Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         The expansion of ICRC support for physical rehabilitation increased the availability of centers; but a decrease in trained personnel reduced production

·         The Republic of South Sudan made progress in integrating victim assistance and disability issues into 10 government ministries through the establishment of focal points

·         Victim assistance projects funded through the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and implemented by national and local organizations, including survivor associations, closed in June 2012; this significantly reduced economic inclusion opportunities for mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities

Victim assistance commitments

South Sudan 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. South Sudan has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2012, the Monitor identified 22 mine/ERW casualties in South Sudan.[1] All casualties were civilians; boys made up the single largest casualty group (6 or 27%). Children constituted 63% of all casualties for which the age was known (10 of 16).[2] At least two casualties were women. There were no casualties among deminers in 2012. One deminer casualty was recorded in 2011. Casualties were recorded in four of South Sudan’s 10 states in 2012, down from eight states in 2011.

The 22 casualties identified in 2012 were a significant decrease compared with the 206 identified in 2011.[3] The decrease was attributed to the reduced movement of displaced populations from the north into South Sudan in 2012 as compared with 2011, when there was a great deal of people movement. In addition, it was believed that not all incidents were reported or identified due to the poor communications infrastructure and the movement of populations within the country.[4]

There were at least 4,813 casualties (1,349 killed; 3,464 injured) in South Sudan for the period from 1964 to December 2012.[5] Of the total for which the sex was recorded, 3,390 (or 83%) were male and 668 were female;[6] when the sex among the injured was known, 2,548 survivors were male and 476 were female. There were 609 child casualties.

Cluster munition casualties

In 2012, the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre–South Sudan (UNMACC) reported 65 casualties from cluster submunitions in South Sudan, all of which occurred in 2009 or before.[7] Another 16 casualties which occurred during cluster munition strikes in South Sudan have been reported.[8] No casualties from cluster munitions have been identified after 2009.

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2012, 3,464 mine/ERW survivors were identified in South Sudan.[9] In 2011, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare (MGCSW) estimated that there were a total of some 50,000 mine/ERW victims, including survivors, their families, and the families of people killed.[10]

Victim assistance since 1999[11]

As a result of decades of conflict, since 1999, mine/ERW survivors in South Sudan lacked access to basic services of all kinds. The limited services available were almost entirely provided by international organizations. Through to the end of 2012, emergency medical care was inadequate to address the needs of mine/ERW survivors and others wounded as a result of the armed conflict. Ongoing medical care reached just a fraction of the population.

There were some improvements in the availability of physical rehabilitation for mine/ERW during the period. In 1999, South Sudan had just one physical rehabilitation center, in the capital Juba. In 2003, Medical Care Development International (MCDI) began developing an additional rehabilitation center at the Rumbek Regional Hospital. By the end of 2010, MCDI had transferred full management of the center to the regional government. In 2008, the ICRC introduced a physical rehabilitation training program at the Juba rehabilitation center and by 2009 it had been upgraded to a Rehabilitation Referral Center.

From 1999, there were little to no economic inclusion initiatives for mine survivors, a situation that improved somewhat with increased international funding for victim assistance from 2007–2011. These programs were implemented by national organizations, including disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), and coordinated by the South Sudan Demining Authority (SSDA) (later named the National Mine Action Authority, NMAA) with support from the United Nations Mine Action Office (UNMAO), and later the UNMACC, within the framework of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. However, these programs were insufficient to address demand. Psychological support for mine/ERW survivors was entirely absent in South Sudan.

Victim assistance in 2012

As in previous years, a lack of transportation, insecurity, and poor road infrastructure proved the greatest obstacle to accessing all services for survivors. Services were very limited in comparison with the level of need and most were provided by international organizations. In June 2012, the government of South Sudan approved the South Sudan National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012–2016, which included victim assistance. The Victim Assistance Coordination Group changed its name to the Victim Assistance and Disability Working Group and steps were taken to integrate victim assistance and disability into the work of all relevant government ministries.

Assessing victim assistance needs

Several surveys of survivors and needs were undertaken in 2012. In 2012, the MGCSW carried out a pilot disability survey in the cities of Wau, Torit, and Bor with technical support from Handicap International (HI) and funding from UNMAS.[12] Data collected was used in developing a national disability policy and was shared with relevant government authorities at the national and state level and with members of the Victim Assistance and Disability Working Group (VADWG).[13] The survey found that 53% of respondents had a physical impairment, 20% a visual impairment, 12% a hearing impairment, and 8.3% of respondents were identified as having mental illness.[14]

Also in 2012, the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) assessed the needs of 238 mine/ERW survivors in Juba and found that 72% lacked prosthetics or mobility devices and adequate housing.[15]

Between December 2011 and June 2012, South Sudan Disabled Persons Association (SSDPA), with support from UNMAS, surveyed mine/ERW victims in Bentiu, Unity state and collected data on 1,466 victims who had not been registered prior to the survey.[16]

Previously, needs assessments had been carried out in other areas of the country by the NMAA and the MGCSW, with support from the UNMACC and by the SSDPA. Data collected in Juba and in Upper Nile state in October and November 2010 were included in the national casualty database, maintained by the UNMACC.[17] The SSDA needs assessment in Juba collected data on 238 survivors. The SSDPA collected data on 1,188 survivors in Upper Nile state.[18]

Victim assistance coordination[19]

In 2012, the name of the victim assistance coordination mechanism was changed from the Victim Assistance Working Group to the Victim Assistance and Disability Working Group in order to underscore that victim assistance included persons with disabilities and that there was no discrimination among persons with disabilities based on the cause.[20]

The VADWG continued to hold monthly meetings, chaired by the MGCSW and supported by the NMAA.[21] Participants included government ministries, DPOs, NGO service providers, and other stakeholders. Meetings were used to develop the victim assistance component of the Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012–2016, share information about activities implemented, and track progress in the implementation of the plan in the second half of the year. The VADWG also appointed focal points within government ministries and commissions to mainstream victim assistance and disability issues throughout government structures. By early 2013, 10 focal points had been appointed.[22]

In June 2012, the Mine Action Strategic Plan 2012–2016 was endorsed by the Office of the President.[23] It was developed through consultations with all members of the VADWG. The plan includes the following three victim assistance objectives:

·         Establish an information system for persons with disabilities to provide reliable, systematic and comprehensive information on persons with disabilities, including landmine and ERW victims, that is shared with relevant national authorities during regular coordination meetings with VA and rehabilitation partners;

·         Accede to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by the end of 2013[24] and adopt the necessary national laws to protect the rights of landmine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities;

·         Ensure equal access to rehabilitation, psychosocial (including peer support) and socio-economic inclusion services for all landmine and ERW victims, as well as women, girls, boys, and men with disabilities.[25]

The plan states the relevant partners and budget needed per objective and includes a monitoring and evaluation plan with indicators for each objective against which to measure progress. Sources of funding are not indicated.[26]

A national disability policy, started in 2011, was still under development by the MGCSW as of early 2013.[27]

South Sudan provided 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 through the voluntary submission of a Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for the period from July 2011–September 2012.[28] South Sudan did not make a statement at the Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in May 2013.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were included in the VADWG and in the process to develop the national mine action strategy and the national disability policy.[29] Representative organizations were consulted in the preparation of South Sudan’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report. No survivors have been included in a delegation of South Sudan to an international meeting but plans were in place to strengthen the capacity of survivor associations so that they might be in a position to participate effectively in the future.[30]

Survivor associations and DPOs were involved in assessing the needs of survivors and other persons with disabilities, as well as in income-generating activities, peer support, and in providing basic health services.[31]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[32]

As in previous years, a lack of transportation, insecurity, and poor road infrastructure proved the greatest obstacles to accessing all services for survivors.[33] Several international organizations working with mine/ERW survivors assisted survivors in overcoming accessibility obstacles alongside other program activities.[34] Nearly all victim assistance projects supported through UNMAS were closed by the end of June 2012.[35]

Emergency and continuing medical care

In 2012, hospitals throughout the country and particularly in Unity state “struggled to cope” with the influx of wounded patients, most of whom had weapon-related injuries.[36] During the year, the ICRC worked to improve emergency care through training in first-aid and war surgery skills, distributing needed materials, and expanding the coverage of its emergency response.[37] Throughout 2012, the majority of South Sudan’s population continued to lack access to any form of healthcare and only one in four people had access to medical facilities, including those wounded by landmines/ERW and other conflict-related causes.[38]

Physical Rehabilitation including prosthetics

Increased support from the ICRC and the MGCSW for physical rehabilitation increased the availability of these services. In addition to continuing support to the national Rehabilitation Reference Center in Juba, the ICRC began providing materials and supplies to the government-run center in Rumbek. The ICRC also established a rehabilitation unit in Wau, in northwestern South Sudan, staffed by ICRC rehabilitation specialists, which operated one week of every month. However, the number of mine survivors receiving prosthetic services through ICRC-supported centers declined by almost 40% between 2011 and 2012.[39]

The MGCSW worked with the Italian NGO OCVI to increase services to children with disabilities, including landmine survivors, through the USURATUNA Center in Juba. However, these gains were somewhat offset by the loss of trained rehabilitation professionals who left their jobs, leaving the centers understaffed and causing declines in the production of prosthetics and mobility devices.[40]

Economic Inclusion

During the first half of 2012, several local NGOs (including survivor associations and DPOs) implemented economic inclusion projects targeting survivors that were focused on vocational training and income-generating activities and were coordinated through UNMAS.[41] UNMAS estimated that some 50% of the beneficiaries of victim assistance programs were persons with disabilities due to causes other than landmines and ERW.[42] By June 2012, all of these projects were closed because the funding available through UNMAS ended, significantly reducing economic inclusion opportunities for mine/ERW survivors.[43]

The South Sudan National Commission for War Disabled, Widows and Orphans slightly increased its capacity to provide training and income-generating support to those disabled due to the conflict.[44] However, this was insufficient compared to the needs of mine/ERW survivors.

Psychological support and social inclusion

Psychological support facilities were very limited in 2012.[45] In early 2012, HI introduced a new psychological support component to its victim assistance activities.[46] Some survivor associations and DPOs offered peer support to their members.[47]

The MGCSW worked to establish community-based rehabilitation with support from international organizations.[48]

A new school for children with disabilities was opened in 2012, but South Sudan lacked teachers trained to teach children with disabilities or to teach in an inclusive educational setting.[49]

Laws and Policies

South Sudan lacked laws and policies to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[50] Access to targeted victim-assistance programs coordinated through UNMAS was equal for all persons with disabilities regardless of the cause, including mine/ERW survivors and men and women had equal access to assistance.[51] There were special programs for disabled veterans, such as the Wounded Heroes program, and for others disabled by war, including programs through the National Commission for War Disabled, though a lack of government resources meant that all victims faced similar challenges in having their needs met.[52]

As of 2012, the government had made no efforts to make buildings accessible to persons with disabilities.[53] Joining the CRPD was a priority for members of the VADWG and was included as one of the three main objectives within the National Mine Action Strategy.[54]

As of 1 June 2013, South Sudan had not signed the CRPD.