Action points based on findings

• Develop central data collection mechanisms on casualties and the needs of victims to improve planning of victim assistance.
• Formally endorse and implement the victim assistance action plan, developed in collaboration with NGOs and mine survivors.
• Ensure that all victims are registered and therefore able to receive pensions and other benefits; an estimated third of all victims were unregistered.

Victim assistance commitments

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is responsible for a significant number of survivors of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Algeria has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Algeria ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 4 December 2009.

Casualties Overview

In 2014, the Monitor identified 88 casualties from victim-activated IEDs in Algeria.[1] The large majority (54) were military and security forces while the rest (34) were civilians. There were four child casualties in one single incident;[2] this was an increase compared to 2013 when no children casualties were reported. All casualties were male. It is likely that the total number of casualties was higher, since no annual casualty data has been provided by the Interministerial Committee on the Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty (Interministerial Committee) since 2008. Casualty data was gathered from media reports and information provided by local civil society.[3]

The total of 88 casualties identified in 2014 constitutes a significant increase in annual casualty numbers over a period of five years (78 in 2013; 51 in 2012; 35 in 2011; and 33 in 2010). However, the lack of a central data collection mechanism and annual casualty rate fluctuations in recent years make it difficult to identify trends.[4]

The total number of mine casualties in Algeria is unknown. As of March 2011, there were 2,325 mine survivors, as well as 439 widows and 739 descendants of victims killed in mine incidents registered with the Ministry of the Mujahidin.[5] In October 2009, it was reported in the media that there had been at least 6,762 mine casualties since 1962 (3,236 killed; 3,526 injured).[6] The total of 7,014 casualties reported by the Monitor represents this figure plus all casualties identified since October 2009. No information was available on casualties caused by ERW.

Victim Assistance

Based on casualty data gathered by the Monitor it is estimated that as of 31 December 2014, there were 3,730 mine/ERW survivors in Algeria.[7] By March 2011, there were 2,325 registered mine survivors in Algeria.[8]

Victim assistance in 2014

Improvements in the accessibility of services and renewed interest from public authorities to make services more accessible to persons with disabilities were noticeable throughout 2014.[9] In particular, improvements were noticed in the health sector and in access to rehabilitation care and employment as well as to benefits for mine/ERW survivors.[10] All registered victims, including survivors as well as the family members of those killed by mines, are entitled to benefits through the ministries of mujahidin, national solidarity, and health. These benefits include healthcare and pensions.[11] Civilian mine/ERW victims also have access to rehabilitation services provided at institutions dedicated to former combatants.[12] In 2013, the amount of this pension increased.[13] However, the estimated number of victims remains significantly higher than the number of registered victims.[14]

Assessing victim assistance needs

Data from the Handicap International (HI) survivor identification process informed the development of a new victim assistance Action Plan, finalized in March 2014, and in the implementation of economic integration micro-projects for mine/ERW victims and persons with disabilities, funded by the Ministry of National Solidarity and the European Union.[15] In 2012, HI finalized the survivor identification process, which had begun in 2009.[16] HI, together with local NGOs, assessed the needs of survivors in six wilayas (provinces). The gathered data was shared during a national seminar in April 2013 with survivors, disabled persons’ associations (DPOs), and government authorities in order to assist in program planning, identifying priorities for mine action, and directing survivors more effectively to existing services.[17]

In August 2014, a survey on disability was launched by the National Study and Analysis Center (CENEAP). This survey aimed to build a long-term vision of the structures and training needed for improved assistance to persons with disabilities in Algeria.[18]

Victim assistance coordination[19]

The Interministerial Committee coordinates victim assistance in cooperation with the ministries of mujahidin, national solidarity, and the interior.[20] In 2014, there were periodic victim assistance coordination meetings.[21] Between March 2013 and February 2014, these meetings, coordinated by the Interministerial Committee and the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and the Status of Women, mostly focused on the development of a new victim assistance plan based on the needs assessment conducted by HI and partner NGOs. NGOs and representatives of persons with disabilities (from the National Council of Persons with Disabilities and the National Commission on accessibility of Persons with Disabilities to physical, social, economic, and cultural environment) were included in the development of this plan, which was finalized in March 2014. As of September 2015, it was still awaiting formal adoption by the government.[22]

Algeria did not deliver a statement on victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique but delivered a statement during the High-Level Segment, touching briefly on victim assistance.[23] Algeria did not provide information on victim assistance activities in its 2015 Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.[24]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Throughout 2014, survivors were included in the development and finalization of the new victim assistance action plan. They were also involved in non-governmental coordination on victim assistance; in data collection on new victims; in the design and implementation of awareness activities, inclusive education, and economic inclusion projects; and in psychological support to survivors and their families.[25] In June 2014, representatives of survivors’ associations participated in the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique.[26]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2014[27]

In 2014, efforts by the Algerian authorities to improve access to health services began to have a positive impact for mine/ERW survivors.[28] In December 2012, the National Employee Social Insurance Fund (Caisse Nationale des Assurances Sociales des Travailleurs Salariés, CNAS) and the National Office for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities signed an agreement to include coverage of all orthopedic equipment within CNAS.[29] In 2014, mine/ERW survivors as well as other persons with disabilities continued to have access to most equipment (orthopedic devices, wheelchairs, etc.) free of charge while CNAS covered 80% of the costs of smaller prosthetic devices and audio equipment.[30] Furthermore, within the framework of its Strategic Development Plan 2014–2018, the National Office for the Equipment of Persons with Disabilities (Office National d’Appareillages et Accessoires pour Personnes Handicapées, ONAAPH) launched a new manufacturing unit and trained 96 general medical practitioners on orthopedics.[31]

In 2013, Algerian authorities had taken steps to reduce the administrative and bureaucratic barriers for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW victims, by opening a specific desk for vulnerable persons at the offices of the Directorate of Social Action and Solidarity (Direction de l’action sociale et de solidarité, DASS) in all wilayas. This was expected to improve access to social services and access to financial support, in particular for transport and education.[32]

HI continued its programs for mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities with a focus on psychosocial support, economic inclusion, inclusive education, and access to the labor market for youths and women with disabilities. HI continued to provide training and supervision for psychologists working with victims and their families. In 2014, HI also signed a convention with stakeholders of the National Solidarity sector in order to strengthen the social support framework of persons with disabilities, to improve care in specialized medical facilities, and to support their socioeconomic inclusion.[33]

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to healthcare, and in the provision of other state services. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law in 2014 and there was widespread social discrimination against persons with disabilities. Few government buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities.[34] However, the government looked to enforce the policy, making it compulsory for all employers of more than 100 persons to open 1% of jobs to persons with disabilities. Indeed, over the course of 2014, 289 companies were sanctioned for non-compliance under this policy and had to pay a penalty fee to the CNAS.[35]

In April 2014, the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family, and the Status of Women established the National Council of Handicapped Persons in response to a 2006 presidential decree. It serves as a consultative organ to study problems such as accessibility for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[36]