© ALSO, June 2010Raising awareness of the cluster munition and mine issues with survivors in Afghanistan.

Global Casualties

According to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, cluster munition victims are defined as all persons who have been killed or suffered physical or psychological injury, economic loss, social marginalization, or substantial impairment of the realization of their rights caused by the use of cluster munitions.^[1]

At least 29 states and three other areas that have been contaminated by cluster munitions have reported cluster munition casualties as of 15 August 2011.^[2] There may have been casualties in other affected states as well, but these remained unconfirmed.^[3] There have also been both military and civilian cluster munition casualties from countries that are not affected.^[4]

Two states have been added to the list of countries with casualties since 1 August 2010: Libya, where new casualties were reported in 2011, and South Sudan, which became independent in July 2011 and where cluster munition casualties have been recorded.

States/areas with cluster munition casualties

Africa	Asia-Pacific	Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia	Middle East and North Africa
Angola	Afghanistan	Albania	Iraq
Chad	Lao PDR	BiH	Lebanon
DRC	Cambodia	Croatia	Israel
Guinea-Bissau	Vietnam	Montenegro	Kuwait
Mozambique		Georgia	Libya
Sierra Leone		Russia	Syria
Uganda		Serbia	Western Sahara
Eritrea		Tajikistan
Ethiopia		Kosovo
South Sudan		Nagorno-Karabakh
Sudan

Note: Convention on Cluster Munition States Parties and signatories are indicated by bold and other areas by italics.

Of the 29 states with cluster munition casualties, 15 have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Nine are States Parties: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, Guinea-Bissau, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Montenegro, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone. Six states have signed, but not yet ratified the convention: Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, and Uganda.

States Parties BiH, Lebanon, and Mozambique confirmed during the convention’s first intersessional meetings that they have cluster munition victims, while signatory Angola stated that cluster munition victims would be identified and confirmed through survey.^[5] Albania, Croatia, Lao PDR, and Lebanon confirmed cluster munition victims in their initial Article 7 reports. Montenegro reported that there were no cluster munitions victims on its territory, while Guinea-Bissau has not yet reported on cluster munition victims under its jurisdiction.

Cluster munition casualties overview

There are no comprehensive, reliable statistics on cluster munition casualties, but it is certain that there has been massive underreporting of casualties—civilian and military—from those incurred during strikes and those incurred from unexploded submunitions afterwards.^[6] In 2010, no affected states, including States Parties, attempted to report the total or estimated number of cluster munition victims living in their territory. Most States Parties have not attempted to provide data on the number of cluster munition survivors, though Albania, Lao PDR, and Lebanon reported efforts to disaggregate this information. Even less is known about the number of affected families and communities as the means of measuring them remains largely undefined, but their needs are likely to be extensive.

There have been at least 16,921 cluster munition casualties confirmed globally, through the end of 2010. The estimated total number of cluster munition casualties is far greater and likely a better indicator. The estimated global total of cluster munition casualties is between 20,000 and 54,000, although other estimates, possibly inflated for some countries, range from 58,000 to 85,000 casualties.^[7]

Of the 16,921 recorded cluster munition casualties, the vast majority (14,824) occurred after the use of cluster munition and were caused by explosive submunitions that failed to detonate during strikes. The other 2,097 casualties occurred during cluster munition strikes.^[8] Casualties during cluster munition strikes are more difficult to collect systematically and are often not included in casualty reporting. There was no reporting on casualties during cluster munition strikes in Libya and Cambodia in 2011, while unexploded submunitions subsequently caused reported casualties in both cases. There was a credible yet unconfirmed report of casualties, mostly civilians, during a cluster munition strike in Yemen in 2009.^[9] The last confirmed casualties during cluster munition strikes occurred in Georgia in 2008; all the reported casualties were civilians.^[10]

Almost all known cluster munition casualties were civilians, the majority male, and a significant proportion were children at the time of the incident.^[11]

Casualty totals in countries/areas, by region

Region	Unexploded submunition casualties	Casualties during use of cluster munitions	Total confirmed casualties	Total estimated casualties
Asia	10,592	26	10,618	10,618–42,507
Middle East and North Africa	3,511	417	3,928	6,433–8,933
Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia	392	1,175	1,567	(1,567)
Africa	329	479	808	(808)
Total	14,824	2,097	16,921	19,426–53,815

Countries with the largest number of confirmed casualties

Country	Unexploded submunition casualties	Casualties during use of cluster munitions	Total
Lao PDR	7,579	Not available	7,579
Iraq	2,607	388	2,995
Vietnam	2,111	Not available	2,111
Afghanistan	745	26	771
Lebanon	688	16	704
Total	13,730	430	14,160

Note: Convention on Cluster Munitions States Parties and signatories are indicated by bold.

Cluster munition casualties in 2010

In 2010, there were confirmed cluster munition casualties in at least seven states (including two States Parties and three signatories) and two other areas: Cambodia (17), Lebanon (14), Vietnam (11), Lao PDR (8), DRC (5), Afghanistan (2), Iraq (1), Nagorno-Karabakh (1), and Western Sahara (1). Due to inadequate and/or irregular data collection in many countries and a lack of detail in the data from Lao PDR, the country most significantly impacted by cluster munitions, only 60 cluster munition casualties could be identified globally for 2010. There were likely significantly more casualties from unexploded submunitions among the other hundreds of explosive remnants casualties in affected countries that did not separate cluster submunitions in their data or were unable to do so adequately.

Under the convention, States Parties have a clear responsibility for ensuring the rights of members of their population whose lives have been impacted by cluster munitions.

Victim Assistance

The Convention on Cluster Munitions requires that States Parties assist all cluster munition victims in the areas under their jurisdiction. Compliance with victim assistance obligations included in the convention is compulsory, requiring States Parties with cluster munition victims to implement victim assistance activities, including:

• collecting data on people directly affected by cluster munitions, their families, and communities and assessing their needs;
• designating a responsible focal point in government;
• developing a national plan, budget, and timeframe for implementation;
• providing adequate assistance, including medical care, rehabilitation, and psychological support, as well as providing for social and economic inclusion;
• enforcing non-discrimination and including survivors; and
• reporting on all aspects of implementation.

The Vientiane Action Plan adopted by the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010 builds on the convention’s victim assistance obligations by setting more detailed and time-bound actions for implementation. The plan includes 10 victim assistance actions specific to countries with cluster munition victims and another three more general actions related to victim assistance in States Parties.

Victim assistance programs and activities existed in many cluster munition affected states prior to entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010. Twenty of the 29 states with cluster munition victims are party to the Mine Ban Treaty, and are responsible for providing assistance to survivors. Most of these states have already received support in developing victim assistance programs through the mechanisms of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[12]

The Convention on Cluster Munitions requires that states “adequately provide” victim assistance. Implementation of this obligation may vary according to the specific circumstances of each State Party, but the Vientiane Action Plan provides a guide to prioritizing implementation of victim assistance in all its key aspects (including medical care, rehabilitation and psychological support, social and economic inclusion, and other relevant services). States should take immediate action to remove the identified barriers to services and to guarantee the implementation of quality services. Other time-bound actions for the first year after entry into force relate to coordination and planning:

• designate a focal point for victim assistance coordination within six months; and
• collect all necessary data within one year to assess needs, utilize existing coordination mechanisms or develop new ones, and review national laws and policies.

Assessing needs

Two key victim assistance provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions are to make “every effort to collect reliable relevant data with respect to cluster munition victims” and to “[a]ssess the needs of cluster munition victims.” According to the Vientiane Action Plan, within one year of the convention’s entry into force for each State Party, all necessary data should be collected and disaggregated by sex and age and the needs and priorities of cluster munition victims should be assessed. ^[13]

Of States Parties with casualties, Lebanon has made serious efforts to collect relevant information on cluster munition victims and their needs in 2010 and the first half of 2011, while other States Parties have taken steps to improve casualty data collection and/or needs assessment.

• Albania, in cooperation with the main victim assistance NGO, maintains records of cluster munition survivors that detail the needs and services they have received.^[14]
• BiH completed a major national casualty data revision in 2009, but the category of cluster munition/unexploded submunition casualty was not included in the questionnaire.^[15] The data was also found to significantly under-report casualties and therefore was not a reliable source of information for program implementation.^[16] BiH did not report on progress in needs assessment in 2010. In June 2011, BiH reported that it had identified 225 previously unrecorded cluster munition casualties, based on preliminary data that was pending verification.^[17]
• Croatia continued to pursue the commitment it made in 2009 to unify existing data on mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties and other war victims for use in needs assessment and service implementation. Agreement to share data between government institutions was not reached until 2011 due to privacy concerns. NGOs, who were the driving force for devising a centralized database, expressed concern that they would not have access to the data to use in implementing services.^[18]
• Lao PDR began phase II of its National UXO Accidents and Victim Survey in 2010, by collecting information on casualties for the period from 2008 onwards. The data is incomplete and less detailed than information that was previously available although it is disaggregated by age and gender. Phase I of the survey recorded retrospective data.^[19] However, of over 4,300 people recorded as survivors in the survey, only some 2,500 were believed to still be living in 2010,^[20] which reduced the usefulness of the data for planning and implementing services. To address this, Lao PDR is preparing a “survivor tracking system,” though implementation is dependent on funding.
• The Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) completed the first phase of a national victim survey and needs assessment in 2010, during which detailed information was collected on the needs of mine/ERW and cluster munition victims, including survivors, family members, and affected communities in accordance with the convention.^[21] The survey covers people affected in the period from July 2006 to the end of 2010. LMAC shares data with all relevant victim assistance stakeholders upon request and updates data on an ongoing basis.^[22]
• Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, Mozambique and Sierra Leone have made either no effort or extremely limited efforts to survey and assess the needs of cluster munitions victims.
• Most signatory states with cluster munition victims have made progress in understanding the needs of victims, except Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan still does not have a needs assessment or data collection system in place or any concrete plan to introduce one.^[23]
• In Angola, a national victim survey to assess the needs of mine and cluster munition survivors with disabilities was launched in October 2010. Angola reported that it expected to have more information on cluster munition survivors after completion of the national victim survey.^[24] The survey questionnaire did not, however, include a section for reporting on unexploded submunitions as the cause of the incident. Two of 18 provinces had been surveyed by May 2011. Some organizations have reported challenges with the survey process. ^[25]
• In Chad, survivors in the most mine/ERW-affected areas of the country were interviewed in 2010.^[26] The data was not available by June 2011.^[27]
• In the DRC a national needs assessment of survivors in the most mine/ERW-affected parts of six of 11 provinces was conducted in 2010 for use in developing the national victim assistance strategy.^[28] Yet the DRC continues to lack an ongoing data and needs collection system and available data is not shared regularly with relevant victim assistance stakeholders.^[29]
• Iraq continued to develop a national disability registry in 2011. The registry includes the types and causes of disabilities and the needs of persons with disabilities. Iraq has started training health care workers in data collection.^[30]
• In Uganda a second pilot of the national casualty surveillance system was carried out in 2010, following an initial pilot in 2008.^[31]

Coordination

The convention requires that states with cluster munition casualties designate a focal point within the government with responsibility for ensuring coordination of the implementation of victim assistance provisions. This should be done within six months of the convention’s entry into force for that State Party and the focal point should have the authority, expertise, and adequate resources to carry out its task.

All States Parties with known cluster munition victims have a focal point for victim assistance activities in place except Sierra Leone and Montenegro, both of which had very few reported cluster munition casualties (28 and eight respectively). Lao PDR and Lebanon had explicitly designated their existing focal point within the government as responsible for victim assistance obligations under the convention. Albania identified its victim assistance focal point as the mine action center, which is a UNDP project, while the Albanian Mine Action Committee, which includes key government ministries, is also referred to as a focal point. The BiH Mine Action Center (BHMAC) acts as a coordination point for victim assistance, but has no legal mandate to be the government focal point. Croatia has established a new coordination mechanism for victim assistance, but the mine action center remains the legal focal point for victim assistance in mine action and a decision on which body is responsible for cluster munition victim assistance will be taken following the adoption of national implementation legislation. In Guinea-Bissau, the National Mine Action Coordination Center (Centro Nacional de Coordenção da Accão Anti-Minas, CAAMI) has been responsible for coordinating victim assistance, but Guinea-Bissau has not indicated if it will also serve as focal point for cluster munition victim assistance. The existing focal point for disability issues in Mozambique is within the Ministry of Social Affairs and through the newly formed Disability Council.^[32]

Albania and Lebanon have effective victim assistance coordination structures in place, while coordination groups in BiH and Croatia convene regularly. Coordination of victim assistance remains weak in Guinea Bissau, Montenegro, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone, although there was improvement in Mozambique, which also stated that assistance for cluster munition victims would be addressed through existing disability structures.^[33]

All signatory states with cluster munition victims had a designated victim assistance focal point prior to signing the convention, though none could be described as effective. Coordination in Chad, DRC, and Iraq remained reliant on international support; coordination mechanisms in Afghanistan and Uganda met regularly. In Angola, some improvements were seen in the decentralization of coordination.

National plans

The Vientiane Action Plan reiterates the Convention on Cluster Munitions obligation to adapt or develop a comprehensive national plan of action, including timeframes and budget to carry out victim assistance activities, but no specific time limit was set for this to be achieved.

In 2010, States Parties Albania and Croatia developed victim assistance plans reflecting their obligations under the convention. Victim assistance plans were still under development in both Lao PDR and Lebanon in 2011. BiH adopted a Mine Ban Treaty victim assistance plan in 2009, but this has not been adapted to address its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Mozambique has a more general action plan for persons with disabilities that explicitly included mine/ERW survivors, including cluster munition survivors. Plans to ensure assistance to victim of cluster munitions are not known to have been developed in Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, or Sierra Leone.

Among signatories, Afghanistan had a plan that was due to end in 2011, the DRC had developed a new plan, Uganda had revised its planning, and Angola had an existing plan. A plan for Chad was being developed, but was not yet approved. Iraq and Mauritania lacked national victim assistance planning.

Transparency reporting

Under Article 7 of the convention, States Parties are required to submit reports on the status and progress of implementation of all victim assistance. Victim assistance reporting under the convention is obligatory unlike the Mine Ban Treaty’s voluntary reporting on victim assistance.

As of 25 August 2011, four States Parties had submitted data in their initial Article 7 reports on cluster munition victims and victim assistance: Albania, Croatia, Lao PDR, and Lebanon. Montenegro reported that there were no cluster munitions victims on its territory, but between 1999 and 2000, at least eight cluster munition casualties were recorded in Montenegro (four during strikes and four from unexploded submunitions).^[34] Sierra Leone did not complete the report’s sections on casualties or victim assistance. Initial Article 7 reports were not yet due for the remaining States Parties (BiH, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique).

The DRC included victim assistance information in its voluntary Article 7 reporting in 2011, the first signatory to do so.

At the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, five States Parties with cluster munition victims made statements on victim assistance. Albania, BiH, and Lao PDR presented overviews of the victim assistance situation and needs in their respective countries. Croatia and Sierra Leone gave broader statements on how they envisaged victim assistance through the convention, focusing on concrete improvements in services, improved funding and use of resources and increased survivor participation.

All States Parties with cluster munition victims gave updates on their victim assistance progress during the first intersessional meetings of the convention in Geneva in June 2011 except Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, and Mozambique.^[35] The quality of interventions, however, varied. Lebanon gave only a brief statement that lacked content adequate to define progress or challenges, while BiH and Croatia repeated much of the same content that they had presented a week earlier during intersessional meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty. Signatories Angola and Iraq provided updates on progress and challenges, but Iraq’s statement also repeated much of what it had said previously.

Most statements at the intersessional meetings highlighted progress in coordination and planning and identified access to adequate resources as the key challenge to progress. By contrast, Croatia noted areas of progress, but was forthright and even self-critical in presenting the problems it faces in implementation of convention’s victim assistance provisions, such as sharing data on survivors needs and implementing economic inclusion and psychological support services. Iraq’s statement indicated where national resources were dedicated and constructively identified existing victim assistance gaps and needs, requesting international assistance for capacity building and technical training of Iraqi healthcare professionals.

Providing adequate assistance: key indicators and challenges

States and areas with cluster munition victims continue to face significant challenges in providing holistic and accessible care to affected individuals, families, and communities. Cluster munition victims living far from national centers rarely receive medical care and rehabilitation and thus remain among the most vulnerable. Upon entry into force of the convention, each State Party should take immediate action to increase availability and accessibility of services, particularly in remote and rural areas where they are most often absent. Economic and psychological needs also remain the least fulfilled by existing services and the Monitor has not identified any recent measures by States Parties to address the gaps in these areas.

In the year since the convention entered into force on 1 August 2010, no significant or readily measurable improvement in the accessibility of services was reported by any States Parties and signatories with cluster munition victims. These states do not appear to have addressed or considered how to increase services in remote and rural areas.

The Monitor has identified a range of progress and challenges in 2010 and the first half of 2011 in the provision of victim assistance by States Parties.

• In Albania, the availability of both physical rehabilitation and psychological support services decreased in 2010. Contrary to the often mentioned principle that survivors’ needs last a lifetime, international funding for victim assistance has decreased significantly since Albania fulfilled its clearance obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty.
• BiH’s main peer support provider, an NGO, implemented fewer services due to a decrease in the number of staff, but managed to maintain services by training other NGOs.
• Croatia recognized that the capacity and condition of its state-run psychological support centers has deteriorated and requires significant improvement.
• In Guinea-Bissau the availability of prosthetics services increased in 2011 with the opening of a major rehabilitation center.
• In Lao PDR access to prosthetics services improved through an outreach program, but the number of people assisted did not increase.
• In Lebanon, the availability, accessibility, and quality of services and assistance to mine/ERW survivors remained fairly constant, despite a pervasive view that funding for victim assistance had continued to decline throughout 2010.^[36] As in previous years, most victim assistance services, other than medical care provided by the Ministry of Health, were implemented by national and international NGOs that remained reliant on a small, receding pool of international funding.
• In Mozambique as a result of programs targeting the population of persons with disabilities more generally, there were minimal increases in access to vocational training and education, as well as some improvements in living conditions due to a program to subsidize food for vulnerable populations.^[37]

No changes were reported for Montenegro and Sierra Leone.

There was also a range of progress and challenges in the provision of victim assistance by signatories to the convention.

• In Afghanistan there were few overall improvements in victim assistant services; this was mostly due to the deterioration of the security situation, which was detrimental to progress in victim assistance in general. One highlight was an increase in the accessibility of schools in urban areas, where most buildings are not accessible, due to the work of NGOs.
• In Angola a lack of government funding caused a decline in both the quality and accessibility of physical rehabilitation services.
• In Chad despite an increase in the availability of physical rehabilitation services, survivors were less able to access those services following the demolition of an on-site accommodation facility, the costs of services, irregular transportation, and the difficult security situation.
• In the DRC where existing services reach only a tiny fraction of the known population of survivors, there was no increase in available services and some programs that had helped to cover the cost of care for survivors closed.
• In southern and central Iraq improved security conditions allowed more survivors to travel to access victim assistance services, including services in northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), but most existing service providers were not able to meet this increased demand.
• In Uganda there were some improvements in access to physical rehabilitation services due to NGO efforts (such as the distribution of a service directory for health and rehabilitation services and provision of transportation and accommodation for some survivors) and the increased physical accessibility of the two ICRC-supported rehabilitation centers.

There were changes in the accessibility, availability, and/or quality of victim assistance services in several of the 14 states with cluster munition victims that have not joined the convention.

• In Cambodia a sharp decrease in the number of prostheses produced for survivors was reported in 2010, compared to the high level provided in the previous year. Two NGO-run physical rehabilitation centers were transferred to government management in 2010.
• In Eritrea the quality of available services improved due to the increased capacity of the community-based rehabilitation network.
• In Ethiopia small improvements in accessibility and quality of services were reported but there were fewer economic inclusion services available to survivors.
• In Georgia no significant change in victim assistance services was reported, but some new services were initiated in 2010.
• In Serbia only a minimal increase in the accessibility of services was reported.
• The accessibility of services decreased in South Sudan due to the worsening security situation.
• In Sudan there were fewer rehabilitation services due to a lack of funding, but more programs supporting the economic inclusion of survivors were available.
• In Tajikistan both the accessibility and quality of services improved.
• In Vietnam overall victim assistance services improved.

No significant changes were recorded in other states and areas.

National and international laws

States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions commit to adequately provide assistance to people directly affected by cluster munitions, their families, and communities in accordance with applicable international humanitarian and human rights law. Applicable international law could include the Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, among other agreements.

Except for Lao PDR and Lebanon, all States Parties and signatories with cluster munition victims are party to the Mine Ban Treaty and have committed to improve victim assistance and promote the rights of survivors and other persons with disabilities through implementation of the treaty’s Cartagena Action Plan (2010–2014).

Of the nine States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions with cluster munition victims, five are party to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (BiH, Croatia, Lao PDR, Montenegro, and Sierra Leone), three have signed but not yet ratified (Albania, Lebanon, and Mozambique) and Guinea-Bissau has not yet joined. Many attempts by Convention on Cluster Munitions States Parties to improve their national legislation with respect to cluster munition victims are a direct result of efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Under the Vientiane Action Plan, Convention on Cluster Munitions States Parties are supposed to review their national laws and policies within one year of entry into force to ensure that they are consistent with their victim assistance obligations. Prior to entry into force, most states with responsibility for cluster munition survivors had already taken steps to develop and implement national laws and policies relevant to persons with disabilities including cluster munition victims. Yet, despite advances brought about as a result of implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, legislation overall remains inadequate and is not properly enforced. National legislation is not yet able to ensure “the full realisation of the rights of all cluster munition victims,” as called for by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

• Albania reviewed its disability-related legal and policy frameworks in July 2010, to assess its compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It found that its laws and policies related to mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities remain inadequate.^[38] As a result, an interministerial working group on legislative reform was established to prepare legislative changes in 2011.^[39]
• In BiH discriminatory legislation that disadvantages civilian survivors remains in place, but in 2010 legislative frameworks to reform the social protection system were adopted by the administrative divisions of the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska.^[40] Disability strategies were also adopted in both entities in 2010.^[41] In February 2010, a law was passed on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities in the Federation of BiH that allows for a specific Fund that was in the process of being established by June 2011.^[42] Such a fund already exists in the Republika Srpska.
• Croatia has over 200 laws and by-laws relating to the rights and status of persons with disabilities, including survivors.^[43] However, legislation regulating specific rights remains fragmented.^[44] Croatia reported that the “on the ground reality” does not always follow the legislation.^[45]
• Guinea-Bissau has no known laws in place to protect the rights of survivors or other persons with disabilities.
• In Lao PDR legislation to address the rights of persons with disabilities was drafted in early 2008, but as of August 2011 was still awaiting government approval. A review found existing legislation adequate for implementing the victim assistance provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but it has not indicated which laws are relevant or adequate.^[46]
• Lebanon and Mozambique both have national laws in place to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities, but these lack enforcement.

Among signatory states, few changes in legislation were reported and none that would bring about compliance with the victim assistance obligations of the convention.

• In Afghanistan the National Law for the Rights and Privileges of Persons with Disabilities, developed in 2006, was signed by the president in August 2010. Yet some civil society groups, including survivors’ organizations, have expressed concern that the law contains discriminatory provisions and does not conform with Afghanistan’s obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.^[47]
• In Chad a law to protect the rights of persons with disabilities was adopted in 2007 but remained inoperative, pending the passage of a decree to enforce it.^[48]
• In Iraq legal reforms to protect the rights for persons with disabilities have been underway since 2008, but did not advance in 2010 due to lack of government prioritization.^[49]
• In Uganda, as a result of joint NGO-government collaboration, detailed physical accessibility standards were created in 2010 that could be used to assess the compatibility of infrastructure with the basic accessibility requirements of other legislation.^[50] By the end of 2010, steps were underway to promote the use of the standards by other government ministries and the private sector. A building control law was proposed and it was hoped that the accessibility standards would be appended to make them enforceable. ^[51]

Gender- and age-sensitive assistance and non-discrimination

States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions commit to adequately provide age- and gender-sensitive assistance to cluster munition victims. Children require specific and more frequent assistance than adults. Children, especially boys, are one of the largest groups of all recorded cluster munition casualties. Women and girls often need specific services depending on their personal and cultural circumstances. Women face multiple forms of discrimination, both as survivors themselves or as those who survive the loss of family members, often the husband and head of household.

Although women, boys, and girls make up a significant proportion of the families and communities affected by cluster munitions, age- and gender-sensitive assistance has been the least considered aspect of the convention’s victim assistance provisions since 1 August 2010. Almost all efforts reported were limited to disaggregating data on casualties, rather than the needs indicated by assessments and any services provided to address them.

In 2010 and the first half of 2011, activities aimed at increasing adequate services appropriate to the needs of women, men, girls, and boys, and to eliminate all forms of discrimination in line with the relevant international humanitarian and human rights laws, were mostly initiated by national and international NGOs and implemented in cooperation with relevant ministries. As of August 2011, gender sensitization trainings had been held for government and NGO service providers in the DRC, Lebanon, and Uganda.

According to the convention, States Parties cannot discriminate against or among cluster munition victims, or between cluster munition victims and those who have suffered from other causes.

In Lao PDR, National Mine Action Standards require that there is no discrimination against groups or individuals in victim assistance projects due to age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, or social status.^[52]The government, survivors, and victim assistance service providers have reported that differences in treatment in Lao PDR are based only on survivors’ needs and that there was no discrimination in the provision of victim assistance services in 2010.^[53]

Discrimination often comes in multiple forms and is exacerbated by poverty and social exclusion of people who come from underprivileged backgrounds or from rural and remote areas who lack access to consultation with the authorities that enable services. Due to these forms of discrimination in Afghanistan, women and the elderly are prevented from gaining adequate access to assistance and receive fewer services.^[54] However, it was also reported that discrimination was not observed within the work or policies of relevant ministries.^[55]

For most countries where discrimination was reported, it was due to preferential treatment for veterans, or against particular gender, age, or regional groups, rather than differences in treatment between persons with disabilities based on cause of disability or the type of weapon that caused injury. For example, in BiH, disabled war veterans were given a privileged status above that of civilian war survivors and other persons with disabilities, but in 2010, legislative frameworks were adopted to reform social protection systems towards a needs-based approach for social benefits, including veterans’ benefits. No other plans or efforts to address the gaps between services available to civilians and military survivors were reported and the obligation for States Parties to provide assistance without discrimination between persons with disabilities remained largely unaddressed.

Survivor inclusion and participation

The convention calls upon States Parties to “closely consult with and actively involve cluster munition victims and their representative organisations” to fulfill victim assistance obligations. The Vientiane Action Plan further underscores the importance of survivor inclusion by stressing that cluster munition victims be actively involved in newly established coordination mechanisms. In addition, by encouraging and enabling States Parties to include cluster munitions victims and their representative organizations in the work of the convention, the Vientiane Action Plan makes all States Parties, not just states with cluster munition victims, responsible for promoting participation.

Six of the seven States Parties with victim assistance coordination in place involve survivors or their representative organizations in victim assistance or disability coordination mechanisms. No survivor involvement was identified in Guinea-Bissau’s planning and coordination mechanisms. However, the quality of that participation varied among countries. Croatia recognized that survivor involvement had been variable and, at times, token, with survivors lacking a real role in decision-making. In Mozambique, where victim assistance has been integrated into the broader disability field, survivors were included in the evaluation of the 2006–2010 National Disability Plan and in the development of the next five-year plan, along with other persons with disabilities.

Survivors or their representative organizations were included in coordination processes in all signatory states with victim assistance coordination in place. However, in four of these, Angola, Chad, Iraq, and Uganda, survivor participation was seen as limited; and in all four, coordination itself was also limited, as meetings were infrequent or nearly nonexistent.

In 12 States Parties and signatories, survivors were involved in ongoing victim assistance activities. Survivors implemented and, in some cases, helped to design physical rehabilitation and social and economic inclusion initiatives. Survivors provided peer support and referrals to help other survivors to access services in many countries with cluster munition victims, not only States parties and signatory states, including Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, BiH, Croatia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda, and Vietnam. In almost all identified cases, survivor involvement in the implementation of victim assistance activities was through NGO programs.

As highlighted by the Vientiane Action Plan, survivors and cluster munition victims should be considered as experts in victim assistance and included on government delegations to international meetings and in all activities related to the convention. Since the convention’s entry into force, Croatia is the only State Party to have included a survivor as a member of its delegation to an international meeting of the convention.^[56] In contrast, there has been active participation by many cluster munition victims as part of the CMC delegation at international meetings.