Kuwait
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
Casualties Overview
|
All known casualties by end 2014 |
1,478 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (234 killed; 1,244 injured) from August 1990 to 2014 |
|
Casualties in 2014 |
1 (2013: 1) |
|
2014 casualties by outcome |
1 killed (2013: 1 injured) |
|
2014 casualties by device type |
1 antipersonnel mine |
One landmine casualty was identified in Kuwait in 2014. In April, a Sudanese shepherd was killed in the north of the country.[1] In 2013, an Indian shepherd lost both legs and was blinded by a landmine, and in 2012, a Bangladeshi shepherd was killed.[2]
Three mine casualties were identified in 2011.[3] The casualty rate has remained low since sharply decreasing in 2008. People most affected by landmines in Kuwait are immigrants, mainly shepherds from south Asia who work in the desert areas of the country and are often unaware of the mine/ERW threat.
Landmine casualties continued to be reported in 2015; in March a Bangladeshi shepherd was killed and his colleague injured near Ahmad Al-Jaber base at Abdullah Port.[4]
From 1999 to the end of 2014, the Monitor identified 130 mine/ERW casualties in Kuwait (32 killed; 55 injured; 42 unknown).[5]
The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) recorded 1,405 mine/ERW casualties in Kuwait from August 1990 to 2002, including 85 killed and 1,026 injured by mines, and 119 killed and 175 injured by ERW.[6]
Cluster munition casualties
Between 1990 and 2006, at least 198 cluster munition remnants casualties were recorded in Kuwait (61 killed; 137 injured). These casualties were mostly clearance personnel.[7]
Victim Assistance
Approximately 68% of residents in Kuwait were non-citizens, many from the Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against non-citizens was prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including employment, education, housing, and healthcare.[8] In 2013, the government began segregating public hospital staff and treatment times between citizens and non-citizens, reserving mornings for treatment of citizens exclusively, except in case of non-citizen emergencies.[9]
Non-citizens with disabilities did not have access to government-operated facilities. They were also not eligible to receive benefits available to citizens with disabilities for paying the costs of transportation, housing, employment training, and social welfare.[10] It was reported that the mine casualty severely injured in 2013 received support for his care through donations.[11]
Kuwait ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 22 August 2013.
[1] “Sudanese shepherd killed in landmine explosion,” Kuwait Times, 13 April 2014.
[2] “Landmine Explosion in the desert: Shepherd lost his legs,” Kuwait Times (International); and “Help Shankar - Landmine Injury Victim in Kuwait,” Dester Girl Kuwait blog, 8 September 2013. “Stray Mine Kills Shepherd,” Kuwait Times, 4 June 2012; in 2013, the Monitor, which was last updated on 25 November 2013, had reported an additional person injured in 2012, however media reports had incorrectly dated the incident. See “No end in sight for plight of injured Indian worker – Nearly killed by Iraqi landmine,” Kuwait Times, 15 September 2013. The report records the incident as occurring on 26 February 2012, rather than the same date in 2013.
[3] “Landmine Blows Apart Shepherd,” Arab Times, 20 January 2011, p. 4; and email from Dr. Raafat Misak, Professor, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, quoting information provided by the Ministry of Defence of Kuwait, 16 April 2012.
[4] “Landmine blast claims Bangladeshi Shepherd,” Arab Times, 8 March 2015.
[5] Including 30 people killed and 43 injured between 2003 and the end of 2014.
[6] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World (New York: Human Rights Watch, August 2002).
[7] Handicap International, “Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities,” Brussels, May 2007, p. 18. There has been a lack of data on civilian casualties.
[8] United States (US) Department of State, “2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait,” Washington, DC, 25 June 2015.
[9] US Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait,” Washington, DC, 27 February 2014.
[10] US Department of State, “2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait,” Washington, DC, 25 June 2015.
[11] “Landmine victim Jakanshar flies home,” Indiansinkuwait, 29 October 2013. He later received a compensation payment of 30,000 KWD (or approximately $100,000) from Kuwait after returning to India, according to one report. “Landmine victim gets 30 000 dinar from Kuwait government,” Kairali People (People TV), 14 February 2014.