Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         As a result of armed conflict on its southern border with South Sudan, 2012 and 2011 casualty figures were the highest annual figures ever registered in the Republic of the Sudan; children represented 65% of all civilian casualties

·         Declining victim assistance funding in Sudan decreased economic inclusion opportunities for mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and threatened the suspension of the victim assistance coordination mechanism

·         The establishment of a victim assistance program in Darfur improved coordination and increased available information about the needs of ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities

Victim assistance commitments

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

Casualties Overview

In 2012, the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) recorded 108 mine/ERW casualties in Sudan.[1] As in previous years, males (men and boys) made up the majority of all casualties (100 or 91%)[2]; five casualties were women. Most casualties (60) were civilians. There were also at least five deminer casualties and five military casualties.[3] Four deminers were killed and a fifth injured in a single demining accident in Kassala state.

There were 35 child casualties of which 32 were boys and one was a girl; the sex of two children was unknown. These 35 child casualites represented 63% of all civilian casualties for which the age was known, a significant increase from the percentage (49%) in 2011.[4] The rate of child casualties in Darfur was significantly higher than in the rest of the country, representing 84% of civilian casualties for which the age was known (16 of 19), all of which were caused by ERW. In line with data from the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), respondents to a recent survey in Darfur identified boys as the main at-risk group for ERW casualties in the region and indicated that accidents mostly happened while the boys were tampering with the ERW or herding/tending animals.[5]

Casualties were concentrated in six of the 17 states of Sudan, with the vast majority (73 or 67%) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, two states bordering South Sudan and the location of clashes between Sudanese and South Sudanese forces in 2012. The high number of casualties was caused by increased population movement as people were displaced by the conflict, and the incidence of casualties was exacerbated by the laying of new mines, as well as increased ERW contamination.[6] In South Kordofan, child casualties were 58% of the 31 civilian casualties reported.

The 108 mine/ERW reported casualties in 2012 were similar in number to the 122 reported for 2011.[7] The casualty figures for 2011 and 2012 were the highest annual figures ever registered in Sudan and followed a period of decreasing annual rates from 2005–2010. The recent increase was attributed to recent conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states that continued through both years.[8]

NMAC registered 1,879 mine/ERW casualties for the period from 2002 to the end of 2012.[9] The Monitor has identified 2090 mine/ERW casualties (648 killed; 1442 injured) between 1999 and the end of 2012.

Cluster munition casualties

In 2012, there were two cluster submunition casualties in South Darfur.[10] There were a total of 30 casualties from cluster munitions in Sudan through the end of 2012, 23 of which occurred in 2009 or before.[11]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 1,321 mine/ERW survivors in Sudan at the end of 2012.[12]

Victim assistance since 1999[13]

Years of conflict seriously damaged the healthcare system in Sudan, and for many people living in remote areas, the nearest medical facilities were long distances away. In general, throughout the monitoring period, the assistance available for landmine casualties was irregular and insufficient to address the size of the problem, though there were some improvements in physical rehabilitation and economic inclusion.

In 1999, Sudan had just one rehabilitation center, located in Khartoum. With support from the ICRC, the National Authority for Prosthetic and Orthotics (NAPO) developed a total of six satellite centers and mobile units by 2009. However, from 2007 to 2010, NAPO received reduced budget allocations from the Ministry of Finance, forcing it to suspend rehabilitation services for three months in 2010. It had also begun to close one center in Kadugli during 2009, which closed at the end of 2010, due to lack of technical staff. While rehabilitation services were free for mine/ERW survivors, a lack of funding and insufficient raw materials meant that waiting periods were long, while the cost of transportation and accommodation made the cost of accessing services prohibitive.

From 1999, little to no economic inclusion initiatives or psychosocial support for mine survivors were available; the situation improved significantly with increased international funding for victim assistance from 2007–2012. These programs were implemented by national organizations and coordinated by NMAC, with support from the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO), within the framework of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. In June 2011, UNMAO completed the handover of its victim assistance program to NMAC. The establishment of the National Disability Council (NDC) in 2010 increased opportunities for the coordination of victim assistance and disability issues at national and state levels.

Victim assistance in 2012

In 2012, poor security conditions prevented survivors in the states with the highest concentrations of mine survivors, Sudan’s southern states and the Darfur region, from accessing victim assistance services. The increasing number of casualties including fatalities (most of whom are men) left many families without a head of the household and therefore without the main source of income for these families. Most communities in Sudan lacked the capacity to address these needs.[14] The establishment of a victim assistance program in Darfur increased information available about the needs of ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities and increased economic inclusion opportunities. Declining funding for victim assistance in the rest of Sudan limited opportunities for mine/ERW survivors and were not offset by other programs.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2012, NMAC conducted a visit to the state of Kassala to collect data on casualties and the needs of victims from the local association of mine victims. Data collected was added to the IMSMA casualty database. NMAC also collected information on the beneficiaries of victim assistance projects undertaken by members of the Victim Assistance Working Group (VAWG) on an ongoing basis.[15]

In Darfur, NMAC and the Ordnance Disposal Office (ODO) took steps to establish a regional disability and casualty surveillance mechanism through the Ministry of Health. In 2012 and the first part of 2013, 247 people, including ERW survivors, other persons with disabilities, and healthcare staff from clinics in remote villages, were trained as data collectors.[16] As of May 2013, the surveillance system was operational and data collection had commenced.[17]

Victim assistance/disability staff of NMAC and ODO also incorporated relevant questions on victim assistance into the Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Beliefs (KAPB) survey conducted in Darfur in 2012. The survey found that members of the community lacked information regarding how to report mine/ERW incidents and where to receive assistance.[18]

NMAC data on mine/ERW victims and their needs was shared widely with VAWG members, relevant government authorities, disability stakeholders, and donors; it was also shared on a monthly basis with the NDC. Information was used in the design and implementation of victim assistance and disability projects to identify remaining needs of survivors and the locations of existing projects, as well as for government planning purposes.[19]

Victim assistance coordination[20]

In 2012, NMAC continued to convene monthly meetings of the VAWG to share information on progress in implementing ongoing projects, to exchange information on experiences and best practices, to plan the best use of available resources, and to discuss issues such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), data collection, physical rehabilitation, and socioeconomic reintegration.[21] The VAWG included relevant government ministries and some 20 NGOs involved in implementing victim assistance and disability projects.[22]

NMAC and the ODO jointly established the VACWG in Darfur; monthly meetings were convened by ODO and the Ministry of Social Affairs as the main forum where all actors working in victim assistance and disability met to share information and experiences.[23]

The National Strategic Framework of Victim Assistance and the Victim Assistance Multi-year plan 2007–2011 had expired by 2012. Plans were in place to review and update the strategic framework taking into consideration the separation of Sudan and South Sudan and the development of a victim assistance program in Darfur.[24] Sudan requested international technical and financial support for this strategic planning process.[25]

The NDC also held monthly meetings of its seven committees and 13 specialized working groups.[26] The Victim Assistance department of NMAC, as well as other members of the VAWG, were active members of the NDC and participated in regular coordination meetings.[27] The Five Year Strategic Disability Plan 2012–2016 included six objectives designed to promote the rights of persons with disabilities in accordance with the CRPD and to ensure the full participation of persons with disabilities in the community. The plan identified relevant government and NGO implementing agencies but did not include a budget.[28]

In 2012, as projected in the Disability Plan, State Disability Councils were established in 14 of 17 states; councils in the remaining three states were in the process of being established as of March 2013. Efforts were also underway to revise the 2009 Disability Act to align it with the CRPD. During 2012, the implementation of the Disability Plan was monitored through quarterly meetings in which representatives of the Sudan Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, the Ministry of Welfare & Social Security, Sudanese Disability Unions, and other NGOs participated.[29]

Sudan provided comprehensive updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2012, and at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2013. Statements noted progress made in integrating victim assistance into broader frameworks, most especially disability frameworks, and in the inclusion of survivors and their representative organizations in victim assistance.[30] Sudan also completed Form J of the Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2012 that included information about victim assistance implementation.[31]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

Towards the implementation of the Cartagena Action Plan, the Ministry of Social Welfare issued a decree in 2010 recommending the involvement of all mine/ERW survivors associations in all decisions and activities related to victim assistance policies and plans.[32] Survivors, their representative organizations, and disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) were included as members of the VAWG and the newly formed VACWG in Darfur.[33] In 2012, all economic inclusion and psychological support programs for mine/ERW survivors that were coordinated by NMAC were implemented by landmine survivor associations in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. In Darfur, survivors and other persons with disabilities were involved in data collection.[34]

Sudan included a mine/ERW survivor on its delegation to the intersessional Mine Ban Treaty meetings in Geneva in May 2013.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[35]

Emergency and continuing medical care

No significant changes to the accessibility or availability of medical care were reported in 2012. Medical facilities in mine-affected areas were inadequate to address the emergency medical needs of mine survivors, who as a result required evacuation to hospitals in major cities.[36] While military mine/ERW survivors were covered by health insurance, many civilian survivors were not, making ongoing healthcare unaffordable.[37] Even for survivors who were insured, the National Health Insurance failed to cover a number of disability-related claims.[38]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

In 2012, the number of mine/ERW survivors who received prosthetics through ICRC-supported NAPO rehabilitation centers decreased to just 25% of those who had received similar support in 2011; this was despite significant increases overall in the number of people receiving attention through NAPO.[39] Mine/ERW survivors in need of rehabilitation continued to face prolonged waiting periods to receive assistance due to the lack of both funding and qualified technicians; this was coupled with poor accessibility due to a lack of transportation and security risks.[40] Efforts were underway to open two new rehabilitation centers to address the demand for services.[41]

In 2012, the decline in funding available for victim assistance continued, significantly reducing the availability of economic inclusion programs targeting mine/ERW survivors outside of Darfur and resulting in the closure of one of the three programs operating in 2011.[42] In 2010, there had been six such economic inclusion projects.[43] The remaining two programs were limited to South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. In Darfur, economic inclusion opportunities for ERW survivors increased with the establishment of two new programs targeting ERW victims but inclusive of all persons with disabilities.[44]

Psychological support

The Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration Commission supported the establishment of a psychological support unit in the Kadugli Hospital in South Kordofan, the state with the highest number of recent mine casualties. Mine victim associations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states provided peer support and helped connect victims to professional psychological support.[45]

In Sudan, the rights of persons with disabilities were guaranteed by law, though the law required amendment to comply with the CRPD, a process that was underway as of the end of 2012.[46] Legislation was not implemented effectively and many public officials lacked awareness of the law and the rights of persons with disabilities more generally.[47] Similarly, the employment quota for persons with disabilities was not fulfilled and the government lacked punitive measures through which to enforce it.[48] There were no laws or policies to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities; almost no buildings and public spaces were accessible.[49]

Sudan ratified the CRPD on 24 April 2009.