Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties Overview

In 2012, 40 new mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in the Republic of Niger. The vast majority of these casualties (32 out of 40) were civilians, including one child. All incidents took place in the north of the country, principally in the region of Bilma, Agadez.[1] While there were no incidents reported in Niger in 2011, in 2010, 12 casualties were identified.[2] The National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Weapons (Commission Nationale pour la Collecte et le Contrôle des Armes Illicites, CNCCAI) indicated that mine action activities had not yet reached this region of the country and were necessary to prevent more casualties.[3]

Casualties continued to be identified in 2013. In June 2013 alone, the Monitor identified 12 new mine/ERW victims, all male civilians.[4]

In 2010, CNCCAI reported a total of 319 (66 killed; 253 injured) mine/ERW casualties in Niger between 2007 and 2009, the period during which the majority of casualties in Niger occurred.[5] CNCCAI has not provided an updated cumulative total since 2010. Between 1999 and the end of 2012, the Monitor identified a total of 383 mine/ERW casualties (103 killed; 280 injured), including 12 casualties identified prior to 2007, 12 in 2010, and 40 in 2012.[6]

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2012, the total number of mine/ERW survivors in Niger was at least 280.[7] Most survivors were concentrated in the Agadez region, an area with a total population of just 500,000 people.

CNCCAI is the government focal point for victim assistance, but due to lack of funds its role has been largely limited to advocacy within the government on behalf of survivors. The Ministry of Population and Social Reforms serves as the government focal point on disability issues. Niger lacks a specific victim assistance plan, but victim assistance is mentioned in the Anti-Mine Action Plan 2009–2013.[8] While the Ministry of Health does have a National Health Development plan (2011–2015), there was no mention of physical rehabilitation in the plan.[9]

Victim assistance services are severely limited, particularly in the Agadez region, where most survivors are located. Handicap International (HI) launched a victim assistance program in 2010, which was still underway in 2012.[10]

In 2012, the physical rehabilitation sector included four service providers, but only two were functioning, including a center re-opened by the ICRC during the year. Access to physical rehabilitation services remained difficult for several reasons, including lack of service providers, lack of professionals to provide the services, and lack of financial means for persons with disabilities to cover the cost of services and the cost of transport to access the services.[11]

In 2012, the ICRC started providing assistance to the Niamey National Hospital to renovate and equip the physical rehabilitation department. The provision of services began in August 2012.[12] The ICRC also sent six students from Niger to the National Rehabilitation Center (Centre National d’Appareillage Orthopédique, CNAO), in Togo , to take part in a three-week training session in polypropylene technology.[13]

On 15 November 2012, Niger submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2011 which included information on victim assistance in Form J.

Niger ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 24 June 2008.