Landmine/UXO Casualties and Survivor Assistance

LANDMINE/UXO CASUALTIES

• Fewer new victims. Landmine Monitor estimatesthat there are now some 15,000 to 20,000 new casualties from landmines andunexploded ordnance (UXO) each year, an encouraging decrease from thelong-standing and commonly cited figure of 26,000 victims. Nevertheless, thenumber of survivors requiring assistance continues to grow from the 1998estimate of 300,000 people.
• In 2000 and through May 2001, Landmine Monitor found that there were newlandmine/UXO victims in 73 countries, and also in nine regions it monitorsbecause of their significant landmine/UXO problems. In 2000-2001, landmine/UXOaccidents occurred in every region of the world: in 20 countries insub-Saharan Africa, in 19 countries in Europe and Central Asia, in 16countries in Asia and the Pacific, in 10 countries in the Middle East andNorth Africa, and in 8 countries in the Americas. (See table on followingpage.)
  • In some heavily-affected countries and regions, notably those withestablished mine casualty databases, the casualty rate is declining:
  • 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.
  • Albania 35 casualties recorded in 2000, down from 191 in 1999.
  • Cambodia 802 casualties recorded in 2000, down from 1,049 in 1999.
  • Croatia 22 casualties recorded in 2000, down from 51 in 1999.
  • Kosovo 95 casualties recorded in 2000, down from 342 registered between 16 June (end of conflict) and 31 December 1999.
  • Nagorno-Karabakh 15 casualties recorded in 2000, down from 30 in 1999.
• Landmine Monitor identified approximately 8,000 new landmine/UXOcasualties in calendar year 2000. However, this number is far from the actualtotal of new mine victims as it does not include the thousands of casualtiesthat are believed to go unreported as victims are killed or injured in remoteareas away from any form of assistance or means of communication. Although inmany instances Landmine Monitor considers the casualty figures to beincomplete, a sampling of the findings from the Landmine Monitor Report2001 country reports follows. These findings are for calendar year 2000,unless otherwise stated, and some include casualties only for certain regions.
  • Angola 840 casualties recorded.
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina 92 casualties recorded.
  • Chad approximately 300 casualties were reported over the past 24 months.
  • Democratic Republic of Congo 189 casualties reported since 1997.
  • Eritrea 49 casualties reported in only May and June 2000.
  • Lebanon 113 casualties recorded.
  • Somalia 147 casualties reported in just two central regions.
  • Sudan more than 321 casualties reported between September 1999 and March 2001.
  • Tajikistan 58 casualties reported between August 2000 and early May 2001.
  • Thailand 350 casualties identified over the past 24 months.
• In 2000/2001, there were nationals killed or injured by landmines/UXOwhile abroad engaged in military or demining operations, peacekeeping,tourism, or other activities. These included nationals from Bhutan, Canada,France, Honduras, Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Slovak Republic, South Africa,Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
• Landmines and UXO continue to claim new victims in 2001 including:
  • Cambodia between January and April 2001, 328 casualties were recorded.
  • Colombia between January and July 2001, 138 mine casualties were reported, including 27 killed and 111 injured.
  • Georgia between January and June 2001, 51 landmine/UXO casualties were reported.
  • Namibia nine were killed and 31 injured in the period January to May 2001.
  • Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) casualties continue to be reported at an average rate of 31 per month in 2001.

• The number of new victims is not the only indicatorof the landmine problem landmines are also a development issue and theirsocio-economic impact on mine-affected communities must be considered.

SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE

With new casualties reported each year the number of landmine survivors continues to grow from the 1998 US State Department estimate of 300,000. Survivors are found not only in countries reporting new casualties but also in countries whose nationals have been injured during military operations, peacekeeping, demining operations, or other activities, while abroad. Survivors are also found in countries that are no longer mine-affected, for example Poland, or countries that host large numbers of refugees, for example Tanzania. Therefore, as displayed in the table, almost two-thirds of the countries in the world (120 countries and 11 regions) are affected to varying degrees by the landmine problem and the issue of survivors.

Whether the accident occurred recently or several years previously most landmine survivors continue to require medical and rehabilitative assistance. The experience of countries with survivors dating back to the Second World War could be useful in the design of sustainable programs to adequately assist recent survivors. In most cases, survivors, in these countries are assisted within the standard healthcare system.

KEY ISSUES IN SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE

• The needs of landmine survivors are long-term, and include medical andrehabilitation services, socio-economic reintegration and psychologicalsupport.
• Landmine survivors should not be viewed as a group separate from other warvictims, or persons with disabilities.
• Programs should focus on local capacity-building in mine-affectedcommunities.
• Resources should assist in building the infrastructure that will benefitall persons with disabilities in mine-affected communities.
• A commitment to long-term funding is needed to ensure sustainability ofprograms.
• The goal of survivor assistance programs should be the completerehabilitation of survivors, and other persons with disabilities, into thewider community.

Bold States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
Bold/Italics Signatories to the Mine Ban Treaty
Italics areas not recognized as independent states
* Country with new mine/UXO victims in 2000-2001
** Country whose nationals have been injured during military operations, peacekeeping, demining operations, or other activities, while abroad either in 2000-2001 (Bhutan, Canada, Honduras, Portugal, South Africa, Syria, United Kingdom, and the United States of America), orin prior years. In some countries it also includes survivors from a mine problem on national territory, for example Honduras, Moldova, Nigeria, Poland, and Syria.

SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS FROM LANDMINE MONITOR COUNTRY REPORTS

• In many of the countries reporting new casualties, the assistance providedto mine victims is inadequate to meet their needs.
• Most services are located in urban centers whereas the majority of minesurvivors can be found in rural areas.
• The majority of resources continue to be directed toward medical andphysical rehabilitation, nevertheless the demand for prostheses exceeds thesupply.
• Generally, the availability of assistance in psychological support andsocio-economic reintegration is limited or non-existent.
• International Organizations, international and local NGOs, and UN agenciescontinue to play a key role in the delivery of services to mine survivors.
• The economic situation of many mine-affected countries is an obstacle tothe provision of adequate assistance to landmine survivors.
• On-going conflict, in some mine-affected countries, is severely hamperingthe delivery of adequate assistance to landmine survivors.

SAMPLE OF PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS REPORTED IN 2000-2001

• The Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegrationand Mine Awareness (SC-VA) continued its important work in 2000-2001, whichincluded the Raising the Voices initiative to train survivor advocates,and the Portfolio of Victim Assistance Programs.
• The SC-VA was also successful in encouraging States Parties to accept, andcomplete, the new, voluntary Article 7 Form J for reporting on victimassistance activities.TheForm J, was submitted by elevengovernments up to July 2001.
• In Angola, national authorities have adopted a new five-year plan forphysical rehabilitation.
• In Cambodia, the Disability Action Council, issued the Cambodian Plan ofAction, for the disability and rehabilitation sector.
• In China, the CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 report included a sectionon Rehabilitation and Relief of Civilians Accidentally Injured by Landmines.
• In Colombia, the government has launched a new Program for Mine AccidentPrevention and Victim Assistance.
• In Georgia, the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs is developinga special program for the care and rehabilitation of the disabled.
• In Lebanon, in May 2000, a new disability law was passed by theParliament.
• In Mozambique, the Council for Action on Disability will work closely withNGOs and international agencies to build capacity internally and move towardlong-term sustainability of programs for the disabled.
• In Nicaragua, the government, together with NGOs and internationalorganizations, is developing a national policy on victim assistance that willtake into account rehabilitation and economic reintegration.
• In Uganda, a new disability policy has been put in place.
• In Yemen, the governments community based rehabilitation program is to bemore responsive to the needs of landmine survivors.

SAMPLE OF DISAPPOINTING DEVELOPMENTS REPORTED IN 2000-2001

• In Afghanistan, due to a budget shortfall in 2000, UNOPS/CDAP had toreduce its community rehabilitation program from 64 to 46 districts.
• In Armenia, between October 2000 and February 2001, the Yerevan Prostheticand Orthotic Center stopped providing medical assistance due to lack offunding.
• In Azerbaijan, the Victim Assistance component of the National Mine ActionPlan, costing $150,000, could not be implemented due to lack of funding.
• In Lebanon, the Ministry of Health stopped providing prosthetic servicesdue to a lack of funding.

For more information or to make a comment, please contact:
Sheree Bailey
Landmine Monitor Thematic Coordinator Victim Assistance
Handicap International
Rue de Spastraat 67
B-1000 Brussels Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 286 50 36 Fax: +32 (0)2 230 80 30
Email: sheree.bailey@handicap.be