Victim assistance commitments

Niger is responsible for landmine survivors and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Niger has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and is a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Niger ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 24 June 2008.

Casualties Overview

In 2014, the Monitor identified two casualties in one single incident from a mine/ERW in the Republic of Niger.[1] The two casualties were boys who were injured when their car drove over an undefined mine in the region of Agadez, in Northern Niger.

In 2013, the National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Weapons (Commission Nationale Pour la Collecte et le Contrôle des Armes Illicites, CNCCAI) reported 17 mine/ERW casualties.[2] In 2012, 40 new mine/ERW casualties were identified. The vast majority of these casualties (32 out of 40) were civilians, including one child. All incidents took place in the north of the country, principally in the region of Bilma, Agadez.[3] While there were no incidents reported in Niger in 2011, in 2010, 12 casualties were identified.[4]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2015. With Boko Haram's presence expanding in early 2015 in southeast Niger, in the region bordering Nigeria, reports of casualties indicated either mines or victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were most likely responsible. In February, two soldiers were killed and another four injured in Bosso, on the border with Nigeria.[5] Less than a week later, two civilians were killed when their horse-driven cart drove over an unidentified mine in the same area.[6]

CNCCAI reported a total of 400 mine/ERW casualties (108 killed; 287 injured; and five casualties of unknown outcome) in Niger between 2007 and April 2014.[7]

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2014, the total number of mine/ERW survivors in Niger was at least 287.[8] Most survivors were concentrated in the Agadez region, an area with a total population of just 500,000.

CNCCAI is the government focal point for victim assistance, but due to lack of funds its role has been largely limited to advocacy within the government on behalf of survivors.

Disability issues are the responsibility of the Ministry of Population, Gender and Child Protection; the Ministry of Health deals with physical rehabilitation services.[9]

In April 2014, the government of Niger launched a new project supported by the European Union named “Working for a better enjoyment of full human rights for Persons with Disabilities.” The project was to be implemented for 30 months in four parts of the country and aimed to contribute to the full and equal enjoyment of all rights by promoting civic education of persons with disabilities to participate fully in public life. To this end, the government identified priority sectors including education with a strong desire to achieve education for all through the adoption of the sectoral program of education and training 2014–2024.[10]

Niger lacks a specific victim assistance plan, but victim assistance was one of the six sectors of intervention of the Action Plan 2009–2013.[11] On victim assistance, the plan focuses on medical assistance and rehabilitation with the aim to “support health structures and ensure follow up to the continued care of mine victims.”[12] While the Ministry of Health does have a National Health Development plan (2011–2015), there was no mention of physical rehabilitation in the plan.[13]

Victim assistance services were severely limited, particularly in the Agadez region, where most survivors live. In 2014, access to physical rehabilitation services remained difficult for several reasons: the lack of service providers and qualified professionals (only five rehabilitation professionals for the whole country), the lack of financial resources to cover the costs of services, and the lack of transportation for potential beneficiaries.[14] Handicap International launched a victim assistance program in 2010 to reduce the impact of mines/ERW in the Agadez region in the north of the country, the boundary of the Saharan zone.

In 2014, the ICRC continued to support the physical rehabilitation department at Niamey National Hospital (HNN), in a new phase following the refurbishment of its physical rehabilitation department and the establishment of the vast network of disabled associations in the country in 2013. In 2014, the ICRC implemented several activities aimed at increasing accessibility: improving the existing facilities at HNN and subsidizing the cost of treatment, transport, and accommodation for those arriving from the northern region. The ICRC also provided financial support to enable HNN to purchase materials and components to conduct its activities. More people with physical disabilities benefited from various services at the ICRC-assisted center (475, an increase of 27% compared to 2013). The services included the provision of prostheses (with 30% for mine survivors), as well as physiotherapy (21% for mine survivors).[15]

The HNN continued to develop national physiotherapy capacities: a specialist from another center completed training there, and one orthotic/prosthetic specialist resumed his duties after ICRC-sponsored studies abroad. ICRC-supported sports events on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities raised awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities.[16]

As of 1 October 2015, Niger had not submitted a Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report since 2012. This report, for calendar year 2011, included information on victim assistance in Form J.