Speaking during an interview with Lao media earlier this week while on a visit to an EU-funded UXO project in Savannakhet province, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to Laos Mr Michel Goffin said “The EU has been here for 14 years with Handicap International and other NGOs. We’re investing a lot of money and we will invest even more next year.”
Mr Goffin explained why the EU is engaging in UXO clearance outside of Europe. “The EU has been the location of many terrible wars and this is the first justification for us to be active and remove the traces of war outside Europe…we want to support the banning of cluster munitions and UXO clearance.”
He said other countries have only eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but Laos has another one related to UXO clearance. He pointed out that the obligation to remove UXO in Laos is not just the responsibility of Laos but of donor countries.
The EU not only aims to support UXO clearance but also to provide adequate capacity to the Lao government so that it is self-sufficient in terms of UXO clearance.
Lao Minister to the Government Office and President of the Leading Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication, Mr Bounheuang Duangphachanh, also joined the trip to view the EU-funded UXO project implemented by Handicap International in 40 villages of Sepon, Nong and Vilabouly districts in Savannakhet province.
The main purpose of the visit was to see the progress, achievements and approaches used by Handicap International in their efforts to return residential and farming areas back to local communities.
Mr Bounheuang reiterated that UXO is one of the main causes of poverty in Laos.
“In recent years, we have cleared more than 30,000 hectares of UXO and detonated more than one million bombs in Laos but there are still many more bombs remaining throughout our country,” he said.
“Wherever we go, we will see only bombs. Lao people live under the threat of UXO. Every year, about 300 fatalities are reported and many of them are children.”
The minister called for the international community to provide more support for UXO clearance to help poor people in rural areas to expand their farmland and increase productivity.
The EU is one of the major donors to the UXO sector in Laos and works closely with national and international bodies to help the country reduce the UXO risk and alleviate poverty by providing financial assistance to implementing agencies. The EU supports Handicap International, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Lao National Regulatory Authority and Lao National UXO Programme.
Over the last decade, EU assistance to the UXO sector in Laos amounts to over 10 million euros, of which about 6.7 million euros has been provided through Handicap International for activities aiming at reducing UXO impact and victim assistance.
The EU recently approved a new financial contribution of 4 million euros, of which 2.6 million euros will be provided through a Call for Proposals and 1.3 million euros through a UXO Trust Fund managed by the United Nations Development Programme.
Source: Vientiane Times
By Somsack Pongkhao
(Latest Update March 24, 2012)
By Somsack Pongkhao
(Latest Update March 24, 2012)
