Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         A lack of financial resources prevented authorities from developing a national database of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) victims and their needs, as had been planned for 2012

·         Fees for service were a barrier for many survivors seeking to access physical rehabilitation

·         Regular meetings of the multisectoral victim assistance committee improved coordination, including by linking implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and the national law on the rights of persons with disabilities; however, progress implementing the national victim assistance plan was prevented by a lack of funds

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Burundi is responsible for a significant number of survivors of landmines and ERW who are in need. Burundi has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2012, the Monitor identified no new casualties from mines/ERW in Burundi. While this is in line with annual casualty figures that have been declining since a peak in 2005, it is likely that casualties may have occurred but were not recorded, since the Humanitarian Department for Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Action (Direction de l’Action Humanitaire contre les Mines et Engins non explosés, DAHMI) did not collect any casualty data after 2009.[1] The last confirmed mine and ERW casualties occurred in 2009.

In June 2010, Burundi estimated that the total number of casualties was 6,000.[2] However, no further details were available. While DAHMI recognized that there was a need to conduct a survey to evaluate the exact number of mine/ERW victims in Burundi and identify their needs, no resources were available in 2012 to do this.[3] By 2011, there were 1,561 casualties officially identified in DAHMI’s database.[4]

Victim assistance

There were estimated to be 5,000 survivors in Burundi.[5]

Victim assistance in 2012

In 2012, implementation of the National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 did not follow the established timeline.[6] While the Interministerial and Inter-sectoral Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance met several times throughout the year, little progress was made in implementing the Action Plan due to a lack of funding. Victim assistance stakeholders did not note any major changes in the availability or accessibility of services for survivors in 2012, although donor funding available for victim assistance was reported to have increased.[7]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The National Victim Assistance Action Plan, adopted in 2011, includes a target to conduct a qualitative survey on persons with disabilities and their needs by the end of the first half of 2012. By the end of the year, DAHMI had developed a plan to build the national database of victims and to survey the needs of survivors.[8] However, the database was not developed nor was the survey implemented due to a lack of funding.[9]

Victim assistance coordination[10]

Burundi’s National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 aims to improve victim assistance across seven thematic areas: immediate and continued health care; physical rehabilitation; psychosocial and peer support; inclusive education; social and economic inclusion, including community-based rehabilitation; inclusive development; and data collection, legislation and policies, and coordination.[11]

The Interministerial and Inter-sectoral Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance was founded in 2011 to monitor and report on the implementation of the Action Plan, to define public policies to improve the delivery of services, to link relevant ministries, agencies, service providers, and donors, as well as to support the government in responding to its commitments under national law for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2012, the committee held five meetings; however, due to a lack of funding, it was unable to implement the Action Plan.[12] Meetings were facilitated by DAHMI and included representatives of the ministries of national solidarity, education, defense, public health, and culture, as well as representatives of NGOs and disabled persons’ organizations.[13]

Burundi provided information on victim assistance activities in Form J of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, submitted for the period from April 2006 to April 2012.[14] Burundi gave updates on victim assistance at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2012 and at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2012.[15]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Representatives of the Union of Persons with Disabilities of Burundi (Union des Personnes Handicapées du Burundi, UPHB) and of the Center for Training and Development of Ex-Combatants (CEDAC), an organization with survivors included within its membership, participated in meetings of the Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance in 2012.[16] Some survivors were involved in the implementation of economic inclusion and peer support projects through NGO service providers.[17]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities: 2012[18]

While training programs continue to improve the capacity of staff, access to appropriate physical rehabilitation services remained difficult in 2012 for most of those in need. The greatest obstacles for accessing services remained the lack of facilities and professionals and the cost of treatment, since users had to pay for the services.[19]

The ICRC continued its collaboration with the ISK in Bujumbura, which targeted services for people in the areas of Burundi that were the most severely contaminated by weapons. In 2012, to improve the accessibility of services the ICRC finalized the construction of a dormitory at the ISK and began reimbursing the costs of accommodation and meals for patients. Throughout the year, the ICRC continued to provide management assistance and training, specifically in calculating the costs of services and in cost recovery for ISK directors. By the end of 2012, the ISK took over the full financial responsibilities to cover all related running costs for its physical rehabilitation services.[20]

HI continued an economic inclusion initiative in 2012 in five provinces. Since the project was launched in 2011, it has worked with 1,618 former combatants with disabilities including mine/ERW survivors, although no data was available on the number of survivors included.[21] The project was specifically designed for former combatants with disabilities and supported access to medical care, including physical rehabilitation services, psychosocial support, and social and economic inclusion services.[22]

In 2012, CEDAC continued implementing an economic inclusion project and providing psychosocial support for survivors through a peer support initiative in three provinces. The economic inclusion project focused primarily on women with disabilities from mine/ERW incidents.[23] Funding for the projects of CEDAC was reported to have increased in 2012, with funding mobilized from Action on Armed Violence and UNDP for the activities.[24]

The constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. However, the government lacked the capacity and funding to promote or protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The government did not enact legislation or otherwise mandate access to buildings, information, or government services for persons with disabilities.[25]

Burundi signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 26 April 2007 and ratification remained under consideration as of the end of 2012.[26]