The Republic of Mali is responsible for survivors of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) and has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2013, there was an increase in casualties in Mali with 68 casualties identified.[1] Most of these casualties were civilians (53), including at least 17 children (at least three of the child casualties were girls). A majority of these incidents occurred in the region of Gao and Mopti.

In 2013, the significant increase of casualties as compared with both 2012 and most especially, other years,[2] continued the sharp rise in the number of casualties reported for 2012. This was due to new contamination resulting from fighting between government forces and Tuareg rebels that began in January 2012. In 2013, the number of civilian casualties rose in northern Malian communities and also among the population displaced by the conflict.[3] Casualties were also identified among Malian and French military forces in the northern part of the country.[4] The UN identified increased clearance and risk education activities as protection priorities for 2013 in order to respond to the numbers of casualties resulting from the increased levels of contamination from explosives.[5]

The Monitor identified a total of 146 mine/ERW casualties in Mali from 1999 to 2013, all of which occurred after 2006. Of that total, 77% of casualties occurred in the years 2012 and 2013 alone.

Victim Assistance

There is no coordination of victim assistance in Mali. The Ministry of Humanitarian Action, Solidarity, and the Elderly is responsible for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2013, the ministry sponsored activities to promote income-generating opportunities for persons with disabilities and worked with NGOs, such as the Malian Federation of Associations for Handicapped Persons, which provided basic services. However, while persons with disabilities have access to basic healthcare, the government did not place a priority on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, and few resources were available. [6]

In 2013, most NGOs working with persons with disabilities had to suspend their programs during the year due to the conflict in the north between government forces and armed groups.[7] In response to this fighting and other situations of violence in Mali, the ICRC opened a delegation in Mali in 2013 to respond to the consequences.[8] Wounded and sick people, including victims of mine/ERW, received medical services at the Gao regional hospital, which maintained and enhanced its services with substantial ICRC support, including a team of six ICRC specialists. Patients with specific needs were evacuated to other facilities, including physical rehabilitation centers in Bamako and Niger.[9]

In 2013, while the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) did not provide direct support to the Centre d’Appareillage Orthopédique Père Bernard Verspieren in Bamako, a rehabilitation center based in Bamako and run by the Malian association PROPHETE, it subsidized the cost of services at this center and at the Centre Père Bernard Verspieren as well as in Niger (Naimey) for victims of mine/ERW.[10] Treatment and travel/accommodation costs were covered by the ICRC.[11]

In 2013, there was no specific law protecting the rights of persons with disabilities or mandating their access to public buildings.[12] Mali ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 7 April 2008.