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; approximately 42% 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 2015, the Monitor identified 36 casualties from victim-activated IEDs (improvised mines) in Algeria.[1] As opposed to previous years, the majority (24) of casualties were civilians while the rest (12) were military and security forces. There were three child casualties in separate incidents; this was similar to 2014 when four child casualties were reported, but an increase from 2013, when none were recorded. Thirty casualties were male and two female (including one girl). It is likely that the total number of casualties was higher, due to a lack of official data collection, as annual casualty data has not 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.[2]

The total of 36 casualties identified in 2015 marks a significant decrease after a regular rise in annual casualty numbers over a period of five years (88 in 2014; 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.[3]

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.[4] 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).[5] The total of 7,050 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 since then, it is estimated that, as of 31 December 2015, there were 3,754 mine/ERW survivors in Algeria. In October 2009, it was reported that there were at least 3,551 mine survivors in Algeria.[6] By March 2011, there were 2,325 registered mine survivors in Algeria.[7]

Victim assistance in 2015

Improvements in the accessibility of services and renewed interest from public authorities to make services more accessible to persons with disabilities were noticeable throughout 2015.[8] In particular, improvements were noticed in access to education and in the health sector, and in access to rehabilitation care and to benefits for mine/ERW survivors.[9] 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.[10] Civilian mine/ERW victims also have access to rehabilitation services provided at institutions dedicated to former combatants.[11] In 2013, the amount of this pension increased,[12] however, in November 2015, persons with disabilities and their families protested in Algiers to call for increased disability benefits.[13] Government statistics from 2013 stated there were two million individuals with disabilities in the country, and NGOs working with persons with disabilities agreed that number remained accurate, however, the Ministry of Solidarity stated that it paid disability benefits to only 830,000 persons with disabilities in 2015.[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, as well as 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).

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.[17] The results of this study had not been shared as of August 2016.[18]

Victim assistance coordination[19]

The Interministerial Committee coordinates victim assistance in cooperation with the ministries of mujahidin, national solidarity, and of the interior.[20] In 2015, no victim assistance coordination meetings were organized.[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.[22] As of August 2016, it was still awaiting formal adoption by the government.[23]

Algeria did submit its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2015.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2014, survivors were included in the development and finalization of the new victim assistance action plan.[24] They were also involved in non-governmental coordination on victim assistance; in data collection on new victims; in orientation and referrals of victims and persons with disabilities towards available services; in economic inclusion projects; and in psychological support to survivors and their families.[25]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2015[26]

In 2015, mine/ERW survivors as well as other persons with disabilities continued to have access to most orthopedic and assistive devices free-of-charge, while the National Employee Social Insurance Fund (Caisse Nationale des Assurances Sociales des Travailleurs Salariés, CNAS) covered 80% of the costs of smaller prosthetic devices and audio-equipment.[27] Furthermore, following the signature of a convention between the CNAS and the National Office for the Equipment of Persons with Disabilities (Office National d'Appareillages et Accessoires pour Personnes Handicapées, ONAAPH) in 2015, 50 new types of rehabilitative, mobility, and orthopedic devices were made available to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW victims.[28]

Algerian authorities have taken steps to reduce the administrative and bureaucratic barriers for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW victims, to improve access to social services and access to financial support and, in particular, for transport and education 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.[29]

HI implemented programmes to facilitates dialogue between the associations working in the disability field, civil society organizations, and the public authorities in order to enable inclusive public policies aimed at advancing the rights of persons with disabilities to be developed, implemented, and monitored. HI also implemented a pilot project on inclusive education in Setif and Tizi Ouzou to enhance and broaden the access of children with disabilities to the education system in Algeria. HI works with children with disabilities in Algeria to improve both in specialized institutions and the mainstream school system, as well as training teachers in inclusive education.[30]

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, in education, in access to healthcare, and in the provision of other state services. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law in 2015 and there was widespread societal discrimination against persons with disabilities. Few government buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities.[31]

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.[32] In 2015, the ministry provided some financial support to healthcare-oriented NGOs, but for many NGOs such financial support represented a small fraction of their budgets.[33]

In 2015, Algeria acceded to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.[34]