Casualties and Victim Assistance

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a significant number of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors who are in need of assistance.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

In 2013, the Monitor identified 107 casualties from landmines and ERW in Iran.[1] Landmine casualties occurred in the five western border provinces of West Azarbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and Khuzestan. One incident caused by an unknown device[2] killed 3 military personnel in Sistan and Baluchestan province. ERW casualties occurred in all five western border provinces and also in East Azarbaijan.

Men constituted the vast majority of casualties for whom sex and age was known (69 of 98, or 70%).[3] There were five casualties among women. At least 19 casualties were children, including 12 boys, four girls, and three children of unknown sex. This constitutes 41% of the 46 civilian casualties for whom the age was known.[4] The rate of child casualties in 2013 is a significant increase compared with seven known child casualties in 2012.

In 2013, more than half of all casualties were civilians (60), which shows an increase compared to known civilian casualties in 2012 (54). However, the 60 civilian casualties was significantly lower than other previous years; the highest number of recorded annual civilian casualties, 918, was recorded in 1995 and civilian casualties has decreased steadily since then.

There were 28 deminer casualties (1 killed, 27 injured) recorded in 2013. This is by far the lowest number of deminer casualties recorded since 2006, the first year for which comprehensive deminer casualty data is available,[5] and constitutes a dramatic decrease compared to 71 deminer casualties in 2012. Since 2006, the high number of deminer casualties has partially offset the decrease in civilian casualties to maintain a high rate of annual casualties in Iran. The number of casualties among deminers surpassed civilian casualties in both 2011 and 2012. Casualties among deminers reached a peak in 2009, with 169 casualties recorded.

In 2013, there were 19 casualties among security forces, which constitutes a sharp increase compared to just two known military casualties in 2012.

The 107 casualties identified in 2013 is a decrease compared to the 127 identified for 2012 and is the lowest number of recorded casualties since 1988, the first year for which data is available.[6] The overall decrease in 2013 can be attributed to the significant decrease in deminer casualties, while civilian and security forces casualties both increased compared to 2012.

The Monitor identified a total of 9,687 casualties (2,751 killed; 6,935 injured; one unknown) from landmines and ERW in Iran between 1988 and 2013, based on the data received in 2014 that updated casualty information for previous years.[7] As of 2006, the UN reported that there had been approximately 10,000 casualties in Iran.[8] No data is available on casualties among security forces in years prior to 2008.

Victim Assistance

Between 1988 and the end of 2013, there were 6,935 people injured by landmines and ERW in Iran, the vast majority of which (more than 80%) are civilians (5,653).

Victim assistance since 1999

Since 1999, comprehensive victim assistance has been available for military casualties. The same assistance became available to deminers beginning in 2010. Civilians who were recognized as war victims could also access some services through government agencies, though psychological support and economic inclusion programs were extremely limited. However, many civilians and deminers who were not recognized as war victims received minimal assistance that was insufficient to meet their needs. Few services were available in the remote regions where many survivors are based.

There is no comprehensive plan or central coordinating body in charge of assistance to all victims of landmines. The result is that the assistance that victims have received varies widely in accordance with the victim status they are assigned and with the legal framework that happens to govern their cases.

Military survivors and their families, whether they had their mine incident while demining or in another context, receive support through their respective military units.[9]

In 2006, the Iranian Mine Action Center (IRMAC) began providing life and disability insurance coverage for deminers working for private subcontractors, though not the more complete coverage deminers were granted in 2010.[10]

Civilian mine/ERW victims who were recognized as martyrs or disabled “veterans”[11] were entitled to comprehensive assistance provided by Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA). Other civilian mine/ERW victims who were not recognized as such were only entitled to negligible allowances accorded by Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF) or the State Welfare Organization (SWO).[12]

For 17 years (1993–2010), the law and regulation governing the eligibility of civilian mine/ERW victims[13] as martyrs or disabled veterans expressly excluded the victims who were known to be “morally corrupt” or “counter-revolutionary” as well as those who had “recklessly,” or “intentionally,” caused the incident.[14] Provincial commissions (referred to as “Article 2 Commissions”) in the five war-affected provinces determined the eligibility of individual victims and were criticized for excluding many individuals from the benefits that the law assigned to survivors and families.[15] Victims could appeal to the Court of Administrative Justice against the decisions of the Article 2 Commissions. In several cases, the court overturned those decisions,[16] emphasizing the authorities’ failure in fulfilling their duty of clearing the area where the incident had occurred, and lack of evidence upholding the claim that the appellant had caused the incident intentionally or recklessly, and ordered the respondent governorate to recognize the status of the victim as a veteran or martyr.

Following protests by the victims and civil activists and at the initiative of a number of members of parliament from the affected provinces, both the 1993 law establishing the process for registering as a mine/ERW victim and its 1994 regulation were amended in August 2010.[17] References to “moral corruption” and “recklessness” were removed and other changes were made in order to make the procedure more accessible to victims.[18] The amendment was retroactive, enabling all past victims, including those who were excluded by the decision of previous commissions for “recklessness” or “corruption,” to submit their case under the new law. Despite these favorable legislative amendments, through 2013 bureaucratic hurdles continued to prevent many victims from successfully registering for assistance.

The August 2010 legal amendment also impacted deminers. Under the new law, the FMVA must register deminers who have been killed or injured by landmines and ERW as martyrs or disabled veterans and provide for the medical care of those injured.[19] While at first the FMVA refused to recognize the eligibility of deminers who had their accident prior to August 2010,[20] reportedly in 2013 they changed policy to accept applications for services from deminer survivors and the families of deminers killed in earlier incidents.[21]

City governorates convene the Article 2 Commission to decide on victims’ cases on an ad hoc basis, once they consider there to be a sufficient number of cases. In some small cities such as Paveh (Kermanshah), the Article 2 Commission has not been convened a single time since the 2010 legislative amendments, despite the occurrence of landmine incidents killing or injuring civilians, and despite ongoing pending cases of past victims.

There are known to be cases where these administrative proceedings extend far beyond reasonable delays.[22] This has left civilian victims with no financial assistance to cover medical or other costs before a decision is made on their status. Even in the case of a favorable decision by the Article 2 Commissions, the assistance provided is not retroactive; costs incurred between the moment of accident and the date of decision are not reimbursed.[23] In 2013, IRMAC identified this gap and dedicated resources from its own budget to cover the costs of deminer survivors and the families of the killed while the proceedings of registration for FMVA assistance are pending.[24] However, no equivalent assistance is available for civilian victims.

Very often, civilian victims lack the resources to pay for emergency medical interventions as required by their injuries and the subsequent physiotherapy and other services.[25]

Further exacerbating efforts by victims to access assistance, certain victims who had their accidents in border areas and were transferred to the closest medical centers in neighboring Iraq were later denied assistance because their clinical documents were not issued in Iran[26] and/or their movements in the border area were judged to be unlawful.[27]

Victim assistance in 2013

Through 2013, bureaucratic barriers prevented many victims from registering for assistance. The FMVA, the organ that would provide services to survivors and victims’ families in case of favorable decision of the Article 2 Commission, is itself in charge of filing applications and transmitting them to city governorates. Reportedly, in certain cases, FMVA blocks the registration of applications by requiring documents that victims cannot provide.[28]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, IRMAC, with partial sponsorship from ICRC, launched a pilot project to identify civilian mine and ERW victims who were in need of increased assistance to better meet their physical needs. During the year, the project staff distributed questionnaires among victims in Kurdistan province to identify those in the greatest need of physical rehabilitation. Once data collection is completed, it is expected that 100 identified victims will be referred to the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) physical rehabilitation center through a joint agreement between the ICRC and IRCS. The ICRC will cover the expenses of physical rehabilitation services of the referred victims while the IRCS will provide them with its services. If successful, it is expected that the pilot project would extend to other provinces.[29]

In 2013, the Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC) continued to collect data for the second phase of an epidemiological study of traumas caused by landmine accidents. This study updates a prior study that examined the condition of all victims who had applied for registration at FMVA between 1988 and 2003 (3,713 cases) and was published as a book in 2006.[30] The new study, covering the period from 2003 to 2013, is to be published in the second semester of 2014.[31]

JMERC also conducted a needs-assessment study on 80 child victims in 2013; the report was to be published in 2014.[32]

In 2012, JMERC carried out two targeted needs-assessment studies on disabled veterans who had lost an eye and those who were amputee veterans, respectively. These two groups included a number of landmine victims. The study on veterans who had lost one eye included an assessment of psychological needs, quality of life, and medical records for the target population of 5,000 persons throughout the country. These studies were used to adapt services to the target group and was to be followed up in a longitudinal study in which the data would be updated and used for the further adaptation of services based on the changing needs of the users.[33]

As of June 2011, IRMAC was working to develop a single, comprehensive database of mine/ERW casualties, compiling information available from a variety of national ministries and foundations, such as the Ministry of Interior, FMVA, and the IKRF, as well as from local authorities and NGOs working in mine-affected provinces.[34] No further update on the database was available through August 2014. The Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans, adopted in December 2012, required the FMVA to develop a comprehensive database on the state of health of the persons under its coverage.[35]

Victim assistance coordination

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for coordinating and monitoring victim assistance for all civilian survivors and the families of those killed. Survivors or their family members must report the mine incident to the FMVA office in their district to register and to have their case submitted to the local commissions as detailed above. If the Article 2 Commission grants martyr or disabled-veteran status to the victim, they are referred to the FMVA for assistance. Victims whose applications are rejected by the local commission are referred to SWO in urban areas and to the IKRF in rural areas.[36]

The Department of Martyrs and Veterans within IRMAC is responsible for the coordination of assistance to deminers that are injured or killed as a result of a demining accident. The Ministry of Defense monitors the provision of victim assistance to deminers.[37]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

The War Veterans’ Parliamentary Group, with 130 members, is one of the largest groups within the Iranian parliament.[38] In 2013, a Commission of Enquiry into the activities of FMVA was established at the parliamentary group’s initiative with the results of the Commission of Enquiry pending as of June 2014.[39] The parliamentary group also works to ensure the allocation of sufficient resources for provision of services to veterans in annual budget laws.[40]

The Center for Researchers and Organizations within FMVA[41] registers NGOs focusing on veteran-related issues. Some of these organizations act on behalf of groups that include landmine survivors recognized as veterans.

The Center for Blind Veterans’ Affairs “Khaneye Noor-e-Iran” provides a platform for those veterans who have lost their eyes—some of whom landmine survivors—to have a voice in the process of the adoption of rules and standards governing provision of services to them. The center also aims at full accessibility in urban planning to ensure that the needs of the blind are taken into consideration.[42] Other groups of disabled veterans that include mine victims, such as double-limb amputees,[43] have also formed associations and social networks at the initiative of FMVA. The “Association of Upstanding Veterans” representing double-limb amputees advocates for improvement of access to and quality of physical rehabilitation services.[44]

No information was available on any independent, non-governmental, active NGO, association or network representing landmine and ERW survivors not registered with FMVA.

Through 2013, JMERC, in collaboration with Tehran Peace Museum, continued its community-based participatory research projects that involved the participation of landmine and chemical weapons survivors. In this framework, some landmine survivors participated in awareness-raising activities.[45]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

In December 2012, the Expediency Council enacted the Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans.[46] Through 2013, the process of preparing the implementation of the law continued.[47] As of April 2014, the government was drawing up the regulations that would define its implementation modalities;[48] the community of veterans still awaited the law’s implementation.[49] The legislation stipulates all the services and benefits to be provided to disabled veterans and families of martyrs.[50] Mine victims and their families would be eligible for those services if successful in applying for the required status.[51]

Services listed within the law include the provision of adequate housing, complete coverage of healthcare expenses, and the provision of all necessary medical services, including physical and psychological rehabilitation by FMVA. The law establishes 25% employment quotas in the public sector for eligible persons as well as tax and compensation benefits for private enterprises that hire the protected persons. The law also foresees the provision of legal aid for covered persons by the Ministry of Justice whenever necessary. Finally, the law requires the FMVA to cover school fees for eligible persons and their children who study in private higher education institutions and establishes quotas in public universities.

In 2013, the FMVA attempted to address physical barriers to access services for beneficiaries with disabilities, including registered landmine survivors, by paying the transportation fees for those living outside major cities or by sending medical teams to conduct outreach visits.[52] Despite these efforts, disparities in access to services remained even among those who are entitled to receive services from FMVA, based on their physical distance from services.[53]

In contrast to the comprehensive assistance system for qualified veterans, mine victims not granted the status of disabled veterans are not eligible for any assistance beyond minimal allowances available through SWO or IKRF. Allowances remained static between 2004 and 2013 despite high inflation. As a result, in 2013 victims relying on these allowances continued to live in extreme poverty.[54]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law in Iran. The Comprehensive Law on the Protection of Rights of Persons with Disabilities[55] requires the government to set out and implement standards of public accessibility in public spaces and government buildings (Article 2) so that all new buildings and spaces are constructed in accordance with them. The regulation on the implementation of this provision[56] requires the progressive adaptation of all existing government buildings to make them accessible to persons with disabilities (Article 3). In 2013, newly-built government-funded buildings were seen to comply with the standards laid out in Article 2. There were also efforts made to increase access to historical sites for persons with disabilities. However, non-government buildings or government buildings predating the accessibility standards remained inaccessible, for the most part.[57]

Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 23 October 2009. The Iranian parliament designated the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security (State Welfare Organization) and the FMVA as focal points for matters relating to the implementation of the convention.[58] No further information could be found on the actual establishment and functioning of any coordination mechanism between these two bodies.