Casualties and Victim Assistance

Victim assistance commitments

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is responsible for a significant number of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors who are in need. Jordan has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

The National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR) recorded no new mine/ERW casualties in Jordan.[1] The last known casualties in Jordan were in 2010, when three casualties were recorded.[2]

This represented a continuous decrease from the eight mine/ERW casualties identified in 2009 and the 18 recorded in 2008.[3] Compared to 2006–2009, the number of casualties caused by ERW greatly decreased in 2010.[4] A comprehensive mine/ERW risk education (RE) program, initiated by NCDR in 2007 and still ongoing as of September 2013, was believed to be a factor in the decrease in casualties observed since 2008.[5] In 2012, the ICRC-funded RE program focused on communities in northern Jordan where Syrian refugees are concentrated, mainly in Mafraq.[6]

The NCDR recorded 921 mine/ERW casualties (122 killed; 799 injured) between 1948 and September 2013.[7]

Victim Assistance

The total number of recorded mine/ERW survivors in Jordan is 799.

Victim assistance coordination

The Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities (HCAPD) is the national focal point on victim assistance.[8] Victim assistance is coordinated through the Steering Committee on Survivor and Victim Assistance, chaired by the HCAPD, which includes governmental and non-governmental representatives as well as survivors. The HCAPD also serves as the focal point for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[9] Victim assistance is included in the National Mine Action Plan 2010–2015.[10]

National Victim Assistance Standards that outlined the roles and responsibilities of all victim assistance partners in Jordan, as well as prosthetic/orthotic standards, were drafted by NCDR but were not finalized in 2012.[11] Victim assistance is also integrated into the National Disability Strategy.[12] In May 2013, NCDR began a victim needs assessment survey to assist with the planning of victim assistance interventions in future.[13]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

In 2012, Jordan took steps toward fulfilling its victim assistance commitments by increasing the availability of physical rehabilitation and economic reintegration opportunities. NCDR advocated for the provision of equitable medical and rehabilitation services for both civilian and military survivors. In an effort to address the disparity in services between military and civilian survivors, a victim assistance capacity-building project for the northern region of Jordan was launched in September 2011.[14] As part of this project, the prosthetic and orthotic center at the Princess Basma Hospital in Irbid opened in April 2012.[15] The development of the center was a collaborative effort between NCDR and the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development. Polus and Invacare provided training for health care partners in the northern region through four workshops (one in 2011, three in 2012) for wheelchair fitting as well as orthotics and prosthetics.[16] In 2012, operating under the Ministry of Health, the center at Princess Basma hospital provided services to more than 450 survivors.[17]

NCDR began an economic reintegration project in collaboration with the Jordan Agricultural Credit Corporation and implemented by Life Line Consultancy and Rehabilitation (LLCR): 20 survivors received micro-credit loans to establish income-generating projects.[18] LLCR also provided training, rehabilitation, and activities for confidence-building and social reintegration in remote areas.[19] In October 2012, a seven-day vocational training course was provided in Ajloun for family members of landmine survivors.[20] In 2013, NCDR expected to double the number of survivors receiving assistance through the income-generating program.[21]

A 2007 law on the rights of persons with disabilities still lacked regulations to support its implementation. The law on employment quotas for persons with disabilities lacked implementing regulations and was rarely enforced; in addition, employers who stated that the nature of the work was not suitable for persons with disabilities were exempt from the quota. Legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities was not upheld in practice.[22]

Jordan ratified the CRPD in March 2008.