Five-Year Review: State Party Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. Lao PDR hosted and served as President of the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010. It has participated in all of the convention’s subsequent meetings. Lao PDR served as the convention’s co-coordinator on clearance and risk education in 2012–2014. It works to promote universalization of the convention and has condemned new use of cluster munitions. Lao PDR has elaborated its views on several important issues relating to interpretation and implementation of the convention.

In its initial transparency report provided in 2011, Lao PDR confirmed it has never produced cluster munitions and has no stockpile, including for research or training. Lao PDR states that it has never used or transferred cluster munitions.

Policy

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 18 March 2009. It was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.

Lao PDR has expressed its intent to enacting specific legislation for the convention. It has listed existing laws and decrees under national implementation measures in its transparency reports.[1] In 2013, Lao PDR informed States Parties that it intends to “establish laws which adequately and fully reflect the high standards achieved in this convention.”[2] In April 2014, it confirmed that “national legislation that covers our remaining legislative obligations under the Convention” will be drafted by the Ministry of Justice in consultation with relevant agencies.[3]

Lao PDR submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 25 January 2011 and has provided annual updates ever since, most recently on 6 May 2015.[4]

As the most heavily contaminated country in the world in terms of cluster munition remnants, Lao PDR’s support was a crucial element in the success of the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[5] Lao PDR participated extensively in the Oslo Process and advocated strongly against proposals to weaken the treaty text.[6] Lao PDR hosted a key regional conference on cluster munitions in Xiengkhuang in October 2008.

Lao PDR continued to play a leadership role in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions ever since. It hosted the convention’s historic First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane in November 2010 and served as president. It has participated in all of the convention’s subsequent Meetings of States Parties, including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San José, Costa Rica in September 2014, where it made several statements.

Lao PDR has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva, most recently in June 2015. It has participated in regional workshops on cluster munitions. 

Lao PDR served as the convention’s co-coordinator on clearance and risk reduction education in  2012–2014.

Lao PDR has undertaken many efforts to promote the universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2014, Lao PDR urged all nations that have not yet done so to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and “send a strong message” against the use of cluster munitions.[7]

At the UN General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on Disarmament in October 2014, Lao PDR spoke about the harmful and costly legacy caused by cluster munition use and stated “We therefore condemn the continued use of cluster munitions in some parts of the world and urge those countries who have not done so to ratify or accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions as soon as possible.”[8]

During the Fifth Meeting of States Parties, the CMC held a film screening for delegates of “On Cleared Ground,” a feature-length documentary film about soccer in one of Lao PDR’s most heavily unexploded ordinance (UXO) contaminated provinces.[9]

Lao PDR is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretive issues

Lao PDR has elaborated its views on several important matters related to its interpretation and implementation of the convention. In June 2011, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official informed the Monitor, “With regard to your question on relations with states not party to this convention, we are aware of the different interpretations of the Article 21. For us it is clear that we strongly support the full prohibition of cluster munitions, including those activities during the joint military operations, transiting, foreign stockpiling and investment in the production of cluster munitions.”[10]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In its initial Article 7 report, Lao PDR declared that it “has no stockpiles” of cluster munitions and was not retaining any cluster munitions for training and research.[11]

Lao PDR reported that it has never produced cluster munitions.[12]

Lao PDR also has stated that it has never used or transferred cluster munitions.[13]

The United States (US) used air-delivered cluster munitions extensively between 1964 and 1973, dropping more than two million tons of ordnance, including more than 270 million submunitions. The 50th anniversary of the 1964 start of the US air campaign saw major US media outlets cover the legacy of cluster munition contamination in Lao PDR, but with few if any references to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Lao PDR’s leadership role in creating it.[14]

Jump to a specific section of the chapter:

Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has the world’s highest level of contamination by unexploded submunitions, as a result of bombing raids by the United States (US) during the Second Indochina War, from 1964–1973.[1] Survey is ongoing in six provinces, and by June 2021, 1,371.10km² of confirmed hazardous area (CHA) had been identified.[2] Clearance operators have reported the presence of at least 186 types of munitions in Lao PDR.[3]

Lao PDR became a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in March 2009. Following the approval of its extension request in 2019, Lao PDR is working toward an Article 4 deadline of July 2025 for clearance of all cluster munition remnants.

Lao PDR is also contaminated to a lesser extent by antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines. Mine clearance is not planned for in Lao PDR, although operators have come across and destroyed mines during the course of their work. In 2019, minefields were discovered by operators in the provinces of Houaphanh and Savannakhet. Lao PDR is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Risk education is carried out by operators as an integrated part of survey and clearance activities. Risk education is integrated into the school curriculum at primary level and is in the development phase at secondary level, while it is reinforced through networks of village volunteers. Men and children are considered to be high-risk groups.

Lao PDR is responsible for significant numbers of cluster munition victims and survivors of other unexploded ordnance (UXO), in addition to mine survivors.[4] Most survivors come from poorer, remote areas of Lao PDR, and often belong to ethnic minority groups, meaning they are disproportionately disadvantaged and may experience greater limitations in service provision.

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Note: N/A=not applicable.

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline extension request

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Laos was required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control no later than 1 August 2020. In January 2019, Lao PDR submitted an extension request which was approved at the Ninth Meeting of States Parties, confirming a new Article 4 clearance deadline of 31 July 2025.

Management and Coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[5]

Note: UXO=unexploded ordnance.

The National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) was established in 2004 and is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW). The NRA is responsible for coordinating and overseeing all aspects of the mine action program in Lao PDR, including survey, clearance, risk education, and victim assistance.[6]

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides programmatic and technical support to the NRA and the national operator, UXO Lao. This includes assessing and enhancing gender mainstreaming capacity within the sector, in partnership with the Lao Women’s Union (LWU) and UN Women.[7] Capacity development in information management, quality management, and operations support is provided through a US-funded contractor, Tetra Tech.[8]

A Sector Working Group meets once per year. It is led by the chair of the NRA board and is co-chaired by the UNDP and the US Ambassador in Vientiane.[9] The working group brings together key stakeholders and donors to enhance coordination and resource mobilization.[10]

Strategies and policies

Strategic goals were set out in the Safe Path Forward II plan, revised in June 2015 with specific targets up to 2020. These included undertaking survey and clearance activities in 3,860 villages; keeping clearance as a priority of the government’s poverty eradication program; reducing the number of annual casualties to less than 40; and providing medical care, vocational training, and economic support to 1,500 UXO victims.[11] A long-term National Strategic Plan to 2030, which will replace the Safe Path Forward II plan, is being developed under the leadership of the NRA and should be finalized in mid-2021.[12]

The NRA is also developing a new five-year plan for the sector (2021–2025), to replace the 2016–2020 workplan.[13]

The 2019 Article 4 extension request submitted by Lao PDR provided a workplan for the period 1 August 2020–31 July 2025 for the non-technical survey of 1,463 villages still to be surveyed, and also for technical survey to be conducted in 2,873 villages.[14] The extension request provided three scenarios for clearance: clearance of 25,000 hectares at the capacity of 5,000 hectares per year and at a cost of US$62.5 million; clearance of 80,000 hectares at an increased capacity at a cost of $200 million; or the clearance of 160,000 hectares at a cost of $400 million, which would also allow for the clearance of newly identified CHAs.[15]

Legislation and standards

Lao PDR has 24 national mine action standards, published in both Lao and English, covering survey, clearance, risk education, victim assistance, structure and organization of the sector, medical support, and information management.[16]

The national standards make a clear distinction between UXO clearance and mine clearance, with a standard for UXO clearance operations and a separate standard for mine clearance operations.[17]

A draft decree on the Regulation of UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR is being prepared, and is under consultation with line ministries, donors, international organizations, and local authorities.[18]

Draft national legislation specific to Article 9 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions was being prepared in 2020. A workshop was held at the end of 2020, organized by the NRA, but it remains a work in progress in 2021.[19]

Information management

The NRA operates a national-level Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database.[20]

National and global goals

Lao PDR’s ninth National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP), for 2021–2025, includes a specific output on the clearance of contamination as an enabler of development. The new NSEDP provides a target to clear an average of 10,000 hectares (100km²) of land per year for socio-economic development purposes.[21]

The government of Lao PDR adopted UXO clearance as a ninth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in 2010, targeting the removal of all UXO from priority agricultural land by 2020.[22] In September 2016, Lao PDR launched Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG-18), with targets for 2030 to reduce the number of annual casualties to zero; to clear all UXO contamination from high-priority areas and villages; to improve the healthcare-related and livelihood needs of victims; and to ensure government funding for remaining UXO activities.[23]

Gender and diversity

The NRA adopted a Gender Equality Strategy in 2011, while in 2014 a decree on the establishment of the NRA board made the LWU one of the board members.[24] In 2018 and 2019, the LWU has been the main partner with UN Women and the NRA for gender training.[25]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview[26]

Note: UXO=unexploded ordnance.

Coordination

The NRA provides overall coordination for risk education in Lao PDR through a mechanism of quarterly national technical working group meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss progress and planning, design and implementation of the national curriculum, best practice in risk education delivery, recommended materials and content, and new initiatives.[27]

The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) works with World Education Laos (WEL) to coordinate risk education sessions conducted in schools.

The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) has also provided support to ASEAN member states in risk education and has held several webinars and consultative meetings across the region, including a meeting in Vientiane in August 2019. One of the goals of the Vientiane meeting was to develop an integrated approach to risk education, to improve delivery for affected communities in ASEAN countries affected by mines/ERW.[28] ARMAC also produced a report on “Integrated Approaches to Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in ASEAN Member States.”[29]

National Standards and guidelines

The NRA has a National Standard (Chapter 13) on “UXO and Mine Risk Education.”[30] The standard was last updated in 2012, although there are plans to revise it in line with the most recent International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) 12.10.[31] The national strategy for the UXO Sector, “Safe Path Forward,” includes a sub-section on risk education.[32] The initial goal of reducing annual casualties from more than 300 to fewer than 75 has been achieved, and a more ambitious target of reducing casualties to less than 40 per year was agreed in 2015 during a review of the strategy.[33]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[34]

Note: MoLSW=Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare; UXO=unexploded ordnance.

Coordination

The MoLSW holds primary responsibility for the needs of, and services provided to, persons with disabilities through the National Committee for Disabled and Elderly People (NCDEP). Service providers, often non-governmental organizations (NGOs), enter into agreements, and have to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with the relevant state ministry responsible for the sector in which they are operating.[35]

A Disability Inclusive Development Technical Working Group, consisting of several international organizations, promotes victim assistance integrated with the wider disability sectors.[36]

A Victim Assistance Framework for 2021–2025 was being developed in 2020. The national plan and budget were planned to be updated to reflect the framework once completed. This process was reported to be consultative, including stakeholders such as the Lao Disabled People’s Association (LDPA), the Lao Disabled Women’s Development Centre (LDWDC), the Centre of Medical Rehabilitation, the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE), and UXO survivors.[37]

The National Policy, Strategy and Action Plan on People with Disabilities, for 2021–2030, was validated by the government in October 2020. It includes public awareness; data and statistics; healthcare; accessibility to information and services; vocational training and employment; social protection; cultural, sport and leisure activities; and disability governance. While victims of UXO were not specifically mentioned, the policy stated that it covers all persons with disability.[38]

Laws and policies

The National Health Sector Reform Strategy, for 2013–2025, aims to ensure universal healthcare coverage by 2025.[39]

Lao PDR has reported that the government works with the LDPA to organize training and seminars for court officials, and other relevant bodies, concerning the rights of persons with disabilities to access the justice system, and procedures for assistance in the event of a problem or complaint.[40]

The Decree on the Rights of People with Disability (Decree No.137, 2014) was approved by the Prime Minister in January 2019, while a policy and action plan on People with Disability was being developed which would include UXO victim assistance.[41] The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Okard project, managed by WEL, supports the Ministry of Health and the NCDEP to strengthen government ownership of disability inclusive policies; to better coordinate the organizations and institutions that support people with disabilities in Lao PDR; and to advocate for and advance the rights of people with disabilities.[42]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2020)[43]

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war.

* Landmine contamination is believed to be significantly less than contamination by cluster munition remnants.

Landmine contamination

During the Indochina conflict of the 1960s and 1970s, all sides in the war laid antipersonnel mines, particularly around military installations and patrol bases. Mined areas also exist in some border regions as a legacy of disputes or tensions with or within neighboring countries.[44]

The remote location of many of the mine-contaminated areas in Lao PDR means that mines have had little impact and are not a clearance priority. Of 101,512 UXO destroyed by operators in 2019, only 40 (just 0.03%) were mines.[45] The NRA, however, has stated that antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were “used in abundance” and has observed that “with a steady expansion of land use, “mined areas” will become “areas for growing concern.”[46] Mine types used include US-manufactured M14 antipersonnel blast mines, M16 bounding fragmentation mines, M18 claymore mines, M15 and M19 antivehicle mines, Soviet or Chinese PMN antipersonnel blast mines, POMZ fragmentation stake mines, and TM41, TM46, and TM57 antivehicle mines.[47]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Lao PDR has the world’s highest level of contamination from unexploded submunitions, resulting from the Indochina War of the 1960s and 1970s, when the US conducted one of the heaviest aerial bombardments in history. The US dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Lao PDR from 1964–1973, including more than 270 million submunitions (referred to locally as bombies).[48] The failure rate is unknown. Some of the most common types found in Laos include the BLU 26, BLU 3B, BLU 61, and BLU 63.[49]

Lao PDR does not yet have a reliable estimate of cluster munition remnants contamination. US bombing data indicates that there are around 70,000 individual target locations across Lao PDR.[50] Fifteen of Lao PDR’s 18 provinces are contaminated, with nine heavily contaminated: Attapeu, Champasak, Houaphanh, Khammouane, Luang Prabang, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, and Xiengkhouang.[51] Total estimated contamination in Lao PDR is 8,470km², based on extrapolation from US bombing records[52]

Lao PDR’s 2019 Article 4 deadline extension request reported that 858.29km² of CHA had been identified through survey.[53] As of the end of December 2020, the total extent of CHA had increased to 1,298.34km² due to ongoing survey in six provinces; with some limited survey having taken place in three others.[54] By June 2021, 1,371km² of CHA had been identified.[55]

In 2016, international operators in Lao PDR had estimated that the total amount of cluster munition remnants contamination was likely to be less than 2,000km².[56]

ERW contamination

Extensive contamination from other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Lao PDR includes both air-dropped and ground-fired UXO, although the full extent of this contamination is not known. Clearance operators have reported the presence of at least 186 types of munitions in Lao PDR.[57] These range from 20lb fragmentation bombs to 2,000lb general-purpose bombs, and sometimes larger items, as well as artillery shells, grenades, mortars, and rockets.[58]

Casualties

Casualties overview[59]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Casualties in 2020: details

In 2020, 23 incidents were recorded in Lao PDR, resulting in 33 casualties; a significant increase from 26 casualties in 2019.[60] Men represented the highest number of casualties at 17. The number of boys recorded as casualties increased from five in 2019 to 12 in 2020. All 26 survivors received medical care. The annual number of casualties in Lao PDR has decreased substantially from 304 in 2008, to 99 in 2011, and has remained below 60 since 2012. However, casualties increased in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. In the first six months of 2021, 28 casualties were recorded.[61]

In 2020, eight casualties were caused by cluster munition remnants, in which three boys and two men were injured, and one boy and two men were killed. The accidents occurred in the provinces of Khammouane, Phongsaly and Savannakhet. One boy was injured by a landmine in Saravan province. A bomb in Savannakhet killed three men in the same incident.[62]

The eight casualties caused by cluster munition remnants in 2020 represented an increase from five in 2019; but was still below the 21 casualties recorded in 2018.[63] Unexploded submunitions were reported to have caused at least 7,789 casualties in the period between 1964 and 2020.[64]

In February 2021, an incident was reported in Vientiane province, in which a submunition killed two children and injured three others, all of whom were under the age of 10.[65]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Clearance operators

Note: UXO=unexploded ordnance.

In total, 23 national commercial companies in addition to two international commercial companies are accredited as operators in Lao PDR, but only L&B UXO Clearance, OUMMA, Milsearch, and MMG conducted clearance in 2020.[66]

The International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces was also reported to have cleared 10 hectares of land (0.1km²) from October 2019–March 2020 in Xiengkhouang province.[67]

Lao PDR cited the need to expand and build the capacity of both national humanitarian operators: the humanitarian demining team of the Lao People’s Armed Forces (Army 58), and UXO Lao.[68]

Clearance

Land release overview[69]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

* Including items found from area clearance, roving tasks, and enhanced technical survey.

** There is no planned or systematic mine clearance in Lao PDR, but individual mines are removed if found.

Land release

Landmines

No planned or systematic landmine clearance is conducted in Lao PDR. According to the NRA, responsibility for clearance of mined areas predominantly falls under the remit of the Lao People’s Armed Forces, and if mines are discovered, the army is called to destroy them.[70] International mine action organizations are not accredited to clear mines in Lao PDR but can remove individual mines if found during operations. In 2020, 32 mines were reported to have been destroyed by operators.[71]

In 2019, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) reported that it had identified more than 40 minefields in Houaphanh province, contaminated with US-made M14, M16, M7, and POMZ landmines. HI also reported that an M7 antivehicle mine was identified and disposed of in 2019.[72]

Cluster munition remnants

Up to 2015, all operators in Lao PDR carried out general survey on areas for clearance, and cleared UXO as roving tasks based on requests and reports from villagers. Under this system, the number of UXO found per hectare cleared was relatively low, and no baseline existed regarding the extent of cluster munition remnants contamination in Lao PDR.[73]

In 2015, the sector adopted an evidenced-based survey methodology, the Cluster Munition Remnants Survey, designed to produce Lao PDR’s first baseline estimate of cluster munition remnants contamination.[74] The survey began in three provinces in 2015 and was expanded to a further three provinces from 2017 with US funding. The province-wide surveys are conducted by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Attepeu, Champasak, Saravane, and Sekong; by Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Xiengkhouang; and by the HALO Trust in Savannakhet. More limited survey is taking place in Khammouane by UXO Lao and MAG; in Houaphanh by UXO Lao and HI; and in Luang Prabang by UXO Lao.[75] HI will extend its mine action operations to Phongsaly province in 2021, with funding from the Netherlands.[76]

There is no estimate of total cluster munition remnants contamination in Lao PDR, although it is expected that a clearer picture of contamination in the six provinces being surveyed will develop by June 2022.[77] By the end of December 2020, 1,298.34km² of CHA had been identified.[78] Due to high contamination in Xiengkhouang province, survey may not be completed by the June 2022 deadline, and in 2021–2022 MAG intends to explore other survey approaches for this province.[79]

The 2018 National Standards on Survey in Lao PDR state that non-technical survey is to be carried out on all land within a village boundary, with the aim of identifying evidence points for technical survey.[80] Where possible, cluster munition remnants and UXO identified during non-technical survey are recorded and destroyed the same day, allowing villagers to see action being taken on the information they have provided.[81] Technical survey is only carried out based on cluster munition evidence points and is also conducted in whole villages.[82]

Clearance is only to be conducted on identified CHAs, unless either “official agreements with the NRA permit a dispensation” or in the case that “the UXO clearance is being paid for by a client and 100% clearance without survey is a requirement of the agreement.”[83] The NRA maintained the need to retain some flexibility to accommodate donor stipulations that sometimes require full clearance of land for development projects such as schools.[84]

In 2020, 54.32km² of land was reported to have been cleared, including 42.04km² of agricultural land and 12.28km² of land for development.[85] The NRA reported the clearance of 71,235 submunitions in 2020; a decrease from the 80,247 recorded in 2019.[86]

About 85% (46.01km²) of the total clearance for 2020 was undertaken in the nine most heavily contaminated provinces: Attapeu, Champasak, Houaphanh, Khammouane, Luang Prabang, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, and Xiengkhouang.[87]

According to the NRA, commercial operators only cleared land for development in 2020. Although commercial operators consistently cleared mostly development land, this marked the first time in the five-year period since 2016 that they were not reported to have cleared any agricultural land. On average during 2016–2020, 91% of land cleared by commercial operators was for development, whereas 9% of land cleared by international humanitarian operators was for development, and just 5% of land cleared by national operators was for development.[88]

Of the total 273.68km² land cleared in the period 2016–2020, 51% (140.11km²)was cleared by the national operators, primarily UXO Lao, resulting in the destruction of 79% of the total submunitions destroyed during clearance in this period (192,348). Another 20% (55.29km²) was cleared by international humanitarian operators, which accounted for 20% of submunitions destroyed during clearance (48,982).

During the five-year period, commercial operators destroyed only 1% (2,558) of the total number of submunitions, despite clearing 29% (78.28km²) of total land cleared. This was because commercial operators releasing land through clearance often discovered and destroyed very few cluster munition remnants among the otherwise low rates of contamination found, and sometimes none at all. Between 2016–2020, operators cleared a total of 39.81km² of land on which no submunitions were found.

Lao PDR’s 2019 Article 4 deadline extension request provided a workplan for survey of the 2,873 villages known to be contaminated.[89] This workplan outlines a timeframe for completion of non-technical survey in 1,463 villages, at a rate of 292 villages per year from August 2020 to July 2025. Technical survey is to be conducted in all 2,873 villages, requiring financial support of US$42.5 million.[90]

The clearance capacity rate in Lao PDR with current resources is about 50km² (5,000 hectares) per year.[91] The extension request submitted by Lao PDR in 2019 provides information regarding the additional funding needed to increase clearance capacity, to enable clearance of CHAs identified, and also clearance of additional contaminated areas identified during the extension period.[92]

Risk education

Risk education operators[93]

Note: UXO=unexploded ordnance.

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiaries of risk education in 2020[94]

Note: N/R=not reported; N/A=not applicable.

The risk education figures provided by operators and the totals provided by the NRA in its Article 7 reporting were not consistent. In 2020, the NRA recorded a total of 257,075 beneficiaries of risk education. Fourteen mobile risk education teams conducted 2,131 visits in 719 villages in Lao PDR, benefiting at least 247,590 people, (including 124,308 women). Risk education was also conducted in 2,899 schools, benefiting 264,114 students.[95]

Persons with disabilities were reported to be reached by risk education operators, but the numbers were not always recorded. The HALO Trust reported reaching 42 people with disabilities.[96]

Implementation

Target groups

Cluster munition remnants continue to present a huge humanitarian and socio-economic challenge in Lao PDR, inflicting casualties while also contributing to food insecurity, by limiting safe access to potentially rich agricultural land. The cost of development projects also rises when land needs to first be cleared.[97] High-risk activities, which include foraging on contaminated land or lighting fires directly on the ground surface, continue to result in cluster munition incidents in Lao PDR.[98]

Operators reported using national accident data provided by the NRA to prioritize areas for risk education.[99]

The key high-risk groups targeted by operators are:

• Adults, particularly men, due to livelihood activities such as cultivation, collection of forest products, hunting, and fishing; which take them into contaminated areas. Familiarity with contamination means that men often move UXO when encountering it. Adult women were reported to have a higher level of fear of UXO and have fewer overall accidents.
• Children, growing up in heavily contaminated areas, lack sufficient knowledge of the risks and are prone to picking up and playing with items. Children represented 42% of casualties in Lao PDR in 2020.
• The wider community, as everyday household activities such as lighting fires and digging in fields and gardens can result in UXO explosions.

The collection of scrap metal and explosives is still a common practice in some areas of Lao PDR, such as in the north; while operators have noted that demographic pressure, and pressures on land availability, may push people to live and work in contaminated areas in the future.

Teenagers have been identified as a group that is potentially excluded from risk education, and HI reported that there needs to be innovation to reach these groups as they may be at risk, particularly boys.[100]

Delivery methods

Risk education in Lao PDR is almost exclusively conducted in remote rural areas, particularly in ethnic minority villages and along the route of the former Ho Chi Minh trail, where contamination is heavy. Challenges facing risk education operators include accessing remote areas and ensuring that their messages are understood by ethnic groups speaking different languages and dialects.[101]

Operators reported that there are no standardized national risk education materials in Lao PDR, but that materials developed by operators are approved by the NRA. The majority of risk education delivery in Lao PDR is through face-to-face risk education sessions held in the community.

Risk education is integrated into the primary school curriculum for grades 1–5 in 10 provinces: Attapeu, Bolikhamxay, Champassak, Houaphanh, Kammouane, Luang Prabang, Saravane, Savannakhet, Sekong, and Xiengkhouang. The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) is supported by WEL in the implementation of the school program. Risk education is in the process of being integrated into the secondary school curriculum.[102]

UXO Lao has a network of community volunteers who provide risk education. In 2020, UXO Lao increased the number of village volunteers to 356; up from 320 in 2019. These volunteers provided risk education messages, followed-up with children who were out-of-school, recorded evidence points of cluster munition and other UXO contamination, and provided risk education in the local ethnic languages.[103] HI also reported training village volunteers to lead community risk education sessions. The HI volunteers are also trained on disability inclusion and gender mainstreaming.[104]

There is a hotline number in Lao PDR for the reporting of explosive ordnance.[105]

Marking

UXO marking signs are only used for targeted project areas.[106]

Major developments in 2020

Following the threat of mines identified in 2019 in the province of Houaphan, HI has developed specific landmine safety messages for development actors working in the province.[107] The HALO Trust is also developing specific risk education messages to address antivehicle and antipersonnel mine contamination discovered in Savannakhet province.[108]

In September 2020, the NRA provided 3,600 posters and 48,550 risk education books to nine UXO Lao offices, 13 NRA offices, five provincial radio stations, and to humanitarian operators.[109]

In 2020, the HALO Trust worked together with World Vision and the Poverty Reduction Fund in Savannakhet province, and coached five officers from the Poverty Reduction Fund in the delivery of risk education sessions.[110]

HI worked with GRET, OXFAM, the Bamboo National Development Agency, and the Lao Youth Union to provide risk education within their project areas in Houaphanh province.[111] HI also coordinates with the provincial arm of the DoES in Houaphanh, to train schoolteachers to deliver the risk education curriculum in primary schools.[112]

In 2020, HI purchased virtual reality goggles for the future development of risk education materials and for the provision of risk education at a UXO Education Centre in Houaphanh province.[113] MAG produced a short video on safe and unsafe behaviors, aimed at children.[114]

Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities in the UXO sector were stopped or delayed in 2020, yet risk education activities were adapted to include information on COVID-19 prevention, contributing to broader prevention measures to limit the spread of the virus.[115]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance operators[116]

Major developments in 2020

In 2017, USAID opened a call for implementers, to provide US$15 million in funding over a five-year period for services and support to the disability sector in Lao PDR.[117] The five-year USAID Okard project, managed and implemented by WEL, intends to improve and sustain the independent living and functional ability of persons with disabilities in three target provinces: Savannakhet, Vientiane, and Xiengkhouang. WEL is the lead implementing agency for the project, with support from partners including HI, the Ministry of Health, the Center for Medical Rehabilitation, the NCDEP, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, COPE, the QLA, and the LDPA. The project has three main components: health, economic empowerment, and stakeholder engagement.

In 2021, HI received funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with ARMAC to promote best practice in victim assistance in ASEAN countries. This will include updating national victim assistance standards, supporting disability champions to participate and contribute to international and national policy campaigns, and support for livelihood activities.[118]

Additional victim assistance projects were initiated in 2020 and 2021, which included support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.[119] In an agreement signed with the NRA and UNDP, South Korea will contribute US$2.5 million for victim assistance, and will be focused in in Houaphan and Xiengkhouang.[120]

Needs assessment

In 2019, HI conducted a joint mission with the NRA to assess the situation in Phongsaly province, where no assistance was provided. The assessment covered UXO-affected villages and available services in the Khoua and Mai districts.[121] HI conducted an initial needs assessment to identify persons with disabilities, their needs, and eligibility for services in their target areas.[122]

Medical care and rehabilitation

In 2020, the Center for Medical Rehabilitation—operated jointly by the Ministry of Health and COPE—provided physical rehabilitation to six survivors of UXO incidents.[123] This marked a significant decrease from the 23 survivors assisted in 2019.[124]

The Ministry of Health, with support from WEL and the QLA, provided medical treatment to 40 survivors in 2020.[125] WEL continued the development of a comprehensive case management system for UXO survivors in Xiengkhouang province in 2020.[126]

HI reported that people often lacked access to healthcare and rehabilitation due to a lack of services at the community level and the cost of transport. In the provinces of Houaphan and Xiengkhouang, HI supported existing healthcare providers to provide services free of charge or to provide financial support for urgent healthcare issues.[127]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

Psychological support for survivors is limited, with only three psychologists active in Lao PDR. HI uses a non-discriminatory approach to ensure that priority cases in greatest need of support can access the services and psychosocial support that they require.

The QLA in Xiengkhouang province provided 126 education scholarships for survivors at primary and secondary school level in 2019.[128]

The LWU worked with UN Women to provide vocational training and economic support to 10 survivors in Xiengkhouang province, while WEL provided support to the families of 10 victims in 2019.[129]

In 2020, 30 UXO survivors received vocational training and economic support from the LWU and the QLA.[130]

As part of the USAID Okard project—jointly funded by USAID, the Leahy War Victims Fund, the Victims of Torture Program, and the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) within the US Department of State—WEL has worked with the government of Lao PDR, along with the QLA and ARMI, to implement the Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) model in the provinces of Savannakhet and Xiengkhouang.[131]

The project uses an evidence-based participatory approach to create an enabling environment for disability inclusion within communities, including UXO and landmine survivors. The project has developed a needs assessment tool for survivors, the CBID modular tool. Developed by WEL and the Nossal Institute of Global Health at the University of Melbourne, the tool collects data related to household demographics, education, the function and use of assistive products, physical health conditions, mental health issues, access and utilization of health services, economic participation, and wellbeing. One of the eight CBID modules also focuses on the role of the caregiver and his or her health, wellbeing, and productivity. A disability and inclusion training package was finalized in 2020 as part of the Okard project.[132]

HI provided a training of trainers program on disability inclusion at national level and implemented training for stakeholders, service providers, and government partners on disability inclusion as part of a project funded by Luxembourg.[133]

A project in Houaphan province, funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by HI, ended on 31 May 2021. The project promoted economic integration through livelihood and forest management activities in five villages and capacity building of local partners to include disability and gender considerations in production value chains. Part of the project would be continued under funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but with a reduction in livelihood support activities.[134]

Cross-cutting

Through the USAID-funded Okard project, a sub-grant was provided to Disability Mainstreaming Advisory Services, to launch a social enterprise that aims to deliver professional recommendations concerning inclusive development to the private sector in Lao PDR.[135]

HI implemented Gender Action Learning Systems in Lao PDR, with the support of OXFAM, to provide community-based tools and practices to increase the participation of women in livelihoods and social activities in remote communities.[136] As part of the Learn to Read Project—a component of the Okard project—HI conducted a gender equality social inclusion analysis on disability and developed a gender-inclusive development action plan.[137]

Policy

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Lao PDR officials have stated on many occasions that the government made a decision in 2004 to accede but that the country needs time to prepare to meet the treaty’s obligations. In May 2019, Lao PDR stated that it has “always supported the spirit and humanitarian objective” of the convention, it has “increased [its] effort to implement certain clauses” of the convention, and “with continued supported from the international community, the Lao PDR would be able to accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in the future.”[1]

Previously, in December 2012, Lao PDR reiterated that it would work toward accession but did not provide any timeline.[2]

In July 2011, Lao PDR provided a voluntary Article 7 transparency report. The report notes that landmines may be used, possessed, or traded, if sanctioned. It states that there has been no survey regarding mined areas and that there are no specific warnings posted for mined areas, only warnings for areas with unexploded ordnance (UXO). It does not provide any information regarding its stockpile but does state that a small quantity of antipersonnel mines is held for training in mine detection.[3] Lao PDR had previously said that its voluntary Article 7 report, when submitted, would allow the international community to “understand the facts and reality on the ground.”[4] Lao PDR has not submitted an updated Article 7 report since.

The Lao government has cited the treaty’s mine clearance obligation and deadline under Article 5 as an obstacle to accession. Lao PDR also expressed concern regarding the possible diversion of resources from UXO clearance activities to a focus on antipersonnel mines.[5]

Lao PDR occasionally attends meetings of the treaty as an observer state, most recently the intersessional meetings in May 2019 and the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2017. Lao PDR did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014.

On 5 December 2018, Lao PDR voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 73/61 calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. This was the twelfth consecutive year it has voted in favor of the annual resolution, after abstaining in all previous years.

Lao PDR is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but not Amended Protocol II on landmines. It is party to Protocol V on explosive remnants, and is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Use, stockpiling, production, and transfer

In 2008, Lao PDR acknowledged that it has used mines in the past “to protect its borders.” It also said that the government does not export antipersonnel mines although it holds a small stockpile.[6] Lao PDR’s voluntary Article 7 report states that it has not used antipersonnel mines for more than two decades and that the country has no production facilities.[7]

In 2019, seven donors contributed some US$42 million to support mine action in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR); a $4.4million (or 10%) decrease compared to the $46.4 million contributed in 2018.[1]

In September 2016, the United States (US) announced it would provide $90 million over three years to support unexploded ordnance survey and clearance operations.[2] Consequently, the US provided more than three-quarters (76%) of all international funding in 2019. In 2017–2019, the US provided a total of $93.3 million.

Of the total contribution, about one-fifth ($8.8 million or 21%) went toward clearance and risk education activities, while 5% ($2.3 million) was for victim assistance, 2% went to capacity-building ($0.7 million), and the remainder ($30.2 million or 72%) went to other mine action activities that were not disaggregated by the donors.

In 2019, the government of Lao PDR reported a contribution of some $30,000 to its own mine action program, mainly to cover administrative costs such as rent, equipment, and personnel expenses.[3]

International contributions: 2019[4]

Note: N/A=not applicable.

With a total of nearly $200 million received in the five-year period from 2015–2019, international contributions to mine action in Lao PDR have averaged some $40 million per year. Lao PDR was the fourth largest recipient of international support during the period.

Summary of international contributions: 2015–2019[5]