Germany backs UXO clearance in Luang Prabang

(KPL) The German government yesterday signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vientiane to continue support for unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance.

Germany agreed to provide 250,000 euros to support the work of the Lao National UXO Programme (UXO Lao) in Luang Prabang province for 2011.

The contribution adds to the more than 11 million euros Germany has provided to Laos and its people to deal with UXO since 1992, Charge dAffaires at the German Embassy to Laos Mr Wolfgang Joachim Thoran said at the signing ceremony.

Germany is proud to be associated with UXO Lao and the UNDP, and is very happy with the results the cooperation has achieved so far, he added.

Through the latest commitment, Germany continues its two-pronged approach to UXO action. On the one hand, Germany supports UXO Lao operations in Luang Prabang province and on the other it is funding an integrated programme of UXO clearance and development in Borikhamxay province implemented by Dodi International.

This support will further the reach of UXO Lao in Luang Prabang province and will ultimately benefit the people of the province,� said UNDP Resident Representative Mr Minh Pham.

The work of UXO Lao here is also vitally important in preserving the area around the UNESCO World Heritage listed town.


The German government is a strong and dependable supporter of UXO Lao, providing annual contributions that go towards clearing UXO in Luang Prabang, a world heritage site, said UXO Lao Director Mr Bounpone Sayasenh.

In the words most bombed country per capita, the continued presence of UXO poses serious humanitarian and development challenges .

Thirty-five years after the Indochina war ended people are still falling victim to UXO accidents, compounding the effects of poverty and hindering efforts aimed at poverty reduction.

UXO hinders the nations efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to graduate from the UNs list of least development countries by 2020.

From 1998 to the present, the funds provided by Germany through the UNDP for UXO programmes in Laos amounts to almost US$3 million.

As a direct result of these funds 1,960 hectares of land has been cleared, 183 hectares of land has been released through technical surveys, and some 380,000 people have benefited from risk awareness activities.

UXO Lao has cleared more than 19,715 hectares of land since 1996. More than 16,533 hectares of this was agricultural land, the clearance of which benefited more than 3.3 million people, according to UXO Lao.

UXO Lao staff have visited almost 8,629 villages, conducting community awareness activities on the dangers of UXO for more than 2.1 million people.

So far clearance teams have destroyed more than 984,200 items of UXO, of which 46 percent were sub-munitions from cluster bombs.

UXO Lao works to clear bombs in the provinces of Luang Prabang, Huaphan, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, Savannakhet, Saravan, Xekong, Champassak and Attapeu.