Lao PDR

Vongphone working in the rice fields. Photo: UNDP Lao PDR

It's rice planting season in Xieng Khouang Province, northern Lao, and for forty-nine year old Vongphone and his wife Bounmee these are nervous times. Five years ago Vongphone's left hand was blown off when he set off an unexploded cluster bomb whilst farming. Today the land is still littered with unexploded ordnance.

“It's hard for us because when we farm there is still UXO there and I am still afraid of it. I have to farm, otherwise we have no income,” said Vongphone.

From 1964 to 1973 US aircraft dropped more than two million tonnes of ordnance on Lao PDR. This included 277million cluster sub-munitions, 30 percent of which failed to detonate, according to government statistics.

The National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action (NRA) estimates that there are still over 200,000 hectares of prime agricultural land to be cleared of UXO.

The Government's new 10-year plan focuses on clearing land in the 42 poorest districts affected. “ We have to select about 22,000 hectares among those 200,000, which we can do within 16-years. But if we introduce perhaps new technology, perhaps we can reduce the time to 10 years,” said Dr Maligna Saignavongs, senior government advisor to the NRA.

UXO Lao, the national clearance operator, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has cleared around 24,000 hectares since starting operations in 1996.

In Paek district, Xieng Khouang Province, 31-year old Khamtoun and her all female team from UXO Lao are clearing land for a new village development project. In just two weeks 108 unexploded cluster bombs have already been found.

“In this area UXO has had a major impact and this motivated me to do this job because I want to clear all the UXO out of this area so people can earn their livelihoods and be safe,” Khamtoun said.

The long-term impact on families is clear to see. Vongphone and his wife Bounmee had to take 3 of their children out of school after his accident. “There has been a lot of change because the head of the family can't work and we can only earn one third of the income we had before,” said Bounmee.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions that bans the use, stockpiling and production of cluster munitions entered-into-force in August 2010. The Government of Lao PDR hosted the First Meeting of States Parties in November last year that resulted in the adoption of the Vientiane Declaration and Action Plan.

Under article 6 of the Convention all states that are in a position to do so are obliged to provide assistance to those affected.

Saleumxay Kommasith from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that the Vientiane Action Plan will ultimately result in more funding from the International Community. This will not only help Lao PDR to fulfill its obligations under the Convention but also to achieve the Lao specific Millennium Development Goal 9 on UXO action.

The number of UXO accidents in Lao PDR is on the decrease from an average of 300 a year to 117 in 2010. The deadly legacy of UXO though still affects the lives of people across the nation.

“I feel very sad and stressed when I think back to the accident. I can still see the images in my mind,” said Bounmee.

Watch a film about the impact of UXO on Lao PDR