Although
progress has been made since the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty,
landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to claim new
victims.[31] In 2000 and through
May 2001, Landmine Monitor finds that there were new landmine/UXO victims in 73
countries.[32] Landmine Monitor
also registered mine casualties in nine regions it monitors because of their
significant landmine/UXO
problems.[33] In calendar year
2000, new victims were registered in 70 countries and eight regions. In 2001,
additional casualties were recorded in Cuba, Ecuador, Indonesia and the Golan
Heights. The sources of data included official databases, government records,
hospital records, media reports, surveys/assessments, and interviews.
Landmine Monitor has identified approximately 8,000 new landmine/UXO
casualties in calendar year 2000. However, this number is far from the actual
total of new mine victims. This figure does not include the thousands of
casualties that are believed to go unreported as victims are killed or injured
in remote areas away from any form of assistance or means of communication.
There is no reliable reporting in some heavily-affected countries; for example,
the 8,000 figure does not include casualties in Burma (which Landmine Monitor
Report 2000 estimated could be some 1,500 per year), or in Vietnam (where
the government estimates more than 100,000 mine/UXO casualties since the
war’s end).
While it is impossible to arrive at a precise total, it
would seem certain that the number of new mine victims is now on the order of
15,000 to 20,000 per year, an encouraging decline from the long-standing and
widely used estimate of 26,000 per year.
From January 2000 to the end of May
2001, landmine/UXO casualties were reported in:
Landmine and Uxo Casualties In 2000-2001
AFRICA
AMERICAS
ASIA-PACIFIC
EUROPE/ CENTRAL ASIA
MIDDLE EAST/ NORTH AFRICA
Angola
Bolivia
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Burundi
Chile
Bangladesh
Armenia
Egypt
Chad
Colombia
Burma (Myanmar)
Azerbaijan
Iran
DR Congo
Cuba
Cambodia
Belarus*
Iraq
Djibouti
Ecuador
China
Belgium*
Israel
Eritrea
El Salvador
India
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Jordan
Ethiopia
Nicaragua
Indonesia
Croatia
Kuwait
Guinea-Bissau
Peru
Korea, RO
Estonia
Lebanon
Kenya
Laos
Georgia
Morocco
Liberia
Mongolia*
Greece
Yemen
Malawi
Nepal
Kyrgyzstan
Golan Heights
Mauritania
Pakistan
Latvia*
Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Mozambique
Philippines
Macedonia
Palestine
Namibia
Sri Lanka
Russia
Western Sahara
Rwanda
Thailand
Tajikistan
Senegal
Vietnam
Turkey
Somalia
Ukraine
Sudan
Uzbekistan
Uganda
Yugoslavia, FR
Zimbabwe
Abkhazia
Somaliland
Chechnya
Kosovo
Nagorno-Karabakh
* Casualties identified as being caused by UXO only
Scale of the Problem
Complete data on landmine/UXO casualties is
difficult to obtain, particularly in countries experiencing ongoing conflict or
with limited communication systems. To address this problem, in several
mine-affected countries databases have been set up to systematically collect
information on mine victims. In others, NGOs are carrying out surveys to assess
the extent of the problem.
In 2000-2001, as shown in the chart, mine/UXO
accidents are still occurring in every region of the world: in 20 countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, in 19 countries in Europe and Central Asia, in 16 countries
in Asia and the Pacific, in 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa,
and in 8 countries in the Americas. While ongoing conflict is a major problem
in several mine-affected countries, Landmine Monitor has found that a majority
(45) of the 73 countries that suffered new mine/UXO casualties in 2000-2001 had
not experienced any active armed conflict during the research period. In many
cases, the conflict had ended years or even decades ago.
Although in many
instances Landmine Monitor considers the casualty figures to be incomplete, a
sampling of the findings from the Landmine Monitor Report 2001 country
reports follows. It should be noted these findings are for calendar year 2000,
unless otherwise stated, and that some include casualties only for certain
regions of a country.
In Angola, 840 casualties were recorded;
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, 92 casualties were recorded;
In Chad, approximately 300 casualties were reported over the past 24
months;
In Colombia, 83 casualties were reported;
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 189 casualties have been reported since
1997;
In Eritrea, 49 casualties were reported in May and June 2000;
In Georgia, 51 casualties were reported between January and June 2001;
In Lebanon, 113 casualties were recorded;
In Namibia, 139 casualties were reported;
In Somalia, 147 casualties were reported in just two central regions;
In Somaliland, 107 casualties were recorded;
In Sudan, more than 321 casualties were reported between September 1999 and
March 2001;
In Tajikistan, 58 casualties were reported between August 2000 and early May
2001;
In Thailand, 350 casualties were identified in the Level One Survey over the
past 24 months;
In Uganda, 602 casualties were identified between 1991 and March
2001.
Several countries reported mine/UXO casualties in 2000 and
2001 that had not done so in 1999: Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Indonesia,
Malawi, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. Only in the cases of Indonesia (Aceh) and
Uzbekistan were the new mine/UXO casualties the result of new instances of
conflict.
Several countries were dropped from Landmine Monitor’s
previous casualty list, due to lack of tangible evidence to indicate new
victims, although these countries remain mine-affected: Cyprus, North Korea,
Moldova, Niger, Oman, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia. It should be noted
that although Tanzania has recorded no new casualties in 2000-2001, the country
does provide assistance to mine survivors coming over the border from
Burundi.
In some of the heavily-affected countries and regions, notably those
with established mine casualty databases, it appears that the casualty rate is
declining, in some cases quite substantially:
In Afghanistan, an average of 88 casualties per month were recorded in 2000,
compared to 130 per month in 1999; although it should be noted that MAPA still
estimates a true casualty rate of between 150 and 300 per month;
In Albania, 35 casualties were recorded in 2000, down from 191 in 1999;
In Cambodia, 802 casualties were recorded in 2000, down from 1,049 in
1999;
In Croatia, 22 casualties were recorded in 2000, down from 51 in 1999;
In Kosovo, 95 casualties were recorded in 2000, down from 342 registered
between 16 June (end of conflict) and 31 December 1999;
In Nagorno-Karabakh, 15 casualties were recorded in 2000, down from 30 in
1999.
In a number of mine-affected countries and regions the
casualty rate appeared to increase in 2000-2001. In some countries the increase
is to be due to a new or expanded conflict, or the movement of refugees and
IDPs: Colombia, Chechnya, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Namibia, and Tajikistan. In
other countries the increase appears to be a result of improved data collection,
for example, Armenia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
In 2000/2001, landmine/UXO
casualties also include nationals coming from mine-free countries, or other
mine-affected countries, killed or injured while abroad engaged in military or
demining operations, peacekeeping, tourism, or other activities. These
countries include Bhutan, Canada, France, Honduras, Macedonia, Norway, Portugal,
Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Kingdom, and the United States of
America.
In addition to the new casualties registered in 2000-2001, Landmine
Monitor has previously identified more than 30 other countries with an incidence
of landmine survivors from previous years. In other words, countries with no
new landmine casualties in 2000-2001, but which nevertheless have landmine
survivors from prior years that still require assistance. Consequently, more
than half the countries in the world are affected to some extent by the landmine
problem and the issue of survivors.
Regardless of the difficulties in
obtaining complete data, based on the information gathered for Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, two points are clear:
landmines continue to pose a significant, lasting and non-discriminatory
threat; and
the majority of new mine victims are civilians.
Landmine Victims: Needs and Assistance
The principal actors in victim assistance generally
agree that victim assistance includes the following
components:[34]
Pre-hospital Care
(first aid and management of injuries): Healthcare and community workers in
mine-affected areas should be trained in emergency first aid to respond
effectively to landmine and other traumatic injuries.
Hospital Care (medical
care, surgery, pain management): Medical facilities should have medical care
and supplies that meet basic standards.
Rehabilitation (physiotherapy,
prosthetic appliances and assistive devices, psychological support):
Rehabilitative services should produce devices that are safe, durable, and can
be maintained and repaired locally. Community-based peer support groups can
offer cost-effective psychological, social and other benefits.
Social and
Economic Reintegration (associations, skills and vocational training, income
generating projects, sports): Assistance programs must work to improve the
economic status of the disabled population in mine-affected communities through
education, economic development and community infrastructure and creation of
employment opportunities.
Disability Policy and Practice (education and
public awareness and disability laws): National legislation should promote
effective treatment, care and protection for all disabled citizens, including
landmine survivors.
Health and Social Welfare Surveillance and Research
capacities (data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting).
Survivor/Victim Assistance
The Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance promotes a comprehensive, integrated approach to victim assistance
that rests on a three-tiered definition of a landmine victim. This means that a
victim includes directly affected individuals, their families, and mine-affected
communities. Consequently, victim assistance is viewed as a wide range of
activities that benefit individuals, families and communities.
However,
throughout the Landmine Monitor Report 2001 the term Survivor
Assistance is used in the country reports to describe activities directed at
landmine victims. The focus of the research for this report is on the
individual directly affected by a mine accident. The use of the term
survivor is intended to emphasize this distinction.
Capacities of Affected States to Provide Assistance to Landmine Victims
A detailed analysis of States’ efforts and
capacities to adequately address the needs of landmine victims, and the disabled
in general, is beyond the scope of the research undertaken for this
report.[35] In the Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, details on the availability of the various components
of survivor assistance in mine-affected countries were
presented.[36] Little has changed
in the provision of services during this reporting period. Nevertheless, from
the research collected some general observations can be made.
It is believed that many mine casualties die before reaching medical
assistance;
In many of the countries reporting new casualties, the assistance provided
to mine victims is inadequate to meet their needs;
Most services are located in urban centers whereas the majority of mine
survivors can be found in rural areas where the concentration of mine pollution
is greatest;
The majority of resources continue to be directed toward medical and
physical rehabilitation;
In the majority of countries with mine survivors the demand for new and
replacement prostheses exceeds the available supply;
Generally, the availability of assistance in psychological support and
socio-economic reintegration is limited or non-existent;
International Organizations, international and local NGOs, and UN agencies
continue to play a key role in the delivery of services to mine survivors;
Generally, the care afforded to civilian mine casualties is not as
comprehensive as that available to military casualties;
The economic situation of many mine-affected countries is an obstacle to the
provision of adequate assistance to landmine survivors;
On-going conflict, and the consequent security concerns, in some
mine-affected countries is severely hampering the ability of the government and
international agencies to provide adequate assistance to landmine survivors;
and
The development of programs that address the needs of landmine survivors,
and the disabled population in general, is being hampered by the practice of
many donors to only fund individual programs for a limited period of time. A
commitment to long-term funding is needed to ensure sustainability and the
building of local capacities to carry-on the programs.
Sample of Regional Developments and Key Findings
Global
In 2000, the ICRC
provided prostheses to 9,882 landmine
amputees.[37]
Form J, the
voluntary victim assistance reporting attachment to the Article 7 Report was
submitted by eleven governments up to July 2001: Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Sweden, Thailand, and
Zimbabwe.
Africa
In Angola, national authorities have adopted a new
five-year plan for physical rehabilitation.
In Mozambique, the recently
created Council for Action on Disability will work closely with NGOs and
international agencies to build capacity internally and move toward long-term
sustainability of programs for the disabled.
In Uganda, a new disability
policy has been put in place.
Americas
In Colombia, the government has launched a new
Program for Mine Accident Prevention and Victim Assistance.
In Guatemala, the
Center for International Rehabilitation is designing a specific victim
assistance and rehabilitation program that will be replicated throughout the
country in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
In Nicaragua, the
government, through the CND and together with NGOs and international
organizations, is in the process of developing a national policy on victim
assistance that will take into account rehabilitation and economic
reintegration.
Asia-Pacific
In Afghanistan, due to a budget shortfall in 2000,
UNOPS/CDAP had to reduce its community rehabilitation program from 64 to 46
districts.
In Cambodia, the Disability Action Council, together with
affiliated members and relevant government ministries, issued the Cambodian Plan
of Action, which provides an orientation strategy for the disability and
rehabilitation sector.
In China, the CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13
report included for the first time a section on Rehabilitation and Relief of
Civilians Accidentally Injured by Landmines.
Europe/Central Asia
In Albania, an agreement was signed between the
Albanian Mine Action Center and the Slovenian International Trust Fund to
provide forty mine survivors with prostheses up to June 2001.
In Armenia, in
October 2000 the Yerevan Prosthetic and Orthotic Center stopped providing
medical assistance due to a lack of funding. Operations were resumed in
February 2001.
In Azerbaijan, the Victim Assistance component of the National
Mine Action Plan, budgeted to cost $150,000, has not been implemented due to the
absence of donor funding.
In Chechnya, UNICEF with the support of a local
NGO, Voice of the Mountains, is developing a database on mine casualties. Women
and children were reported as suffering 34 percent of all landmine and UXO
injuries, which account for 67 percent of all casualties related to
hostilities.
In Georgia, the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs is
developing a special program for the care and rehabilitation of the
disabled.
In Ukraine, the government fulfilled its budget obligations and
financed the activities of the orthopedic centers in full. A series of state
decrees relating to the disabled, including mine victims, have been
accepted.
Middle East/North Africa
In Algeria, the Ministry of National Solidarity and
Handicap International signed a partnership agreement to establish a program to
provide assistance to the disabled.
In Egypt, the Minister of Social Affairs
signed a year 2000 budget for $27,000 for the compensation of mine/UXO
victims.
In Iraq, the ICRC reports that an estimated 3,000 patients per year
receive ICRC prostheses, of whom over 50 percent are mine survivors.
In
Lebanon, the Ministry of Health stopped providing prosthetic services due to a
lack of funding. In May 2000, a new disability law was passed by the
Parliament.
In Yemen, the Ministry of Insurance, Social Affairs, and Labor
(MOISA) and the Ministry of Public Health, in partnership with Handicap
International (Belgium) established a rehabilitation center in Aden. MOISA has
reorganized its community based rehabilitation program to be more responsive to
the needs of landmine survivors.
Addressing the Needs of Survivors
Added to the number of new casualties each year are
the survivors from previous years, estimated in Landmine Monitor Report
1999 to number 300,000. Consequently, the number of survivors requiring
assistance continues to grow every year. It was also noted that in many
mine-affected countries, the assistance provided to mine casualties is
inadequate to meet their needs.
In contrast to mine clearance activities,
which potentially have an end point, the needs of landmine survivors are
long-term. A landmine survivor will require ongoing medical and rehabilitation
services, and services assisting in socio-economic reintegration and
psychological support. For amputees, prostheses will require repair and
replacement. To ensure sustainability, assistance to landmine survivors should
be viewed as a part of a country’s overall public health and social
services system. Landmine survivors should not be viewed as a group separate
from other war victims or persons with disabilities. In providing resources to
support programs that address the needs of landmine survivors, the international
community is in effect assisting to build the infrastructure that will benefit
all people with disabilities in a mine-affected country. Ideally, victim
assistance programs should be open to all persons with disabilities, but with
clear benefits and explicit inclusion of landmine victims. It is essential that
support from the international community focuses on local capacity-building and
that each element of victim assistance be seen as a step towards the complete
rehabilitation of survivors, and other persons with disabilities, into the wider
community.
States and Victim Assistance
The Mine Ban Treaty requires, in Article 6.3, that
“Each State in a position to do so shall provide assistance for the care
and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims and
for mine awareness programs.”
As with the number of new victims,
precise, comprehensive and comparable figures for victim assistance funding are
difficult to obtain as some governments do not provide specific amounts for
victim assistance, but rather consider victim assistance as an integrated part
of humanitarian mine action. In other instances, some countries, for example
the United Kingdom, do not specify amounts for victim assistance although
assistance is provided through bilateral development cooperation. Another
problem is differences in reporting periods (fiscal years) in donor countries.
In addition, many victim assistance programs are carried out by NGOs who receive
funding from private donors. Therefore, information provided by Landmine
Monitor should not be taken as fully representative of the total global funding
for victim assistance programs in a given year.
From information provided in
country reports, donors to mine victim assistance in 2000-2001
included:[38]
Australia $1.88
million
Austria $233,105
Belgium $716,172
Canada $1.34
million
Finland $147,000
France $213,980
Germany $1
million
Ireland $341,743
Italy $1.32
million
Japan $1.14 million
Netherlands $2.41 million
New
Zealand $93,842
Norway $4.48 million
United States of America up to
$11 million
Member countries of the European Union also contribute to EU
mine action programs. The EU contributed to victim assistance programs in 2000
through various departments, including the European Commission Humanitarian
Office (ECHO). In 2000, 20% percent of overall contributions from the European
Commission and the Member States was allocated to Victim Assistance
programs.[39]
In 2000, 11
countries, the European Union, and 12 organizations and companies contributed
about $29 million to the Slovenian International Trust Fund for Demining and
Victim Assistance. (See Slovenia country report). However, only $1.4 million
went to victim assistance programs, well below the ITF’s target of 15
percent. The fund has reportedly been unable to attract donors to support
victim assistance.
The ICRC Special Appeal for Mine Action, which focuses
on mine awareness and victim assistance continued to attract donors including
South Africa and Sweden. It should be noted that in some cases amounts listed
above against specific countries include a component of funding to the ICRC
Special Appeal.
As more donor countries complete the voluntary Form J
attachment to the Article 7 report, it is envisaged that it will be possible to
provide a clearer picture of victim assistance programs and the funding
available.
The Intersessional Standing Committee
The Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine Awareness (SC-VA) continued
its work in 2000-2001. Since September 2000 the SC-VA has been co-chaired by
Japan and Nicaragua, having taken over this role from Mexico and Switzerland.
The co-rapporteurs are Canada and Honduras (who will become co-chairs in
September 2001).
Building on previous outcomes, important work was
accomplished during two intersessional meetings, held in December 2000 and May
2001, in Geneva, Switzerland. The meetings continued in what has been described
as a “spirit of practical cooperation, inclusivity and
collegiality.” Both meetings were also well attended by numerous
international and non-governmental organizations, including the ICBL. The
meetings continued with six main themes: raising the voices of landmine
survivors; linking resources with needs; implementing lessons learned relating
to coordination of victim assistance; guidelines, information dissemination and
information management; social and economic reintegration; and mine
awareness.
At the May 2001 meeting, participants were introduced to eight
landmine survivors from the Americas who are involved in the first phase of the
“raising the voices” initiative. The “survivor
advocates” will be trained to enhance their capacity to represent,
organize and advocate on behalf of landmine survivors and other disabled persons
in their home countries, and to actively participate in SC-VA meetings and other
meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty process.
The SC-VA was successful in
encouraging States Parties to accept, and complete, the new, voluntary Article 7
Form J for reporting on victim assistance activities and other matters.
Discussions have continued on the need to further develop and use the various
indicators available in order to obtain a more comprehensive view on the level
of need as it pertains to victim assistance. The Co-Chairs encouraged the ICBL
Working Group on Victim Assistance and other relevant actors to pursue their
work in this area. The challenges faced in providing adequate victim assistance
were also discussed. The first Portfolio of Victim Assistance Programs, another
SC-VA initiative, listing a selection of victim assistance projects worldwide
was released in September 2000. A second edition is due for release in
September 2001.
The need for coordination of victim assistance at a national
level was reiterated. At least two studies will be undertaken in 2001 to
address this issue. The GICHD, in cooperation with UNMAS, is undertaking a
study on the role of mine action in assistance to mine and UXO victims. The
results of the study are due for release in the last quarter of 2001. The
second study involves a workshop organized by Handicap International in
Southeast Asia in November 2001. The workshop’s main objective is to
exchange views on the methods used to meet the challenges defined in country
action plans.
Following a commitment made in December 2000, the Co-Chairs
released a compilation of guidelines entitled Providing assistance to
landmine victims: A collection of guidelines, best practices and
methodologies. The text will also be available in French and Spanish by the
Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001.
The focus of discussions
on social and economic reintegration centered on vocational and psycho-social
rehabilitation. In terms of vocational rehabilitation states and relevant
organizations were encouraged to work toward reducing vulnerability and
promoting self-reliance.
The SC received an update from international
organizations and NGOs concerning the development of preventive education
efforts in mine-affected countries. The need for more time to discuss mine
awareness within the Standing Committee framework was raised. It was reiterated
that the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance and Related Technologies would be
a more appropriate forum in which to discuss mine awareness.
Finally,
participants were reminded that the purpose of the SC-VA is to identify
practical means of ensuring implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The
Co-Chairs encouraged all participants to consider mechanisms for ensuring that
the profusion of information, advice and suggestions presented to the SC-VA are
converted into concrete actions that benefit landmine victims.
[31] For the
purposes of Landmine Monitor research casualties include victims of
antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, UXO, and in some instances improvised
explosive devices that function as AP mines. From the information available in
many countries it is not always possible to determine with certainty the type of
weapon that caused the
incident.
[32] In the 2000/2001
period, Landmine Monitor researchers definitively recorded new mine/UXO
casualties in 71 countries; in another two countries, casualties were not
formally reported, but evidence points to the strong likelihood of new victims,
based on the scope of the landmine problem and reports of victims in earlier
years.
[33] These include
Abkhazia, Chechnya, Golan Heights, Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Iraq
(Iraqi Kurdistan), Palestine, Somaliland, and Western Sahara.
[34] For further information
see Guidelines for the Care and Rehabilitation of Survivors, ICBL Working
Group on Victim Assistance. See also Providing assistance to landmine
victims: A collection of guidelines, best practices and methodologies,
compiled by the Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance,
Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine Awareness, May
2001.
[35] A more detailed study
on this important area is compiled by Handicap International. The second
edition of the report, entitled Landmine Victim Assistance : World Report
2001, due for release in December 2001 examines a wide range of indicators
to determine a state’s capacity to adequately address the needs of the
disabled, including landmine
victims.
[36] For details see
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp.
27-31.
[37] ICRC Annual Report
2000, p. 20.
[38] All amounts are
expressed in U.S. dollars.
[39]
Email from Veronica Borghini, Assistant to Daniella Dicorrado, Chair of the Mine
Action Coordination Group, European Commission External Relations Directorate
General (Directorate CFSP Security Policy), to Annalisa Formiconi, Handicap
International (Belgium), 26 July 2001.