Summary findings

• More adept health personnel are needed, particularly in remote areas; emergency medical response time and follow-up care both required improvements.
• Victim assistance activities remained limited with the focus of international organizations being on mine risk education.
• The national community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network and the government revolving fund for loans and microcredit opportunities from the national disabled veterans association provided most of the remaining support for survivors, other persons with disabilities, and war victims.

Victim assistance commitments

The State of Eritrea is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Eritrea has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

In 2014, the Monitor was not able to identify any new mine/ERW casualties in Eritrea. In 2013 and 2014, the Eritrean Demining Authority (EDA) did not provide any casualty data to the Monitor, but there is reason to believe that casualties were incurred in both years that have not been specifically reported. The most recent official casualty statistics from the Eritrean Demining Authority cover the period 2011–2013 and document 52 casualties (9 killed and 43 injured). Of the nine fatalities, seven were children (six boys, one girl), the others were adult males; of the 43 injured, 36 were children (26 boys, 10 girls), and six were adult males; one adult woman was injured. All reported casualties were civilians and most were herding or walking at the time of the incident.[1]

The total known number of mine/ERW casualties in Eritrea is 5,299 mine/ERW casualties (2,522 killed; 2,777 injured).[2] The EDA recorded 802 casualties (206 killed, 596 injured) between 2000 and the end of 2012, including 365 from 2005–2011 (86 killed, 279 injured).[3] The Eritrea Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) remains the most extensive source of cumulative casualty data, identifying 4,934 mine/ERW casualties up to June 2004 (2,436 killed, 2,498 injured).[4] Previous estimates of tens of thousands of mine casualties in Eritrea in total remain unconfirmed.[5] However, the LIS data collection was limited to communities that reported mine contamination.[6] Therefore, it is likely that the LIS does not record veterans injured and killed by mines from urban localities.

At least 163 casualties during cluster munition strikes in Eritrea have been reported. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that there were about 160 casualties (approximately 50 killed and 110 injured) during the use of cluster munitions in 1990.[7] At least three casualties during the use of cluster munitions in 2000 were also reported.[8] In addition, incomplete casualty data indicated that at least nine casualties from cluster munitions remnants were reported in Eritrea after the year 2000.[9] The EDA did not provide information on whether there had been casualties caused by cluster munition remnants in 2014.

Victim Assistance

At least 2,810 mine/ERW survivors have been reported in Eritrea.[10]

Victim assistance since 1999

The Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare (MoLHW) had the central role in coordinating assistance for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, and started developing a national data collection system on persons with disabilities in 2002. Basic physical rehabilitation, psychosocial services, and economic reintegration have been provided through a national community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network, which the MoLHW started in 1995 and gradually expanded by 2008 to include the areas most affected by mines/ERW. The CBR network reached full national coverage by 2009, three years earlier than scheduled. NGO and ICRC programs and support for victim assistance and disabled persons began to lessen in 2003 and decreased significantly between 2005 and 2009.

As requested by the Eritrean government in 2011, international and national NGOs and UN agencies reduced or concluded their activities in the country.[11] The UNDP mine action program closed in July 2011, followed by the conclusion of UNICEF support to victim assistance at the end of 2011.[12] This left the state health system and CBR network as the providers of victim assistance, together with the Eritrean National Association of War Disabled Veterans.

Victim assistance in 2014

In 2014, victim assistance activities were limited compared to previous years, following the end of international support in 2011. The UN representative signed a Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework (SPCF) with the government of Eritrea in 2013, opening the way for the Ministry of National Development to sign Country Programme Action Plans (CPAP) for the period 2013–2016 with UNICEF, UNDP, and UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in March 2013.[13] However, the development of comprehensive and effective victim assistance remained slow and difficult.

In 2014, the Eritrean Deming Authority (EDA) received no international support. As a result, the overall mine action capacity in Eritrea remained significantly weakened.[14] The UNDP mine action capacity-building program, which had been restarted in 2007, came to an end in June 2011. Mine action was not among the UNDP’s newly defined CPAP, signed in 2013, and no victim assistance activities were undertaken with UNDP support during the year.[15] Following an intense lobbying effort, UNICEF continued its partnership with the several Eritrean ministries to protect the lives of children endangered by mine/ERW with mine risk education. UNICEF developed plans for 2015 that would expand victim assistance services if funding is made available. During 2014, UNICEF collaborated with the Ministry of Education (school-based mine risk reduction activities), MoLHW (community-based mine risk reduction activities/victim support), and the Ministry of Health for child injury prevention from all causes, including landmines and ERW.[16]

Services for persons with disabilities, including disabled veterans, continued to be provided through the Ministry of Health, the MoLHW, and the Eritrean National Association of War Disabled Veterans. Eritrea reported that it was difficult to provide support for survivors in remote areas and hard to reach areas.[17]

Assessing victim assistance needs

No major progress in needs assessment was reported in 2014, but the MoLHW and UNICEF conducted mini-assessments during field monitoring activities.[18] In early 2011, plans to relocate MoLHW premises had stalled the finalization of the national database of persons with disabilities, started under the 2002 Survey of People with Disabilities in Eritrea.[19] The database was intended to provide the basis of all future planning and development for all people with disabilities in Eritrea, including mine survivors.[20] In 2010, the EDA and the Ministry of Health, supported by UNICEF, had agreed to work towards data sharing through the national database being established by the MoLHW.[21]

Victim assistance coordination[22]

The MoLHW is responsible for the coordination of services for all people with disabilities, including mine survivors.[23] There has not been a National Landmine Victim Assistance Project Annual Work Plan since 2010. In 2011, Eritrea reported that it has a short-term national mine action strategic plan which includes an objective to establish a victim support system that will provide effective assistance to the large group of existing victims and serve new requirements. The system was to be completed over five years.[24] In consultation with other relevant sectors, the MoLHW coordinated a revision process for the National Policy on Disability and its implementation strategy for 2012 to 2016.[25] The National Policy remained in draft status as of March 2015 despite efforts to advocate for its adoption. Its goal is to address the broad aspects of protection and harmonize the interventions of all stakeholders. It would also cover victim assistance within broader disability programming. UN agencies have planned their 2015 activities in line with the policy.[26] Eritrea has reported that intersectoral coordination and partnerships for victim assistance required further strengthening.[27] Inadequate victim assistance coordination and  lack of needs assessment were reported among the main challenges and limitations for victim assistance in Eritrea.[28]

The National Health Policy and the Health Sector Strategic Development Plan for 2012 to 2016 recognizes rehabilitative care as one of the four pillars of healthcare.[29]

Inclusion and participation

It was not reported specifically how mine/ERW survivors were included in planning and coordination or implementation of victim assistance of services, however the Eritrean National War-Disabled Veterans Association (ENWVA) implemented numerous assistance projects.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[30]

Restrictions were imposed on the operations of foreign and international agencies in Eritrea. The ICRC endeavored to regain the authorities’ acceptance of its humanitarian mandate and activities so that it might continue providing assistance to vulnerable civilians, particularly those affected by conflict. However, the ICRC reported that there were difficulties in implementing most of its planned activities because of the lack of visas and travel permits for expatriate staff and constraints on importing materials into the country. In addition, the organization “could not work as it wished with the ‘Red Cross Society of Eritrea,’ which had received government instructions in 2012 not to accept support from international organizations.” Despite these restrictions, the ICRC carried out operations in areas where it had access and focused on assisting people in border regions most affected by past armed conflict.[31] The absence of a legal framework recognizing its status limited the Red Cross Society of Eritrea’s ability to carry out humanitarian activities. Continued dialogue between it and the ICRC led to preliminary discussions on resuming cooperation on capacity building initiatives in 2015.[32]

An Eritrean, no matter where he or she lives, is no more than 10 kilometers from a health facility, but more than half of the health facilities in Eritrea are “health stations” which cannot address traumatic injuries.[33] There was a shortage of skilled health personnel, particularly in remote areas. First aid response for landmine victims needed to be made faster and the continuation of medical treatment after the discharge of victims from health facilities required further strengthening.[34]

Travel to and from hospitals capable of providing emergency and surgical services can take hours or even days in the most remote parts of the country with limited ambulatory services available.[35] To respond to this need, UNICEF integrated first-aid emergency services into its community-based MRE activities. MRE facilitators, community volunteers, and teachers received first aid training in 2013. To further strengthen the link between the community-based MRE activities and the provision of first-aid for mine and ERW causalities, 1,000 first-aid kits were distributed during the year. In remote and war-impacted areas where infrastructure is extremely poor, the distribution of these first-aid kits significantly improved access to emergency treatment, which contributed to a reduction in the number of deaths occurring during transportation of victims to health facilities.[36]

The government dedicated substantial resources to support and train thousands of men and women with physical disabilities resulting from war and conflict.[37] The CBR program of the MoLHW operated in 56 of Eritrea’s 57 sub-regions, covering about 80% of the country. In 2014, the CBR program increased its coverage from the previous year by extending into Zoba Anseba and the Northern Red Sea administrative regions. The CBR program is run by community volunteers and provides psychosocial support, referral services, and economic reintegration activities for survivors and other persons with disabilities.[38] The CBR program is an important tool for raising awareness about disability issues, and in community trainings the ministry tries to combat the stigma and marginalization of persons with disabilities. As part of the CBR program, a revolving loan fund for persons with disabilities was established in all sub-regions. On average, more than 1,000 families of landmine casualties and other persons with disabilities benefitted from the revolving fund every year.[39] Of the four orthopedic workshops in Eritrea, three are run by the MoLHW, but only two are functional and as both are located in urban areas, persons from rural areas seeking orthopedic services need to travel many miles for care. Due to the lack of resources, the quality of products from the two operational workshops is substandard. The MoLHW provided prostheses for free or sold them to persons with disabilities at a nominal price.[40]

ENWVA also provided employment and economic inclusion opportunities, including specific services for female war veterans with disabilities. In 2014, 736 war-disabled veterans received economic support equaling 10 million nakfa (US $666,667) in credits for livelihood schemes. Assistance programs included training on dairy farming and the provision of water pumps and beehives, and ensured participation of women as beneficiaries. The association also provided medical equipment and assistive devices, including wheelchairs, crutches, and eyeglasses. Much of the support comes from Eritrean diaspora members in Europe.[41]

In 2014, the ICRC provided support for the livelihoods of people affected by past conflict and facing economic hardship, including those living near the Ethiopian border and households headed by women whose husbands were killed or disabled during armed conflict or called up for military service.[42]

Physical accessibility and awareness of disability issues have been improving in Eritrea. New construction in the country is generally accessible and through social mobilization activities, persons with disabilities are engaging more and more in community events. However, getting to and from the physically accessible building and inclusive events is a challenge as transportation is not accessible and many survivors and persons with disabilities lack the needed mobility aids for full participation.[43]

Access to education remained a challenge for survivors. UNICEF ran its “Donkeys for School” project to provide transportation for 1,000 children with disabilities to and from school in the remote northern region of Anseba, but the program was limited in its reach due to a funding gap.  Psychological support for survivors needed to be further strengthened. UNICEF designed an ambitious program for improving victim assistance in 2015, including strengthening orthopaedic services and psychosocial support, but funding for the program remained a challenge.[44]

Article 14 of the Eritrean constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or in the provision of other state services.[45] The government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions, although it did implement programs to assist persons with disabilities. There were no laws mandating access to public or private buildings, information, and communication for persons with disabilities. However, an increasing number of buildings provided such access or employed guards who offered assistance as needed.[46] The Ministry of Education has launched an Inclusive Education Policy to ensure accessibility of schools for children with disabilities and mainstreaming children with disabilities into secondary schools and colleges.[47]

Eritrea celebrated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December 2014. In an event attended by government ministers, the UNDP, and representatives of associations of persons with disabilities, the Minister of Labour and Human Welfare called on the general public to create an enabling environment for persons with disabilities. The minister also highlighted the CBR program and income-generating programs.[48]

As of 1 May 2015, Eritrea had not signed or acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).