Laos needs to clear UXOs

 By Malaylack
 (KPL) Over 55,000 Lao people have been fallen to UXOs victims from 1964-2008, said Mr. Phoukhiew Chanthasomboun, Head of Lao UXO Office at a press conference on 29 July.

In order to celebrate the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 1 August, the Lao UXO Clearance Team has prepared many activities such as walk for health at Patusay movement, a football match and UXOs display at the Chao Anouvong stadium on 31 July.

The Cluster Munitions is a convention for prohibiting all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of Cluster Munitions.

Lao government is focusing on clearance of cluster munitions in Laos to make the safe lands for people to farm, said Mr. Phoukhiew.

Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita, after over 270 million cluster munitions were dropped on the country during the war from 1964 to 1973.

He said that more than 80 million items of cluster munitions are scattered in 14 provinces of countrywide out of 87,000 square kilometers or about 1/3 of total area in the country.
The UXOs still contaminates much of Laos, with about 300 people killed or injured last year, of which 40 percent of whom are children, said Mr. Phoukhiew.

Since 1996 to 2011, the UXO has destroyed and removed 1,306,658 items of UXO out of 30,074 hectares, according to the statistic of the Lao UXO, he continues.

Out of total, of which 6,131 bombs, 533,541 bombies, 6,637 mines and 760,349 other cluster bombs have been destroyed.

During Indochina war from 1964 to 1973, the Lao population numbered over 3 million. New imperialist force dropped about 3 million tonnes of bombs on Lao territory, about 30 percent of which failed to detonate.

On average, one tonne of bombs descended on each Lao citizen. These bombs have caused great suffering for decades, especially among innocent farmers and children living in remote areas.

Lao PDR hosted the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions or Oslo Accord �Turn Vision into Action� was held in Laos from 9 to 12 November.

The meeting was attended by more than 1,225 representatives from 122 countries and 159 international organizations and NGOs.

40 countries have ratified the Cluster Munitions Convention and 87 countries signed the Convention.
The meeting has approved four documents of Vientiane Declaration, Vientiane Action Plan, work plan for 2011 and reporting formats to free the world cluster munitions.
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