Casualties Overview

In 2010, the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) recorded 286 mine, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and cluster munition remnants casualties. Of the total casualties, some 90% (260) were civilians. About 30% of the civilian casualties were children (80): 61 were boys and 19 girls. Of the total adult civilian casualties, 146 were men and 34 women. Two deminers were injured in demining accidents and another 24 casualties were security personnel, including four Thai nationals who were all killed.[1]

The 286 casualties in 2010 represented an increase from the 244 mine/ERW casualties recorded in 2009 and is the highest number of annual casualties since 2007. However, the number of mine/ERW incidents was the same as in 2009 (150). The increase in casualties can be attributed to antivehicle mine incidents, which caused multiple casualties in each incident. The number of antivehicle mine casualties more than doubled from the 36 recorded in 2009. The 2010 annual total remained much lower than the number of casualties recorded prior to 2005 when a continuing decrease became the trend.[2]

As of the end of 2010, CMVIS reported at least 63,815 mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia: 19,576 killed and 44,239 injured since 1979.[3]

For the period 1998 to the end of 2010, 157 cluster munition remnant casualties were reported in Cambodia.[4]

Victim Assistance

The number of known mine/ERW survivors in Cambodia was reported to be 13,227.[5] However, given that over 40,000 people have been injured by mines/ERW, the actual number is likely much higher.

Assessing victim assistance needs

No systematic needs assessment for mine/ERW survivors was reported in 2010. Identifying mine survivors was a challenge to service providers because the information required to locate them was not easily accessible.[6] Disability statistics were not reliable and needed to be improved for better service provision.[7] 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.[8] Identifying the family members of those killed by mines/ERW was another challenge, as efforts to locate them were insufficient.[9]

Victim assistance coordination[10]

The new National Disability Coordination Committee (NDCC) was chaired by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) and the Disability Action Council (DAC) which is also under the MoSVY and included service providers of victim assistance as well as other key actors. The NDCC was assigned to monitor, follow up, and report on implementation of the National Plan of Action. The NDCC replaced the Steering Committee for Landmine Victim Assistance in August 2009, but began meeting for the first time in March 2010.[11] The initial meeting informed other NDCC members about the mandate of the Committee, began to identify six technical sub-committees of the NDCC, and promoted implementation of the National Plan of Action and the 2009 disability law.[12] The NDCC conducted two meetings in 2010 (the other in August) in order to strengthen and promote its role.[13]

There was a need to strengthen the DAC secretariat so that it could facilitate the NDCC and ensure the functioning of its six sub-committees.[14] By June 2011, Cambodia reported that the NDCC and its sub-committees had agreed on actions to implement the 2009–2011 National Plan of Action.[15]  A three-year strategy (2011–2013) for the implementation of the national disability law and the National Plan of Action was developed.[16] In some cases, the full period for compliance to the disability law extends to 2015.[17]

While the National Plan of Action relates to all persons with disabilities, according to the 2010-2019 National Mine Action Strategy, adopted in November 2010, mine action stakeholders should continue to play a critical role in enhancing services tailored to the specific needs of survivors through data collection, advocacy, and resource mobilization, while giving support to the MoSVY and the broader disability assistance community.[18]

The MoSVY and DAC, in collaboration with partner NGOs, organized a national workshop in June 2010 to disseminate the disability law and National Plan of Action in Phnom Penh.[19]

A national workshop for disseminating the national CBR Guidelines was held by the MoSVY, DAC and development partners in August 2010.[20]

The MoSVY had the core responsibility for coordinating rehabilitation services and training in vocational skills for persons with disabilities. Several other ministries were involved in disability issues, including the Ministry of Health (MoH), which promoted physiotherapy services; the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, with a Special Education Office responsible for promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities; the Ministries of Public Works and Transport; and National Defense.[21] Cambodia reported that the lack of a comprehensive strategic management agenda for the MoSVY to give it direction and specific objectives “made the proper coordination and accountability of government services very difficult, as well as complicating effective monitoring and evaluation of the vast majority of services that are [provided] by partner organizations.”[22]

Cambodia provided updates on progress in the coordination of victim assistance in 2010 at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 and the meeting of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in June 2011. Cambodia gave updates on physical rehabilitation and medical services provided by NGOs in 2010 through Form J of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.[23]

Survivor inclusion

Representative organizations of survivors and persons with disabilities were included in coordination and planning activities through the NDCC. Organizations working for persons with disabilities were also consulted in the development of the strategy for the implementation of the national disability law and the National Plan of Action. However, ongoing consultation with persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, in all areas of coordination and planning remained a challenge. There was a recognized a need for greater involvement of all stakeholders, especially persons with disabilities, to achieve real positive change.[24] Four persons with disabilities are members of the DAC, including the Deputy Chairman.[25]

Survivors were included in implementation of many services provided by NGOs.[26]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[27]

Most people with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, are highly vulnerable. Many lack education and literacy and have no work or land to live from. Overall they received little or no support. Vulnerable groups do not have full access to social services, health, and healthcare. Often there was a complete lack of accessibility, service provision, and information. In 2010 Cambodia reported that rehabilitation services were being strengthened and expanded and that there was progress in providing vocational training and social inclusion activities for persons with disabilities.[28] While the focus of government coordination was on disability plans and legislation and strengthening existing national structures, most victim assistance services were maintained by NGOs acting regionally and assisting survivors identified in local communities. Programs administered by NGOs brought about substantial improvements in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in 2010.[29]

Transportation to reach medical facilities remained inadequate. Emergency transportation or ambulance services were not widely available and in some areas of the country it took a day or more to access appropriate emergency care services. This was compounded by a lack of serviceable roads, especially in remote areas and during the rainy season, which further reduced the chances of survival.[30] In mid-2011, Cambodia reported that health services provided to new mine/ERW survivors improved in some mine/ERW affected communities.[31] Emergency services were free; however, ongoing medical care was not, and there was an urgent need for the provision of free hospital care for vulnerable people with disabilities.[32]

As in previous years, there were 11 physical rehabilitation centers and orthopedic workshops covering 24 provinces. However, there was a sharp decrease in the number of prostheses produced for mine/ERW survivors reported by Cambodia in 2010, compared to the high level provided in 2009: 2,584 prostheses, down 38% from 4,151 in 2009 (3,612 in 2008). Repairs to prostheses for survivors also decreased significantly: to 2,497, about 70% less than the 8,198 produced in 2009 (3,011 in 2008).[33] 

During 2010, information about progress in transferring rehabilitation management capability and responsibility to national ownership under the MoSVY by 2011 was not presented in government statements and reports.[34] In 2010, the MoSVY reported that financial difficulties had been compounded by the global financial crisis and the MoSVY appealed to the representative NGOs to continue their support to the sector.[35] A memorandum of understanding between the MoSVY and physical rehabilitation providers had been signed in June 2008 whereby the MoSVY was to become responsible for 11 provincial rehabilitation centers over three years. It was hoped that NGOs would continue to provide financial and technical support. Organizations could also continue to operate centers under MoSVY coordination.[36]

In 2010, the ICRC continued cooperation with the MoSVY for the two centers it supports and the national prosthetic-orthotic component factory. Since 2004, the ICRC had been reducing its role in managing those projects to focus on strengthening the MoSVY capacity while transferring responsibilities to the ministry. The MoSVY continued to gradually take over increased financial and managerial responsibilities for running the two centers and the component factory, developing new tools for coordinating and leading the rehabilitation sector with ICRC support.[37]

As stipulated in the memorandum of understanding (2008–2010), HI-B agreed with the MoSVY to hand over physical rehabilitation centers in Siem Reap and Takeo on the first of January 2011. The management of the two centers was placed under the supervision of the provincial Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation. From the beginning of 2011, the scope of services at the centers no longer included outreach activities. All other activities were ongoing and a high level of quality was maintained. In 2011, HI-B planned to continue covering a significant part of the centers’ budgets. However, the support was not planned for 2012, when both operational and financial management would be under the MoSVY.[38]

VI reported signing a memorandum of understanding with the MoSVY in January 2011 that would lead to handover of its rehabilitation centers over three years.[39] This was a step-by-step process of integration, for sustainability. Funding for the centers was secured but the possibility that the government would relocate the VI’s Kien Khleang center to Phnom Penh Thmey raised a serious question about accessibility for existing beneficiaries from the area.[40]

The Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics became completely Cambodian-run in 2010, with no more expatriate technicians. National staff had been educated to degree level in Australia. In 2010, the Cambodia Trust moved from rented premises into a new custom-designed building in Phnom Penh.[41]  

Cambodia lacked a national integrated system for psychological or psychiatric assistance, and most available services were provided by a limited number of NGOs.[42] The number of self-help groups, most supported by NGOs, continued to increase overall in 2010.[43]

There were no reports of significant change in availability of economic inclusion services in 2010, with most programs continued from the previous year.  However, another CWARS vocational training center closed, in Banteay Meanchey, soon after CWARS ended its management. The provincial Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation took over operations briefly before it closed down.[44] This followed the closure of Kampong Thom and Pursat centers in 2009–2010. OEC continued an economic inclusion project, supported by HI-F, until the end of 2010. Under this project, the income of 75% of the beneficiaries increased (almost fourfold on average) and 87% reported improved quality of life.[45]

The 2009 Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities prohibits discrimination, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of persons with disabilities. The government continued efforts to implement the law. By year's end, the Council of Ministers had approved three of four sub-decrees to support the law and was reviewing a fourth.[46] It was reported that some 14 sub-decrees were needed for effective implementation of the law.[47] These sub-decrees involve participation and approval from the MoSVY, MoH, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.[48]

Throughout 2010, people with disabilities continued to lack equal access to education, training, and employment and were not fully included in their communities.[49] The law did not adequately address comprehensive employment and economic inclusion needs for people with disabilities, but did specify a quota system.[50] Secondary legislation for implementing the quota system for employing people with disabilities was adopted in 2010.[51] However, additional legislation was needed to make the quota system operable, including decrees on types and categories of disability and on types of employment for persons with disabilities to be covered by the system.[52]

The 2009 law requires that buildings and government services be accessible to persons with disabilities.[53] However, inaccessibility to public buildings, transport, facilities, and referral systems prevented persons with disabilities from actively participating in social and economic activities in Cambodia.[54] Cambodia reported that there is often a complete lack of accessibility in service provision and information.[55]

Since 2007, Australia had provided significant assistance for victim assistance in Cambodia through its Landmine Survivors Assistance Program, managed by ARC. In 2010, the program was reoriented be more inclusive of activities for all persons with disabilities and became the Cambodian Initiative for Disability Inclusion under Australia’s Development for All Strategy.[56]

Cambodia signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 1 October 2007, but had not yet ratified it as of 1 August 2011.