Casualties

Casualties in 2009

In 2009, the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) recorded 244 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW)/cluster munition remnant casualties. Of the total, 87% (211) of casualties were civilians, 11% (28) were military personnel, and 2% (five) were deminers. Children (77) made up 36% of civilian casualties; 65 were boys and 12 girls. Of the total adult civilian casualties (167), 89% (148) were men, and 11% (19) were women. Three casualties in 2009 were Thai nationals (one civilian and two military).[1] The 244 casualties in 2009 represented a 9% decrease from the 269 mine/ERW casualties CMVIS recorded for 2008, and followed a trend in declining annual casualties from 2006. The majority of child casualties continued to occur as a result of ERW incidents.[2]

As of the end of 2009, CMVIS reporting indicated that that there were at least 63,529 mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia: 19,505 killed and 44,024 injured since 1979.[3]

For the period 1998 to the end of 2009, 155 cluster munition remnant casualties were reported in Cambodia.[4]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Cambodia is thought to be approximately 44,000.

Survivor needs

No systematic needs assessments for mine/ERW survivors were reported in 2009. Disability statistics were not reliable and needed to be improved for better service provision.[5] CMVIS provided ongoing systematic data collection of mine/ERW casualties, including numbers of survivors. Some casualties were also referred by CMVIS data gatherers directly to victim assistance service providers.[6]

Victim assistance coordination[7]

The Steering Committee for Landmine Victim Assistance met four or five times in 2009.[8] In April 2009 it began a transformation into the National Disability Coordination Committee (NDCC), under the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) and the Disability Action Council (DAC), with a broader coordination role for the disability sector.[9] Members met regularly before approval for the NDCC was granted in August 2009.[10] However, the first official meeting of the NDCC was not held until the first quarter of 2010.[11] At the end of 2009, Cambodia reported that national victim assistance coordination was limited due to the lack of human and financial resources.[12] In November 2009, Cambodia listed cooperation among government, donors, civil society, and disabled peoples’ organizations (DPOs) as a remaining challenge and emphasized the need for constructive partnerships among all actors in victim assistance.[13]

As a result of a subdecree of national disability legislation drafted in 2009, DAC lost its relatively independent status as a national council and become a state body directly under the MoSVY. In its new structure, DAC was to be comprised of three parts; a Council, including government, DPOs, and NGOs; a General Secretariat; and member NGOs.[14] As of the end of 2009, it remained to be seen how the new policy-making mechanism would recognize the input of people with disabilities in the decision-making process.

The National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities including Landmine/ERW Survivors 2009–2011 (National Action Plan) was adopted by the Prime Minister of the government of Cambodia in August 2009.[15] There was little or no progress reported against the National Action Plan for 2009 and stakeholders were still being informed about it.[16] Non-governmental stakeholders expressed concerns that the plan was unspecific and in some cases unrealistic due to the limited capacity of the MoSVY to implement its responsibilities.[17]

In late 2009, disability issues were included in a draft update of the National Strategic Development Plan for 2009–2013.[18]

Cambodia provided updates on progress and challenges for victim assistance in 2009 at the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2009 and the meeting of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in June 2010. Cambodia provided updates on physical rehabilitation and medical services provided in 2009 through Form J of its Article 7 transparency report, but information on community-based rehabilitation services was repeated from the previous year’s report.[19]

Survivor inclusion

Representative organizations of survivors and persons with disabilities were included in coordination and planning activities through the Steering Committee on Landmine Victim Assistance and now through DAC. Survivors were included in implementation of services by NGOs.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2009[20]

No significant improvements in the quantity of victim assistance services were reported for 2009. This was particularly apparent in emergency medical care, where the emergency medical services system required renovation and response activities were inefficient.[21] Cambodia stated that many survivors were still not able to meet basic needs for shelter, food, health, physical rehabilitation, vocational training, job opportunities, and education. The government’s budget remained limited.[22]

No change was reported in the overall accessibility and availability of physical rehabilitation and prosthetics. As in previous years, there were 11 physical rehabilitation centers and orthopedic workshops covering 24 provinces.  However, the number of lower and upper limb prostheses for mine/ERW survivors provided in 2009 increased by 15%, from 3,612 in 2008 to 4,151 in 2009, and repairs to prostheses for survivors increased significantly, from 3,011 in 2008 to 8,198 in 2009.[23] During 2009, slower than planned progress was reported in transferring rehabilitation management capability and responsibility to national ownership under the MoSVY by 2011. This was due mainly to a lack of funding at the MoSVY.[24] The financial difficulties were reportedly compounded by the global financial crisis and the MoSVY appealed to the representative NGOs to continue their support to the sector. No information was provided on how sustainability of the physical rehabilitation sector would be ensured.[25]

Limited psychological support services continued to be offered through the Ministry of Health’s mental health units or referral hospitals, but these did not function well. Psychosocial support activities expanded through the community-based rehabilitation network and the development of self-help groups.[26] The number of self-help groups, most supported by NGOs, grew in 2009.[27] In 2009, VI started to facilitate the formation of federations among self-help groups so they could better advocate for access to development initiatives in their communities.[28]

There were no reports of significant improvement in availability of economic inclusion services other than those provided by NGOs.[29]  Cambodia did not update its Article 7 reporting for 2008 in which it had stated that many economic inclusion projects had been postponed or ended due to the lack of funding.[30] Two CWARS vocational training centers closed (in Kampong Thom and Pursat) after CWARS deemed they had completed training for the project’s target beneficiaries in those areas. CWARS, in collaboration with the government, continued to operate three other centers.[31] No significant changes were reported for other vocational training centers for persons with disabilities and the number of mine/ERW survivors in mainstream vocational training institutions remained very small.[32] However, HI-F and OEC continued their 2008–2010 economic inclusion project through which peer training, apprenticeships, and community-based trainings were organized as an alternative to vocational training centers. Mine/ERW survivors and family members of survivors made up 70% of beneficiaries, of which 49% were women. [33]

In 2009, DAC, with the MosSVY’s Rehabilitation Department, visited vocational training centers for persons with disabilities to ensure the effective implementation of the Circular on Improving the Quality of Vocational Training Centers for Persons with Disabilities (2008).[34]

In May 2009, the National Assembly passed the Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, prohibiting discrimination, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of persons with disabilities.[35] The law did not adequately address comprehensive employment and economic inclusion needs for people with disabilities, but did specify a quota system.[36] By the end of 2009, guidelines for the law’s implementation were not yet in place and the MoSVY was drafting subdecrees to support the law.[37] Throughout 2009, people with disabilities continued to lack equal access to education, training, and employment and were not fully included in their communities.[38]

The 2009 law requires that buildings and government services be accessible to persons with disabilities.[39] However, in 2009 inaccessibility to public buildings, transport, facilities, and referral systems prevented persons with disabilities from actively participating in social and economic activities in Cambodia.[40]

Cambodia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 1 October 2007 but had not yet ratified it as of 1 August 2010.