Laos reviews preparations for cluster munitions meeting

T he government held a final meeting on Thursday to agree upon preparations for the First Meeting of States Party to the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions, to be held in Vientiane from November 9-12. 

Dr Thongloun Sisoulith.

At the meeting, various sub-committees reported their progress before Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Thongloun Sisoulith gave advice on what the sub-committees need to focus on next.

Preparations are now 90 percent complete, with officials currently working on the programme for the opening ceremony and deciding which locations should be visited. 

Officials agreed to add one more location to the itinerary to demonstrate to the hundreds of delegates the suffering of the Lao people as a consequence of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left by American warplanes during the Indochina war more than three decades ago. 

More than 500 delegates have so far registered to attend the event, according to Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' International Organisations Department, Mr Saleumxay Kommasith. 

Mr Saleumxay, who is Head Secretary of the National Committee on the Preparation for the First Meeting of States Party to the Convention, said he expects the number of delegates to be between 700 and 800 people from more than 100 countries. 

Laos is the most UXO-affected nation in the world per capita, so the government is working diligently to host the event and further enhance international awareness of its predicament. 

The government hopes to increase international support towards freeing the country of UXO so that Lao people can live without fear for their lives. 

For more than 30 years, Lao people have lived with undetonated bombs in their backyards, rice fields, and forests. The bombs continue to kill people almost every day. 

From 1964 to 2007, more than 50,000 people were killed or injured by UXO in Laos. Bombs often explode while farmers clear their land for farming activities. Farmers have been killed trying to collect bomb scraps for sale. 

The first meeting is an event of historic significance for Laos, and is expected to result in the adoption of four important documents, namely the Vientiane declaration, the Vientiane plan of action, a work plan for 2011, and an agreement on reporting formats, under the convention. 

The four documents are currently receiving comments from various countries to make them more comprehensive. 

The Vientiane declaration will determine directions and guidelines for member countries in implementing the Oslo convention, while the Vientiane action plan will stipulate detailed measures on how to unearth and detonate UXO, enhance international cooperation, save victims and create awareness for people to understand the danger of the bombs. 

Laos will develop a national plan from the documents and continue to mobilise funds from international donors to remove bombs so that farming activities can be expanded and poverty alleviated.

To date, the Oslo convention has been signed by 108 nations and ratified by 40 states.

By Somsack Pongkhao

UXO victims lose their livelihoods

Village people across Laos are being injured and killed after accidently detonating unexploded ordnance (UXO) when they unwittingly strike one of these buried remnants of war.

UXo accident victim Mr Bounliep points to his injuries,	UXo remnants yet to be destroyed by UXo Lao.	A device is detonated by the UXo Lao team.

On June 29, 2009 Mr Bounliep, a 45 year old farmer from Kaengluang village in Phalanxay district, Savannakhet province, narrowly escaped death as he dug a termite mound out of his rice field. 

As he dug, he struck a device that exploded, leaving the man badly injured with deep flesh wounds caused by shrapnel. He was very lucky to have survived the explosion and to have kept all his limbs. 

According to the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao), the explosion was caused by a projectile bomb. Had the accident resulted from cluster munitions or another more dynamic bomb formation Mr Bounliep would surely have lost a limb or quite possibly his life. 

UXO Lao works to reduce the number of UXO related deaths and injuries around the country. The team also clears arable land so farmers can grow more crops. 

“My rice field was about one hectare in size and there was a termite mound in the middle of it,” Mr Bounliep told Vientiane Times . “I decided to dig it out because it was getting bigger and took up space where I wanted to plant rice.” 

Describing his experience, he said he had carried his hoe and shovel into the field in the early morning. He had only been digging for five minutes when the explosion occurred. 

When people living nearby heard the explosion, they immediately rushed to the farmer's side and took him to the district hospital as quickly as possible. 

The injuries sustained by Mr Bounliep have left him severely disabled. He complains that he cannot help his family like he used to because of his feeble condition. “When I try to walk more than two or three steps at a time, I feel dizzy and fall to the ground,” he said sadly. 

“I have lost the sight of my right eye which means I can't work like I used to.”

The frustration is evident in Mr Bounliep's voice and he resents the fact that he is now a burden on his family.

According to the National Regulatory Authority UXO/Mine Action Sector in Laos, about 300 people have been injured or killed in accidental UXO detonations every year since 1975, the year when Laos finally achieved liberation from foreign domination. 

Often, the bombs explode as farmers clear land before planting rice. UXO has become a daily hazard in the lives of people in rural farming communities. 

Laos is one of the countries worst affected by UXO. About 270 million cluster munition packages were dropped on Laos by the Americans during the Indochina War. Of these, 80 million failed to explode and pose a continuing threat to communities. 

Between 1964 and 1973, more than 2 million tonnes of ordnance was dropped on Laos by US warplanes. The country is the most heavily bombed region per capita in history after 25 percent of its villages were bombed. UXO contaminated a total surface area of 87,231 sq km.

The US government has given US$9 million to UXO Lao between 1996 and 2009 via organised clearance programmes. 

More than 17,000 hectares of agricultural and other land has been cleared by UXO Lao since it was established in 1996. Luang Prabang, Huaphan, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, Savannakhet, Saravan, Xekong, Champassak and Attapeu provinces have all benefited from clearance activities. 

A UNDP report published in 2008 stated that the UXO sector was running at a capacity level that would see priority agricultural land cleared within 16 years. By scaling up resources, the mission could be achieved in 10 years, allowing agriculture to develop at a faster rate. 

UXO clearance in Laos is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and removing Laos from the UN list of least developed countries by 2020.

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao