner organizations to develop a strategic plan to establish services.[54] However, no improvements were reported on the availability of psychological support services for survivors, which had been found to be essentially non-existent as of May 2012.[55] As in previous years, some DPOs and survivor associations provided peer support services.[56] The ongoing national victim survey did not include any questions regarding access to, or need for, psychological support.[57]

In 2012, CNIDAH continued to provide vocational training and support for income-generating activities for a small number of mine survivors, directly or in coordination with MINARS.[58] However, the number of beneficiaries was minimal compared with the number of survivors in need of this assistance throughout the country.[59] Numerous national NGOs, including DPOs, provided training and support for the development of small businesses, even though their budgets were limited.[60]

During 2011, HI transferred its community-based rehabilitation (CBR) activities to local partners before closing its program in December. Former staff of HI formed a national organization, Podemos, which continued to train local authorities on CBR and to meet with beneficiaries, albeit at reduced capacity due to a lack of funding. Throughout 2012 and continuing in 2013, the staff was only working part time and on a voluntary basis due to a lack of funding.[61]

In 2012, the Protection Law for Persons with Disabilities was approved by the National Assembly, along with a national strategy to implement the law and establish the National Council of the Disabled Person.[62] While the law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities, it was not enforced and discrimination remained prevalent.[63] Despite legislation entitling persons with disabilities to a pension, just 1% of respondents to the national victim survey in 2011 had received any financial support.[64] Persons with disabilities continued to face barriers to access public or private facilities, employment, and education.[65] Improvement was made in the political access of persons with disabilities by the government who provided voting assistance to persons with disabilities in the national elections of August 2012.[66]

As of May 2013, Angola had not joined the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), although national regulation was approved in 2012 by the National Assembly bringing Angola closer to joining the convention.[67]