Landmine/UXO Casualties and Survivor Assistance

Landmine/UXO Casualties

• In 2001/2002, Landmine Monitor identified new landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties in 70 countries, and also in eight regions it monitors. Landmine/UXO incidents occurred in every region of the world: in 20 countries in Europe and Central Asia, in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in 13 countries in Asia and the Pacific, in 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and in 8 countries in the Americas. (See table)
• Landmine Monitor identified at least 7,987 new landmine/UXO casualties in calendar year 2001. However, this number is far from the actual total of new mine casualties as it does not include the thousands of casualties that are believed to go unreported as people are killed or injured in remote areas away from any form of assistance or means of communication. Landmine Monitor estimates that there are now some 15,000 to 20,000 new casualties from landmines and UXO each year.

• In 2001, there was no clear global trend of increasing or decreasing casualty rates. Although Landmine Monitor considers the reported casualty figures to be incomplete, findings from the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 for calendar year 2001, unless otherwise stated, include:

  Afghanistan 1,368 casualties recorded, up from 1,114 casualties in 2000.Albania 9 casualties recorded, down from 35 in 2000.Angola 660 casualties recorded, down from 840 in 2000.Bosnia and Herzegovina 87 casualties recorded, down from 100 in 2000.Cambodia 813 casualties recorded, down from 847 in 2000.Chechnya 1,153 casualties reported.Colombia 201 casualties reported to October 2001, up from 83 in 2000.Croatia 34 casualties recorded, up from 22 in 2000.DR Congo 135 casualties reported.Eritrea 154 casualties recorded, in May/June 2000 49 casualties reported.Ethiopia 71 casualties reported, down from 202 in 2000 (Tigray and Afar).Georgia 98 casualties reported.India 332 casualties reported.Kosovo 22 casualties recorded, down from 95 in 2000.Laos 122 casualties recorded, up from 103 in 2000.Lebanon 90 casualties reported, down from 113 in 2000.Macedonia 48 casualties reported.Mozambique 80 casualties recorded, up from 29 in 2000.Nagorno-Karabakh 18 casualties recorded, up from 15 in 2000.Namibia 50 casualties reported, down from 140 in 2000.Nepal 424 casualties reported, up from 182 in 2000.Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) 30 casualties a month, down from 48 per month in 2000.Pakistan 92 casualties reported, up from 62 in 2000 (figures do not include incidents that may have occurred on the Pakistan-India border).Palestine 20 casualties reported, up from 11 in 2000.Rwanda 23 casualties reported, up from 20 in 2000.Senegal 54 casualties reported, down from 65 in 2000.Somalia 224 casualties reported, up from 147 in 2000.Sri Lanka more than 300 casualties reported.Sudan 123 casualties reported to June 2001.Turkey 49 casualties reported, up from 5 in 2000.Uganda 32 casualties reported, down from 38 in 2000Yemen 21 casualties reported, up from 12 in 2000.

• Afghanistan 658 new casualties reported to 30 June.
• Cambodia 343 new casualties reported to 30 April.
• Palestine, 45 new casualties reported to 15 May.

Survivor Assistance

With new casualties reported each year the number of landmine survivors continues to grow. Survivors are found not only in countries reporting new casualties but also in countries whose nationals have been injured while abroad, in countries no longer mine-affected, and in countries that host large numbers of refugees. Therefore, as displayed in the table, almost two-thirds of the countries in the world, 121 countries, are affected to varying degrees by the issue of landmine survivors. A limited survey conducted by the Landmine Survivors Network found that 78 percent of landmine survivors needed continuous follow-up and support.

Key Issues in Survivor Assistance

• Landmine survivor assistance is a complex and long-term issue.
• Assistance to landmine survivors, and other persons with disabilities, should be viewed as a part of a countrys overall public health and social services system.
• Deliberate care must be built into the health and social services system to ensure that all persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors, receive the same opportunities in life as other members of the community
• Financial assistance from the international community is essential to promote adequate and sustainable survivor assistance programs.

Bold States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty

Bold/Italics Signatories to the Mine Ban Treaty

Italics regions not recognized as independent states

* Country with new mine/UXO casualties in 2001-2002

** Country with nationals injured during military and demining operations, peacekeeping, or other activities, while abroad either in 2001-2002 (Australia, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Mozambique, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States of America), or in prior years.

Some General Observations from Landmine Monitor Report 2002

• The vast majority of new landmine casualties (70% of reported casualties in 2001) continue to be civilians.
• Landmine Monitor has identified 42 mine-affected countries and six regions where one or more aspects of survivor assistance are inadequate.
• Even when services exist, they are often inaccessible to survivors, in being long distances from mine-affected areas, too expensive for survivors to afford, or bureaucratically off-limits to one group or another.
• Without accurate data on casualties it is not possible to ensure that survivor assistance programs and limited resources are directed to where the need is greatest.
• International organizations, international and local NGOs, and UN agencies continue to play a key role in the delivery of services to mine survivors.
• The economic situation of many mine-affected countries remains an obstacle to the provision of adequate assistance to landmine survivors.

Sample of Positive Findings in 2001-2002

• Form J, the voluntary reporting attachment to the Article 7 Report was submitted by eight mine-affected States and 23 non-affected States up to the end of July 2002 for the year 2001/2002 to report on victim assistance and other mine action activities; up from seven mine-affected and seven non-affected States for the previous year.
• In 2001, in mine-affected countries, at least 31,074 prostheses, 22,277 crutches, 3,416 wheelchairs, and 7,828 other devices were produced and distributed.
• In Croatia, the Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department of the Martin Horvat hospital in Rovinj was renovated to provide assistance to young mine survivors.
• In Eritrea, the ICRC and the Eritrean authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a physical rehabilitation program.
• In Honduras, a new orthopedic workshop commenced production in San Pedro Sula.
• In Lebanon, the National Demining Office established a National Mine Victim Assistance Committee, which includes all the major actors in survivor assistance.
• In Mozambique, the National Demining Institute (IND) developed a draft policy for Survivor and Victim Assistance to define its role in mine survivor assistance.
• In Nicaragua, efforts are being made to ensure that survivor assistance becomes an integral part of the public health system, and of other State institutions.
• In Slovenia, the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance hosted a workshop to identify strategies for improving survivor assistance in the Balkans.
• In Sri Lanka, the NGO Hope for Children introduced a mobile artificial limb manufacturing and fitting vehicle to provide assistance in remote areas.
• In Syria, a new physiotherapy center was opened close to the mine-affected area.
• In Thailand, representatives from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam attended the South East Asia Regional Conference on Victim Assistance.
• In Turkey, a new prosthetic and rehabilitation center was opened near the mine-affected areas.
• In Vietnam, Community-Based Rehabilitation expanded from 40 to 45 provinces.

Sample of Disappointing Findings in 2001-2002

• In Afghanistan, only 60 out of 330 districts have physical rehabilitation or socioeconomic reintegration facilities; even these are reportedly inadequate.
• In Chad, according to the Landmine Impact Survey, of 217 recent survivors none reported receiving physical rehabilitation or vocational training after their accident.
• In Chechnya, there were no rehabilitation centers operating inside the region.
• In Georgia, specialized medical rehabilitation and psychological support appears to remain inaccessible, or unavailable, for many mine survivors.