Action points based on findings

·         Dedicate funding to develop a national database of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) victims and their needs.

·         Improve access to physical rehabilitation for survivors by finding the means to overcome the barrier of fees for service presents.

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 2013, 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/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. The 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. A project proposal to fund a victim identification and needs assessment survey was drafted in 2013 in collaboration with the NGO Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) to be submitted to potential international donors, but as of March 2014 no sources of funding had been identified.[3] By the end of 2013, there were 2,630 casualties officially identified in DAHMI’s database.[4]

Victim Assistance

As of 2010, there were estimated to be 5,000 survivors in Burundi.[5]

Victim assistance in 2013

In 2013, implementation of the National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 remained largely on hold due to lack of funding.[6] While the Interministerial and Inter-sectorial Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance met several times throughout the year, provision of victim assistance services continued to be undertaken for the most part by international and national organizations.[7] Victim assistance stakeholders did not note any major changes in the availability or accessibility of services for survivors in 2013, although at least one organization noted an increased awareness of gender issues.[8]

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. This deadline was not met due to lack of funding to conduct this survey. In 2013, the DAHMI made efforts, in collaboration with AOAV, to identify international donors to fund this activity.[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 healthcare; 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-sectorial Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance was founded in 2011 to monitor and report on the implementation of the Action Plan, to define public policies in order 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 2013, the committee held monthly meetings;[12] however, due to a lack of funding, it was unable to implement the Action Plan.[13] In 2013 meetings were facilitated by DAHMI and primarily focused on advocacy and awareness-raising towards the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[14]

As of 1 August 2014, Burundi had not submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2013. Burundi gave updates on victim assistance during the session on Mine Clearance at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in April 2014.[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 2013.[16] Some survivors were involved in the implementation of economic inclusion, psychosocial support, and peer support projects through NGO service providers.[17]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities: 2013[18]

Access to appropriate physical rehabilitation services remained difficult in 2013 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 general difficulty for victims to receive information on available services also impeded their ability to access them.[20] HI continued to provide physical rehabilitation to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW victims, in four provinces, while also building local capacities and skills in the rehabilitation centers of those areas.[21]

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 2013, technical, financial, and training support from the ICRC enabled the ISK physical rehabilitation center to improve the quality of its physical rehabilitation services and become the country’s referral center for fitting disabled people, including demobilized weapon bearers, with prostheses and orthoses. By the end of May 2013, the center assumed full responsibility for procuring the materials required for its prosthetic/orthotic and physiotherapy services; it also initiated coordination efforts with other physical rehabilitation centers in the country, with a view to integrating physical rehabilitation services into the national health system.[22] Indeed, in 2013, disabled people from a wider geographical area were able to access rehabilitation services of the ISK because they were provided free lodging and meals at the center. As a result, the number of outpatient consultations, mostly children needing corrective devices, increased significantly.[23]

The government of Burundi continued to support a center for physical therapy in Gitega and a center for social and professional reinsertion in Ngozi, to assist individuals with physical disabilities.[24]

HI continued its economic inclusion programme in 2013 in five provinces. Since the project was launched in 2011, it has worked with 2,000 former combatants with disabilities including mine/ERW survivors through the end of 2013.[25] 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.[26]

In 2013, CEDAC and AOAV launched a new project to provide psychosocial support to women with disabilities, including mine/ERW victims. This was done through the training of 30 peer educators who, in turn, provided peer support to other women with disabilities. The project also empowered these women to conduct advocacy for the respect of women living with disabilities in Burundi.[27] CEDAC also continued implementing an economic inclusion project and providing psychosocial support for survivors through another peer support initiative throughout 2013. The economic inclusion project focused primarily on women with disabilities from mine/ERW incidents.[28] The constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, the government did not promote or protect the rights of persons with disabilities with regard to employment, education, or access to healthcare. The government did not enact legislation or otherwise mandate access to buildings, information, or government services for persons with disabilities.[29]

While gender issues were increasingly taken into account by stakeholders in 2013, the adaptation of services for children remained a key challenge that had yet to be addressed in order to better respond to their needs.[30]

Burundi signed the CRPD on 26 April 2007 and efforts towards its ratification were strengthened throughout 2013.[31] The parliament of the Republic of Burundi formally adopted the CRPD on 6 March 2014.[32]