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Iran

Last Updated: 12 March 2014

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties and Victim Assistance

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a significant number of landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) survivors who are in need of assistance.

Casualties

Casualties overview

All known casualties by end 2012

8,243 recorded; estimates of 10,000

Casualties in 2012

123 (2011: 129)

2012 casualties by outcome

46 killed; 76 injured; 1 unknown (2011: 43 killed; 86 injured)

2012 casualties by device type

12 anti-vehicle landmines; 48 antipersonnel landmines; 21 unspecified mines; 11 ERW; 31 unknown device type

In 2012, the Monitor identified 123 casualties from landmines and ERW in Iran.[1] All landmine casualties occurred in the five western border provinces, namely Western Azarbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and Khuzestan. Two naval mine casualties occurred in Hormozgan province and ERW casualties occurred in Alborz, Ilam, Khuzestan, and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces.

Men made up the vast majority of casualties (79 of 86, or 92%) for which the age and gender was known.[2] Seven casualties were children, making 39% of the 18 civilian casualties for which the age was known. This compared with one known child casualty in 2011. There were three female casualties, of which at least one was a girl.[3]

In 2012, more than half of all casualties (67) were deminers. This was a steep increase compared with 36 deminer casualties in 2011 and was the highest number of deminer casualties recorded in a single year since 1988.[4] Another 54 casualties were civilians; this was a decrease from the 77 civilian casualties in 2011.There were two casualties among security forces, significantly fewer than the 16 military casualties identified in 2011.

The 123 casualties in 2012 was a slight decrease from the 129 identified for 2011 and the lowest number of recorded annual casualties since 1988, the first year for which data is available.[5] The highest number of annual casualties, 918, was recorded in 1995, after which annual casualty totals steadily declined through the end of 2012.[6]

The Monitor identified 8,243 casualties (2,519 killed; 5,723 injured; one unknown) from landmines and ERW in Iran between 1988 and 2012, based on data that was received in 2013.[7] The Monitor had identified 953 casualties between 1999 and 2011, relying mostly on media reports. This compares with 3,418 for the same period, based on data that was received by the Monitor in 2013. As of 2006, the UN reported that there had been approximately 10,000 casualties in Iran.[8]

Victim Assistance

Between 1988 and the end of 2012, there were 5,723 people injured by landmines and ERW in Iran, the vast majority of which are civilians (5,616).[9]

Victim assistance since 1999

Since 1999, comprehensive victim assistance has been available for military casualties. The same assistance has been available to deminers since 2010. Civilians who were recognized as war victims could also access some services through government agencies, though psychological support and economic inclusion programs were extremely limited. However, many civilians and deminers who were not recognized as war victims received minimal assistance that was insufficient to meet their needs. Few services were available in the remote regions where many survivors are based.

There is no comprehensive plan or central coordinating body in charge of assistance to all victims of landmines. The result is that the assistance that victims have received varies widely in accordance with the victim status they are assigned and with the legal framework that happens to govern their cases.

Military survivors and their families, whether they had their mine incident while demining or in another context, receive support through their respective military units.[10]

Since 2006, the Iranian Mine Action Center (IRMAC) has provided life and disability insurance coverage for deminers working for private subcontractors.[11]

Civilian mine/ERW victims who were recognized as martyrs or disabled “veterans”[12] were entitled to comprehensive assistance provided by Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA). Other civilian mine/ERW victims who were not recognized as such were only entitled to negligible allowances accorded by Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF) or the State Welfare Organization (SWO).[13]

For 17 years (1993–2010), the law and regulation governing the eligibility of civilian mine/ERW victims[14] as martyrs or disabled veterans expressly excluded the victims who were known to be “morally corrupt” or “counter-revolutionary” as well as those who had “recklessly,” or “intentionally,” caused the incident.[15] Provincial commissions (referred to as “Article 2 Commissions”) in the five war-affected provinces determined the eligibility of individual victims and were criticized for excluding many individuals from the benefits that the law assigned to survivors and families.[16] Victims had no means to challenge decisions of the commissions.[17]

Following protests by the victims and civil activists and at the initiative of a number of members of parliament from the affected provinces, the 1993 law establishing the process for registering as a mine/ERW victim and its 1994 regulation were amended in August 2010.[18] References to “moral corruption” and “recklessness” were removed and other changes were made in order to make the procedure more accessible to victims.[19] The amendment was retroactive, enabling all past victims, including those who were excluded by the decision of previous commissions for “recklessness” or “corruption,” to submit their case under the new law. It is reported that since the amendment is in place, new victims are much more easily granted the status that entitles them to comprehensive assistance.[20] However, through 2012 there were bureaucratic hurdles, such as the need for extensive paperwork that was not available during the war and early post-war years, which prevented many past victims from successfully registering for assistance.[21]

The August 2010 legal amendment also impacted deminers, though not retroactively. Under the new law, the FMVA must register deminers who have been killed or injured by landmines and ERW as martyrs or disabled veterans and provide for the medical care of those injured.[22] All victims of demining incidents occurring after August 2010 are eligible for all the services provided by FMVA; this assistance is still not available to deminers who had their accident prior to this date.[23]

Victim assistance in 2012

In 2012, government bodies responsible for victim assistance had reduced available funding due to the general deterioration of the economic situation, which was at least partly attributable to international sanctions. This situation reduced the availability of these services to those victims who received assistance from the state.[24] In 2012, a shortage of medical supplies, resulting from international sanctions, continued.[25]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2012, Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC) carried out two targeted needs assessment studies on disabled veterans who had lost an eye and those who were amputee veterans, respectively. As of September 2013, results of these studies had not been published but were expected to be released soon thereafter.[26] In 2009, JMERC carried out a quality of life assessment with relevant government authorities of 345 mine/ERW survivors from five western provinces who were injured between 1988 and 2003.[27] Information collected was shared with FMVA, NGOs, and IRMAC and continued to be used throughout 2012 to connect survivors with necessary services.[28]

As of June 2011, IRMAC was working to develop a single, comprehensive database of mine/ERW casualties, compiling information available from a variety of national ministries and foundations, such as the Ministry of Interior, FMVA, and the IKRF, as well as from local authorities and NGOs working in mine affected provinces.[29] No further update on the database was available through September 2013. The Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans, adopted in December 2012, required the FMVA to develop a comprehensive database on the state of health of the persons under its coverage, including all the medical and paramedical information concerning them.[30]

Victim assistance coordination

Government coordinating body/ focal point

Ministry of the Interior with the FMVA, IKRF, and the SWO for civilian survivors; IRMAC and FMVA for casualties caused by demining accidents

Coordinating mechanism(s)

None

Plan

None

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for coordinating and monitoring victim assistance for all civilian survivors and the families of those killed. Survivors or their family members must report the mine incident to the ministry office in their district to register and to have their case submitted to the local commissions as detailed above. If martyr or disabled veteran status is granted to the victim by the Commission, they are referred to the FMVA for assistance. Victims whose applications are rejected by the local commission are referred to SWO in urban areas and to the IKRF in rural areas.[31]

The Department of Martyrs and Veterans, within IRMAC, is responsible for the coordination of assistance to deminers that are injured or killed as a result of a demining accident. The Ministry of Defense monitors the provision of victim assistance to deminers.[32]

In 2012, IRMAC began discussions with the Ministry of Interior to design a plan of action aimed at better meeting the needs of civilian landmine survivors, following consultations with the ICRC and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).[33] No further information was available on the process and outcome of these discussions.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2012, JMERC, in collaboration with the Tehran Peace Museum, conducted community-based participatory research projects that involved the participation of landmine and chemical weapons survivors. In this framework, some landmine survivors participated in awareness raising and victim assistance activities.[34] No information was available on participation of survivors in victim assistance planning or coordination.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[35]

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2012

JMERC

Governmental agency

Research, facilitating access to services

Healthcare needs assessment studies targeting specific groups of victims

IRMAC

Government agency

Facilitate and provide a full range of victim assistance services to deminers involved in demining accidents

Ongoing in 2012. Decreased availability of healthcare due to reduced budgets

FMVA

Governmental agency

Healthcare and financial support to war victims, including mine/ERW survivors and family members of those who are killed

IKRF

Government agency

Relief services for vulnerable groups, including survivors

SWO

Government agency

Relief services for persons with disabilities

IRCS

National society

Physical rehabilitation

Ongoing support

ICRC

International organization

Participated in consultations with IRMAC and IRCS on the design of a plan of action aimed at better meeting the needs of civilian victims. Provided IRMAC with 70 medical kits

Activities resumed following conclusion of partnership agreement between ICRC and IRMAC in 2011

In December 2012, parliament enacted the Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans.[36] The legislation stipulates all the services and benefits to be provided to disabled veterans and families of martyrs. Mine victims and their families would be eligible for all those services if successful in applying for the required status.

The services include provision of adequate housing, complete coverage of healthcare expenses, and provision of all necessary medical services, including physical and psychological rehabilitation by FMVA. The law establishes 25% employment quotas in favor of eligible persons in the public sector, tax reduction and payment by the state of the social security fees of private enterprises that hire the protected persons, and payment by the state of the protected persons’ unemployment benefits and pension. It foresees the provision of legal aid for covered persons by the Ministry of Justice whenever necessary. Finally, the law requires the FMVA to cover school fees for eligible persons and their children who study in private higher education institutions and establishes quotas in public universities.

In contrast to this comprehensive assistance system, mine victims not granted the status of disabled veterans are not eligible for any assistance beyond minimal allowances available through SWO or IKRF. Allowances remained static between 2004 and 2012 despite high inflation. As a result, in 2012 victims relying on these allowances were said to be living in extreme poverty, and in some cases, had been reduced to begging.[37]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law in Iran. In 2012, new government-funded buildings were constructed in accordance with legal standards of public accessibility, although structures predating the adoption of those standards remained inaccessible.[38]

Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 23 October 2009.

 



[1] Monitor media monitoring from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012; and telephone interview with individual requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[2] Another 34 casualties were males of unknown age.

[3] The age of the other two female casualties was unknown.

[4] Telephone interview with individual requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[5] Sources for 2011 casualties were: Monitor media monitoring from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011; and telephone interview with individual researcher requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[6] Telephone interview with individual requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[7] Telephone interview with individual requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[8] “Information about Landmine Explosion Victims,” provided by Nahid Nafissi, Director, Iranian Mine Victim Resource Center, 25 August 2005; and UN, “2006 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects,” New York, 2007, p. 199.

[9] Telephone interview with individual requesting anonymity, 1 September 2013.

[10] Telephone interview with Behnam Sadeghi, Professional Deminer, Mine Risk Educator and Blogger in Min o Zendegi, www.minefield.blogfa.com, 2 September 2013.

[11] “The Iraqi Government refuses to hand over the maps of location of landmine fields: Interview with Commander Mohammad Hossein Amirahmadi, Director of IRMAC,” dsrc.ir/contents/view.aspx?id=7728.

[12] “Veterans” has been translated from the Persian “Janbaz,” which is used to refer to military veterans who have become disabled but is also used to refer to civilians who have been injured due to landmines and other conflict related causes.

[13] Mohsen Kakarash, “The hidden enemy and thousands of victims,” Radio Zamaneh, 20 April 2012, archive.radiozamaneh.com/society/humanrights/2012/04/20/13415; and “Hand grenade killed two Kurdish sisters,” Bahar (daily newspaper), 3 July 2013, p. 14, baharnewspaper.com/Pdf/92-04-12/14.pdf.

[14] This includes direct victims of landmine incidents (survivors) and the family members of those killed by landmines.

[15] Law on assignment of disability allowance and benefits for the families of the returnees to war-affected regions who die or become disabled as a result of explosive incidents, 31 August 1993, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/92295; and Regulation on the implementation of the law on assignment of disability allowance and benefits for the families of the returnees to war-affected regions who die or become disabled as a result of explosive incidents, 25 December 1994, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/115015.

[16] “Examination of the difficulties met by persons with disabilities in presence of the member of the High Council of Islamic Human Rights Commission, Ayatollah Doctor Hashemzadeh Harissi,” Iranian Commission of Islamic Human Rights North-Western Office, 28 July 2009, hrtabriz.blogfa.com/post-356.aspx. Mr. Harissi states that Article 2 of the Commission deprives the victim and their families from their rights under the justification that the victim has entered a forbidden zone and has manipulated the explosives with the intention of committing sabotage.

[17] “Criminal complaint against the agents who sealed the Office of the Centre for Collaboration in Mine Clearance,” Center for the Defense of Human Rights, 11 March 2009, www.humanrights-ir.org/php/view_en.php?objnr=206.

[18] Law amending the law on assignment of disability allowance and benefits for the families of the returnees to war-affected regions who die or become disabled as a result of explosive incidents, adopted in 1372, 22 August 2010, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/789070.

[19] However, the exclusion of victims who are known to be “counter-revolutionary” remains in place.

[20] Telephone interview with Behnam Sadeghi, Min o Zendegi, www.minefield.blogfa.com, 2 September 2013.

[21] Quote from Osman Mozayyan, lawyer specialized in the rights of war victims in Mohsen Kakarash, “The hidden enemy and thousands of victims,” Radio Zamaneh, 20 April 2012, archive.radiozamaneh.com/society/humanrights/2012/04/20/13415.

[22] Law amending the law on assignment of disability allowance and benefits for the families of the returnees to war-affected regions who die or become disabled as a result of explosive incidents, subsection J, adopted in 1372, 22 August 2010, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/789070.

[23] “The Iraqi Government refuses to hand over the maps of location of landmine fields: Interview with Commander Mohammad Hossein Amirahmadi, Director of IRMAC,” 17 May 2012, dsrc.ir/contents/view.aspx?id=7728. A personal account of a deminer victim, who claims that 80% of the disabled deminers who had their accident before the adoption of the new law are still waiting for the settlement of their cases and do not receive any support, can be found here: Bazyar, “A disabled deminer speaks of his problems on the Disabled Veterans’ Day,” 27 June 2012, www.minefield.blogfa.com/post/501.

[24] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Shahriar Khateri, Medical Doctor, JMERC, 14 September 2013.

[25] Siamak Namazi, “Sanctions and Medical Supply Shortages in Iran,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, February 2013, www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/sanctions_medical_supply_shortages_in_iran.pdf.

[26] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Shahriar Khateri, JMERC, 14 September 2013.

[27] The five provinces were Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Khuzestan, and Western Azerbaijan. Response to Monitor questionnaire by Shahriar Khateri, JMERC, 31 May 2011.

[28] ICRC, “Annual Report 2010,” Geneva, May 2011, p. 424; and response to Monitor questionnaire from Shahriar Khateri, JMERC, 14 September 2013.

[29] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Mohammad Hossein Amirahmadi, IRMAC, 7 June 2011.

[30] Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans, article 15, 22 December 2012, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/840522.

[31] Telephone interview with Behnam Sadeghi, Min o Zendegi, www.minefield.blogfa.com, 2 September 2013.

[32] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Mohammad Hossein Amirahmadi, IRMAC, 7 June 2011.

[33] ICRC, “Annual Report 2012,” Vol. 1, Geneva, May 2013, p. 420.

[34] Response to Monitor questionnaire from Shahriar Khateri, JMERC, 14 September 2013.

[35] Ibid.; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2012,” Geneva, May 2012, p. 420.

[36] Comprehensive Law on Provision of Services to War Veterans, 22 December 2012, rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/840522.

[37] The IKRF allowance was found to be insufficient even for buying bandages or other most elementary medical articles, let alone other living costs. At the exchange rate as of September 2013, it amounted to approximately US$15 per month. “The hidden enemy and thousands of victims,” Radio Zamaneh, 20 April 2012, archive.radiozamaneh.com/society/humanrights/2012/04/20/13415; and “Hand grenade killed two Kurdish sisters,” Bahar (daily newspaper), 3 July 2013, p. 14, baharnewspaper.com/Pdf/92-04-12/14.pdf.

[38] United States Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran,” Washington, DC, 17 April 2013.