ASIA/LAOS- The victims of unexploded ordnance have decreased, but the danger is still high

Vientiane (Agenzia Fides) - The number of people involved in accidents caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos, the country with the largest number of cluster bombs around the world, has fallen from an average of 300 a year to 117 in the last two, according to statistics reported by the government. However, the National Regulatory Authority for UXO / Mine Action (NRA) estimates that there are over 200 thousand hectares of agricultural land still to be cleaned. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. planes dropped more than two million tons of bombs on the country, including 277 million cluster munitions, 30% of which remain unexploded, according to the NRA. Currently, all 17 provinces of the country and about 25% of villages still suffer from various types of UXO contamination. Despite the decline in the number of victims, people are still very shaken.
A new ten-year program of the government was presented on June 27 at a meeting in Geneva for the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits the use, stockpiling and production of cluster munitions. The program focuses on cleaning the territory of the poorest 42 districts affected, mainly along the old Ho Chi Minh trail that runs from north to south along the Vietnamese border. The government has given priority to the cleaning of about 22 000 hectares of land to be cleaned within the next 16 years. Since the start of the operations in 1996, the UXO Lao, the national operator cleaning staff, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has cleaned up about 24 thousand hectares.
In Xieng Khouang Province in just two weeks about 108 unexploded weapons were found. The CCM 2008 came into force in August 2010. The government of Laos hosted the First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010, concluded with the adoption of the Vientiane Declaration and Action Plan. According to Article 6 of the Convention, all states in the position to do so, are obliged to provide assistance to those affected. Everyone's cooperation is essential for Laos in order to cope with this emergency. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/07/2011)