Assistance to Conflict Victims

"When the conflict began, we chanted ‘Death is better than humiliation’, but when we came here, we realized that we left death to live in humiliation."

- Conflict victim

Some Thoughts “The story of the human race is war, and before history began murderous strife was universal and unending" –Churchil

“Conflict is the result of opposing interests involving scarce resources, goal divergence and frustration” – Niklas Swanstrom (Swedish scholar, Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy).

“Conflict is a situation in which two or more parties strive to acquire the same scarce resources at the same time” – Peter Wallensteen (Professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden).

ConflictFrom the Latin for ‘to clash or engage in a fight’, a confrontation between one or more parties aspiring towards incompatible or competitive means or ends.

A clash of interests, values, actions and directions which creates differences between people and group of people. Basically conflict is an emotionally defined and driven. It does not exist without emotions.

Types of Conflict

• Intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict.• Organizational and community based conflict.• Intrastate (civil war) and international conflict.• Intra-social and inter-social conflict.• Religious based or ideological based conflict.• Diplomatic based and economy based conflict.

Main factors for conflict

1. Structural factors :- goal differences2. Emotional factors :- Religious, cultural,

ethical or any value based factors.

Possible outcomes of conflict• win-lose situation (traditional view)• Lose-lose situation (neither party benefits)• Win-win situation (both parties have their

needs met)

Results of the Conflict• Negative feeling between disputants.• Seeking to undermine each other’s goal-seeking capabilities.• Stress and tension in the society.• Disagreements, no acceptance of other’s presence and existence.

• Verbal exchanges, unpredictable clashes.

• Use of force and fights.

• Arms conflict, war, social disorder and lawlessness situation.

• Violation of human right and no peace in the society.

Effects of Conflict

Positive EffectA conflict gives positive effects if it is handled constructively. They are:· Positive change in the society· Opportunity for newer possibilities· Renewal in relationships· Increase in productivity of all sectors

Effects of Conflict….Negative effectThe effects of conflict will be negative if proper conflict management is not done. The negative effects are:· Increase in stress of people· Decrease in production· Degradation in relationships and worsening cooperation· Restricted areas increase· Increase in the possibilities of violent conflict

These negative effects of conflict can lead to disintegration. So, importance must be given to timely interventions to resolve conflict.

Consequences of conflict

Human Rights Violations Direct Violence Displacement Sexual Cruelties Increased exposure to HIV Physical Destruction Psychological Impact Impact on Children Impact on Women Breakdown on family and social structure Culture of violence

Conflict Victims, Who are they?

Vulnerable Groups:- The conflict victims will generally be the following;

• Women and children• Minorities (Ethnic and Religious)• Refugees• IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)• Persons infected with HIV/AIDS• POWs • Single parents• Sick and/or handicapped• Elderly people• Victims of human rights abuses• Poor, uneducated, unemployed• Migrant workers

Humanitarian Assistance

Food

Water and sanitation

Shelter

Health care

Security

Basic Principles of Humanitarian Assistance to the conflict victims

Preserving human dignity

Neutrality

Impartiality

Humanitarian Actors Local authorities Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs United Nations agencies Intergovernmental organizations Donor-governmental agencies (e.g. ECHO, USAID,

DFID, CIDA, DANIDA ) NGOs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

(OCHA)

Assistance to Conflict Victim

• Conflict victims suffering injury, the loss of a family member, or property damage as a result of inter communal violence, insurgent activity, or military operations should receive support for their immediate needs as well as tailored services to improve their livelihoods and overall wellbeing.

The assistance includes;• Vocational training, • Start-up kits, • Small business grants and• Private sector linkages to help people earn incomes.• Scholarships to build the foundation for the future through education

and• Psychosocial support to help victims and their families begin

healing from the trauma of conflict.

UN and Other agencies in Assistance to Conflict Victims

UNHCR Refugees and IDPsWFP Emergency food-aid reliefUNICEF Children and pregnant mothersWHO Preventative health care

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International humanitarian law POW exchanges POW visits Humanitarian relief

International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Humanitarian relief

ICRC’s Assistance to the Conflict Victim

• The aim of the ICRC’s assistance programmes is to preserve life and restore the dignity of individuals and communities affected by armed conflict or other situations of violence. Assistance activities address essential needs of individuals and communities as determined by their social and cultural environment. These needs vary. They are assessed in relation to the context and in close consultation with the affected communities. The ICRC’s responses are as varied as the needs.

ICRC’s Assistance….

• Assistance programmes may provide food, shelter, water and medical care;

• They also aim to ensure that access to essential health services and medical facilities is maintained, that safe water and adequate sanitation are available, that people are protected from explosive remnants of war, and that income and means of production are preserved.

• This may require the direct involvement of ICRC staff, working with, and building on, the existing local capacity to deliver these essential services.

• It may entail encouraging the authorities and other actors to fulfill their responsibilities, or a combination of both approaches.

ICRC’s Assistance…

• In 2009, close to 15 million victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence in 47 countries benefited from the ICRC’s assistance programmes.

ICRC’s Assistance to Conflict VictimsHealth ServicesThe main areas covered by the ICRC’s health activities are :• First aid ;• Primary health care ;• Hospitals (war surgery and essential surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology,

paediatrics, internal medicine and hospital management) ;• Health in detention ;• Physical rehabilitation. Physical rehabilitation projects may involve;

Manufacturing high-quality prosthetic and orthotic appliances and components ;

Providing national technicians with theoretical and practical training in accordance with recognized standards ;

• Preparing local partners and authorities to take over orthopedic services ;• Developing vocational-training programmes and creating employment

opportunities for physically disabled people.

ICRC’s Assistance to Conflict Victims…

Economic security It aims at :• Providing conflict victims with the basic

commodities essential for survival when they are no longer able to obtain these by their own means (such as food, blankets and cooking utensils) ;

• Enabling communities and individuals to maintain or regain self-sufficiency by protecting and/or restoring the necessary means of production (e.g. providing seed, tools, cash grants, and work opportunities).

ICRC’s Assistance to Conflict Victims…

Water and habitatIn particular, water and habitat activities involve:• Providing displaced persons and civilians affected by

armed conflict with emergency water, sanitation and shelter ;

• Developing safe water and sanitation solutions for the resident population in rural and urban areas ;

• Repairing and upgrading hospitals and health centers that do not meet current needs or have been damaged as a result of armed conflict ;

• Improving environmental health in places of detention.

The forensic services The forensic services focus on :• Providing support for ICRC field operations on all matters

related to human remains and forensic sciences ;• Providing training and advice on best forensic science practices

applicable to the search for the missing, including during natural disasters, and their dissemination and promotion ;

• Developing tools, including for the collection and management of information on human remains, as well as guidelines and manuals on preventing persons becoming unaccounted for and investigating missing-person cases.

ICRC’s Assistance to Conflict Victims…

Weapon contaminationThis may include:• Field assessments of weapon use and the threat posed

by weapons;• Deploying clearance experts to survey, destroy or

make safe unexploded or abandoned ordnance;• Providing direct support for communities through

risk-reduction and risk-education activities – ensuring that these communities do not have to put themselves at risk during their day-to-day activities.

ICRC’s Assistance to Conflict Victims…

Conflict of Nepal

• Khampa movement • 2007 movement• 2036 movement• 2046 movement• Maoist movement• Current movement in Terai and other hilly region of

Eastern Nepal.

Assistance Efforts for Nepal Conflict Victims

• Nepal government has taken the period between February 13, 1996 and November 21, 2006 as the conflict period.

• Nepal government has brought out a Citizens Relief, Compensation and Economic Assistance Procedure, 2066.

• Nepal Government has defined 'Conflict victims‘ as those who depended on individuals killed in conflict, those who lost their body parts during conflict, those who were displaced, those who disappeared and their families, those abducted by the conflicting parties and those suffering damage to lives and property.

• Two units have been established at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction for providing relief. Taskforce for collection of details on

conflict affected individuals, families and infrastructure

The relief and rehabilitation unit (The term of the unit lasts until mid-July 2011).

Assistance Efforts for Nepal Conflict Victims….

Types of relief in the Nepalese Context

• Economic assistance for claimants of those killed due to conflict (Claimants of those killed due to the conflict can obtain Rs. 100,000 from related district administration office).

• Interim relief for widows of those killed in conflict (A widow of an individual who died due to conflict is entitled to receive Rs. 25 thousand from the concerned district development office).

• Economic assistance to be received by the nearest relative of the individual forced to disappear due to conflict (The claimant in this situation will be entitled to receive Rs. 100,000 from the concerned district administration office).

Types of relief in the Nepalese Context

• Interim relief to be received by individuals abducted or made to disappear for more than 30 days (victim will be entitled to receive Rs. 25,000 from the concerned district administration office).

• Provision for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred in treatment of those injured due to conflict(expenses as per the hospital bills charged during treatment at the government or community hospitals and of travel expenses incurred for the patient and one attendant to him or her. It also includes the expenses incurred in buying medicines recommended by doctors and a Rs. 75 daily relief for an attendant to the patient during the period of hospitalization.

• Provision for medical treatment of those injured due to conflict (for those under treatment )

Types of relief in the Nepalese Context

• Economic assistance for individuals disabled due to conflict (Rs. 200,000 in case of complete disability and a proportion of Rs. 200,000 for other disabilities as ascertained in percentage terms).

• Scholarship for children of conflict victims or children victimized during conflict (distributed by the district education office where the concerned children are studying. The scholarship funds are: Rs.10,000 for grades 1 to 5, Rs. 12,000 for grades 6 to 8, Rs. 14,000 for grades 8 to 10, Rs. 16,000 for grades 11 to 12 or for the proficiency certificate level).

• Compensation for damage caused to a house rented by a government office or for damage by other reasons during the conflict period (funds equal to the damage ascertained after evaluation).

Types of relief in the Nepalese Context

• Provision for compensation in case of damage to individual property (movable).

• Compensation for the loss caused by not being able to engage in agricultural activities in the course of security management.

• Compensation for vehicles for hire used by security unit during the conflict period.

• Compensation for the damage to vehicles caused during the time of closures and blockades during the conflict period.

Sources

• http://www.ird.org• http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/publications/

icrc-002-4009.pdf• http://www.slideshare.net/anuragchakma

/consequences-of-conflict-15221648• http://www.nepalmonitor.com/2011/07/governme

nt_relief_ef.html• http://www.un.org