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]

Contaminated by: landmines (extent of contamination unknown), cluster munition remnants (massive contamination, but extent unknown), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 August 2020
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Non-signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is massively contaminated with cluster munition remnants, but the scale of contamination is unknown. In 2015, 41.30km² of cluster munition-contaminated land was cleared, a significant reduction compared to the previous three years. However, the number of submunitions destroyed in 2015 rose significantly to 100,022, the most recorded in any year.[1] The amount of land identified as confirmed hazardous area (CHA) also rose sharply in 2015. In 2016, Lao PDR committed to a nationwide non-technical and technical survey with a view to producing Lao PDR’s first baseline estimate of cluster munition contamination by the end of 2021. 

The extent of landmine contamination is not known, but the remote location of many of the mined areas mean that they are currently not a clearance priority.

Recommendations for action 

• Lao PDR should expedite implementation of nationwide non-technical survey (NTS) and technical survey to reach an evidence-based estimate of the extent of cluster munition contamination.
• National authorities should establish clear standards for the conduct of NTS and technical survey.
• The authorities should streamline memorandum of understanding (MoU) procedures to facilitate timely use of donor funds and efficient deployment of operator’s survey and clearance assets.
• Lao PDR should establish a budget line for sustained national funding of the sector.

Mine Contamination 

The extent of landmine contamination in the Lao PDR is not known. All sides in the Indochina war in the 1970s laid antipersonnel mines, particularly along borders and around military bases and airfields. A Handicap International (HI) survey in 1997 found mines in all 15 provinces it surveyed, contaminating 214 villages,[2] and in the past clearance operators have estimated Lao PDR may have 1,000 mined areas.[3] The remote location of many of these areas means that mines have little impact and are not a clearance priority. The National Regulatory Authority (NRA), however, has stated that “with a steady expansion of land use ‘mined areas’ will become areas for growing concern.”[4]

Cluster munition contamination 

Lao PDR has the world’s highest level of contamination by unexploded submunitions as a result of the Indochina War of the 1960s and 1970s. The United States (US) conducted one of the heaviest aerial bombardments in history, dropping more than two million tons of bombs between 1964 and 1973,[5] including more than 270 million submunitions (known locally as bombies). Clearance teams have found 29 types of submunitions, including most commonly BLU 26, 24/66, and 63.[6]

There is no reliable estimate of contamination in Lao PDR. The government has reported that cluster munition remnants contaminate approximately 8,470km² and overall contamination from UXO covers up to 87,000km² (around 35% of Laotian territory).[7] Such estimates, however, are based on bomb targeting data that bears little relation to actual contamination, do not reflect results of clearance, and clearly overstate contamination by a high order of magnitude. International operators believe cluster munition contamination is likely to amount to less than 2,000km².[8] 

Submunitions are said to be the type of explosive remnants of war (ERW) most feared by the population.[9] The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has reported that as a result of submunition contamination, “economic opportunities in tourism, hydroelectric power, mining, forestry and many other areas of activity considered main engines of growth for the Lao PDR are restricted, complicated and made more expensive.”[10]

Unexploded submunitions accounted for three-quarters of all items cleared in 2015, a sharp increase that coincided with a growing development of survey and evidence-based clearance. In 2014, submunitions had made up about two-thirds of all items cleared, while UXO Lao, much the biggest operator, reported in 2011 that submunitions had accounted for almost half the items cleared in the previous 15 years.

Other ERW 

The NRA reports that 14 of Lao PDR’s 17 provinces are contaminated by UXO, nine of which are heavily affected.[11]

Extensive contamination from other ERW includes both air-dropped and ground-fired UXO, though the extent of contamination from ERW is not known. Clearance operators have reported the presence of at least 186 types of munitions in Lao PDR.[12] These reportedly range from 20lb fragmentation bombs to 2,000lb general-purpose bombs and sometimes larger items.[13] Other major causes of incidents are shells, grenades, mortars, and rockets.[14]

Program Management

The NRA has an interministerial board composed of representatives from 11 government ministries.[15] Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly is president of the NRA board.[16] A decree issued in February 2015 increased the size of the NRA board to 22 members, including, for the first time, a permanent deputy chairman expected to take care of the daily business of the board. The decree also specifies that the NRA “has a government budget included in the general budget” of the Board’s president.[17] A parliamentary election in March 2016 led to leadership changes, including the retirement of the NRA chairman, Bounheuang Douangphachanh, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and chairman of the National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication. As of May 2016, it was not clear who would succeed him. 

The NRA’s structure and role was set out in an “agreement” released in November 2012, defining it as the “secretariat for the Party Politburo and the Lao government for the overall management and consideration of policy matters, planning, projects and coordination of the implementation of the Lao PDR National Strategy for the UXO sector for the entire country.”[18] Its role includes setting policy, coordinating and regulating the sector, accrediting operators, setting standards, and conducting quality management. It also has the mandate to serve as the technical focal point for matters relating to international weapons treaties.[19]

Until 2014, the UNDP supported technical advisors to the NRA and UXO Lao, and a program and finance advisor. In 2015, the UNDP appointed one technical advisor to serve both the national regulator and the national operator. Sterling International, funded by the US Department of State, provided a technical advisor supporting quality management and operations at the NRA, a second adviser supporting national operator UXO Lao, and a third adviser providing support to both organizations as required.[20] 

Strategic planning 

Lao PDR embarked in 2010 on a plan for 2010–2020 known as “Safe Path Forward II,” a revised version of which was approved by the government on 22 June 2012. The strategy identified six general goals, including reducing the number of casualties each year from 300 to less than 75,[21] and the release of an average of 200km² a year. It called for the release of priority land through data analysis, general survey, technical survey, roving response, “and/or, finally, full clearance.”[22] The annual land release target of 200km2 has not been achieved; it is more than triple the rates of land release in each year in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The Lao government later added other targets. It adopted UXO clearance as a ninth Millennium Development Goal in 2010, targeting removal of all UXO from priority agricultural land by 2020.[23] In 2013, the government identified 64 priority areas planned to become small rural townships, 167 focal sites to consolidate and “stabilize” remote rural communities, and more than 1,680 priority projects.[24] No details were available on progress towards those targets as of June 2016. 

After a review of Safe Path Forward II in June 2015, the NRA set a number of specific targets for the remaining five years up to 2020, including NTS of 3,860 villages, pursuing technical survey, keeping clearance as a priority of the government’s poverty eradication program, bringing down the number of casualties to less than 40 a year, and providing medical care, vocational training, and economic support to 1,500 UXO victims.[25]

Plans for technical and non-technical survey 

In March 2016 the NRA issued a paper entitled, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” committing to a nationwide non-technical and technical survey to be completed by the end of 2021, with a view to producing Lao PDR’s first baseline estimate of cluster munition contamination.[26] The planned survey underscored the focus on tackling the threat of cluster munitions rather than general battle area clearance.[27]

The paper calls for the completion of NTS of all villages in the 14 cluster munition-affected provinces in four years, at an estimated cost of $6.84 million, and technical survey of all evidence points in five years (by the end of 2021), at a projected cost of $20 million.

Once technical survey is 30% complete; the government should be able to provide an estimate of total cluster munition contamination. Survey will be conducted mostly by international NGOs and UXO Lao, possibly with some involvement of the Lao PDR army in NTS. The paper also states that the government expects that international humanitarian operators will cease conducting clearance after technical survey has been completed.[28]

Information management 

Significant discrepancies persisted between the data recorded by operators and the NRA’s Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database, partly attributable to a backlog of entries, particularly relating to UXO Lao operations.[29] The data also differs from that presented in Lao PDR’s Article 7 report for 2015.

Operators 

Operators included five humanitarian operators—one national and four international—as well as several international and national commercial operators.

UXO Lao, working in nine provinces, laid off some 200 deminers as a result of funding shortfalls in 2014, but by the end of 2015, with financial support from the US, brought employment back to around 1,200 personnel, roughly equivalent to the combined staffing of international NGOs. In 2015, these included HALO Trust, HI, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which had a total workforce of 1,199.

International commercial operators include Auslao UXO Clearance, BACTEC (Battle Area Clearance, Training, Equipment and Consultancy), Milsearch, and Munitions Management Group (MMG). National commercial operators include ASA Power Engineering, Lao BSL UXO Clearance, Lao Uneod Cooper, OUMMA UXO Clearance, PSD, SBH, and XTD UXO Clearance. In 2015, the NRA accredited an additional commercial company, GREAT Company.[30]

Land Release

Since the start of 2015, priority in the UXO sector has shifted to survey in order to make a credible determination of the extent of Lao PDR’s contamination, and to provide a basis for evidence-based clearance.

A total of 133,497 items of ERW, including landmines and cluster munition remnants, were reported to be destroyed by operators in 2015.[31]

The amount of land cleared in 2015 fell to 41.30km2, 40% less than in the previous year, however, the number of cluster munition remnants destroyed in the course of survey and clearance rose significantly to 100,022.[32]

No systematic mine clearance was conducted during 2015. One hundred and fifty antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were destroyed: 108 during UXO clearance operations, 36 during roving tasks, and six in the course of technical survey.[33]

Survey in 2015 

After trials of a cluster munition-specific survey methodology in 2014, the NRA approved national survey standards in January 2015. Operators recorded 102.11km² of CHA in 2015, a near 50% increase on the previous year.[34]

In 2015, survey was conducted by all five humanitarian operators.

UXO Lao operated with one survey team in each of the provinces in which it worked, and in 2015 the organization trained personnel to apply the new methodology.[35]

HALO Trust, working in southern Savannakhet province, conducted technical survey of a total of almost 28.7km2 of land, confirming 404 hazardous areas covering 9km2. HALO Trust destroyed 2,679 submunitions in the course of technical survey.[36]

NPA reported completing NTS in all villages in the three southern provinces where it works, Saravane, Sekong, and Attapeu, and said it had conducted technical survey in 65% of the villages in those provinces. NPA also started working with MAG in two districts of central Khamouane province in October 2015, with NPA undertaking survey taking advantage of evidence points, and with UXO Lao in Xieng Khouang province.[37]

Technical survey of cluster munition-suspected area in 2015[38]

Survey progress in 2016

NPA expected to conclude technical survey of the three southern provinces in which it has been working by the end of 2016,[39] but the NRA said it was not satisfied that it had sufficiently investigated historical evidence.[40] In 2016, NPA re-started NTS of a sample of 12 villages in the three southern provinces where it had already completed technical survey to test the quality of the work conducted.[41] 

Meantime, the NRA was preparing plans for a “joint observation team” to review NTS and technical survey results, sampling sites in different provinces surveyed at different times in the last few years as the cluster munition survey methodology was developed.[42]

Clearance in 2015 

The total amount of land cleared in 2015 amounted to 41.30km2, 40% less than in the previous year. However, the number of submunitions destroyed in clearance operations, roving clearance and survey increased to 100,022, underscoring the greater effectiveness of operations as a result of the sector’s shift to evidence-based clearance.[43] 

Three reasons account for the reduction in land cleared in 2015: the shift by commercial companies to other tasks, the humanitarian operators’ increased focus on survey, and a reduction in capacity of UXO Lao during part of 2015. The fall in area clearance resulted mainly from a 40% drop in land cleared by commercial companies, which worked largely on tasks related to hydropower and mineral sector or power lines and have little impact on Lao PDR’s progress towards fulfilling its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4.

Humanitarian operators cleared 29.6km² in 2015 compared with 35.6km² the previous year, a drop of 17%, but they also accounted for 99% of the submunitions destroyed in the course of clearance. The lower overall rate of area clearance among the humanitarian operators resulted from less clearance by UXO Lao, much the biggest of the five humanitarian organizations. Its productivity was affected by the laying-off of 19 teams in the last quarter of 2014 as a result of funding constraints, even though US funding enabled it to replace those teams in the course of 2015. Area clearance rates also dropped as teams converted from request-based operations clearing designated tasks regardless of the likelihood of finding contamination, to evidence-based survey focused on CHAs. Although UXO Lao continued to clear some tasks on request in 2015, it said the average number of items its teams destroyed rose from under six items per hectare two years ago to more than 20 per hectare in 2015.[44]

The other main operator engaging in large-scale clearance was MAG, operating in two districts of Xieng Khouang and two districts of Khamouane province. It more than doubled the amount of land it cleared in 2015 compared with the previous year after deploying additional clearance teams. It also attributed the increase in part to working with locally hired teams and two machines to cut vegetation, which was previously undertaken by mine action teams.[45]

HI, operating with 82 operations personnel in Savannakhet province, focused on area clearance for most of 2015 and also substantially increased items destroyed in roving tasks. From October, HI switched the emphasis to technical survey.[46]

Battle area clearance in 2015[47]

Preliminary data from the NRA for 2015 showed a more than 27% drop in the number of submunitions destroyed in roving operations in 2015 from the previous year but did not appear to capture all the operators’ results. MAG’s data differed from that provided by the NRA, as it reported destroying 3,528 submunitions in 2015, more than in 2014, in addition to 799 other UXO items.[48] The main drop occurred in operations by UXO Lao, which previously worked with dedicated roving teams, but in 2015 kept a roving team only in Xieng Khouang province and switched to using clearance teams to carry out spot explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) in other provinces.[49]

Roving clearance operations in 2015[50]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lao PDR is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2020.

Lao PDR will not complete clearance by its Article 4 deadline given the extent of its contamination. However, it plans to provide what should be the first credible estimate of cluster munition contamination when its nationwide technical survey is one-third complete, a position that should be reached well ahead of the 2020 deadline. This will provide a solid basis for assessing the time and resources required to complete cluster munition clearance, more quickly and efficiently.

Five-year summary of clearance

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

In 2015, 11 donors contributed US$29.7 million to support mine action in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), compared to 14 donors and $37.3 million in 2014.[1]

The United States (US) and Japan together provided three-quarters of all international funding in 2015.

Of the $29.7 million, 85% went toward clearance and risk education activities with $25.2 million provided, $2.2 million went toward victim assistance (7% of total funding), and some $900,000 million supported capacity-building activities (3%). The remaining 3% was not disaggregated by the donors.

In September 2016, the US announced it would provide $90 million over three years to support unexploded ordinance (UXO) survey and clearance operations as well as victim assistance projects.[2] New Zealand also declared it would commit $7.3 million from 2017–2020 to support UXO clearance and survey through the UNDP.[3]

In 2015, the government of Lao PDR reported a contribution of $4.8 million to its own mine action program, mainly to cover administrative costs such as rent, equipment, and personnel expenses.[4]

International contributions: 2015[5]

With more than $164 million received from 2011–2015, international contributions to Lao PDR have averaged about $32 million per year, which is twice as much as during the previous five-year period 2006–2010, when donors provided $70.2 million (an average of $14 million per year).

Summary of international contributions: 2011–2015[6]

Action points based on findings

• Intensify efforts to improve access to rehabilitation services from remote and rural areas, including allocating resources to bring beneficiaries for rehabilitation and ensuring that transport is available.
• Hold regular disability sector coordination meetings and link victim assistance coordination with the development of disability strategies.
• Improve state support for psychological and social assistance, including peer-to-peer counseling and survivor-driven economic activities.
• Coordinate the rapid implementation of recently adopted legislation as well as existing policies and planning that could hasten developments in the availability and accessibility of services.

Victim assistance commitments

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is responsible for significant numbers of cluster munition victims and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW), as well as landmine survivors, who are in need. Lao PDR has made commitments to provide victim assistance through Convention on Conventional Weapons Protocol V and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Lao PDR ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 25 September 2009.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

The National Regulatory Authority for Unexploded Ordnance/Mine Action Sector in Lao PDR (NRA) reported 42 casualties from unexploded submunitions and ERW for 2015. The majority of the casualties were male (39). Of the total, 19 were children, including one girl, and 23 were adults, including two women.[1] The casualty total for 2015 represented a slight decrease from 45 casualties in 2014, and was equal to that of 2013,[2] continuing a trend of reduction in annual mine/ERW casualties—from 56 casualties for 2012, 99 casualties recorded for 2011, and 117 casualties for 2010.[3]

By the end of 2015, the NRA had reported at least 50,612 mine/ERW (including unexploded submunitions) casualties, including 29,530 people killed and 21,082 injured since 1964. The first phase of a nationwide casualty survey recording retrospective data was completed in 2008. It identified 50,136 mine/ERW casualties; of these, ERW caused the most casualties, followed by landmines, and then unexploded submunitions.[4] Lao PDR reported 702 mine/unexploded ordinance (UXO) victims from 2008 to 2013, of which 41% were children.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

Unexploded submunitions were reported to have caused 7,628 casualties in the period 1964–2014.[6]

Victim Assistance

In 2012, Lao PDR estimated that there were some 15,000 mine/ERW survivors still living, including approximately 2,500 survivors of unexploded submunitions.[7]

Victim assistance under the Vientiane Action Plan 2011–2015

Mine/ERW survivors represent a significant proportion of persons with disabilities in Lao PDR. Most survivors come from the poorer remote areas, belong to ethnic minorities, and are disproportionately disadvantaged by the existing limitations in the provision of services. In Lao PDR, financial constraints are the main barrier to accessing healthcare. In 2011, it was reported that there was a continuing lack of access to health services in Lao PDR. The healthcare system remained underdeveloped and under-funded, and health workers had inadequate skill levels. This directly contributed to shortfalls in the quality of services across the health system.[8]

Due to the large number of mine/ERW survivors with disabilities in Lao PDR, the Ministry of Health worked extensively on victim assistance and rehabilitation in coordination with international NGOs.[9] Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR) and the Ministry of Health significantly improved the availability of healthcare to survivors in Xiang Khouang province from 2010 through June 2014.

Physical rehabilitation services, run by the government in association with the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE), showed improvement. COPE covered the majority of the necessary costs for those receiving treatment. With an outreach program introduced in 2009, COPE was better able to reach survivors in rural areas. COPE continued “COPE Connect,” its outreach and community awareness-raising initiative. However, many survivors were unable to reach the available services.[10]

There was limited psychosocial support for mine/ERW survivors. However, peer support improved from 2010 in some districts. From 2013, psychological support increased significantly in Xieng Khouang province with the work of World Education. Social and economic reintegration programs for mine/ERW survivors, provided by NGOs, remained limited but had increased since 2009. Regulations protecting persons with disabilities from discrimination and requiring accessible buildings either did not have the force of law or were extremely slow to be adopted.

World Education, AAR, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provided first aid training for healthcare workers and village health volunteers. In 2013, the NRA, Ministry of Health, international NGOs, and organizations that provided training for village health volunteers in the past, met and started discussions on developing the first National First Aid Curriculum.[11]

In 2014,Lao PDR reported that it still has “a long way to go to provide support to survivors and their families. Beyond meeting their immediate emergency medical needs, very few survivors receive adequate physical, psychological, or economic support.”[12] During the year the quality of physical rehabilitation improved, according to people who used the services. Psychological support increased in the most ERW-affected areas. 

Victim assistance in 2015

Lao PDR stated that there were limited resources available and that few donors made victim assistance a priority.[13] The budget allocated to victim assistance is very limited, and as a result Lao PDR cannot pursue its strategic plan for the Dubrovnik Action Plan period through 2020.[14] Lao PDR also noted that it “has a long way to go to fully achieve the victim assistance goals within the broader disability and development frameworks.”[15] No change was reported by Lao PDR in its efforts to raise awareness of the rights of cluster munition victims and persons with other disabilities since 2010.[16]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The NRA Survivor Tracking System, a system for collecting data on new casualties, was designed to provide an ongoing survey of all survivors’ needs. The survey continued to be conducted in 10 provinces; some 8,918 survivor profiles had been recorded. The data is shared with stakeholders, including civil society organizations, for use in the preparation of workplans and funding requests relevant to addressing the needs of survivors.[17] In addition to the 10 provinces covered by the survivor tracking system, there are known to be mine/ERW survivors in the capital Vientiane. However, most of these are believed to be former military personnel who, as veterans with disabilities, are entitled to special social protection measures and are likely already covered by those systems.[18] 

World Education maintained its own detailed beneficiary database and information storage system. Its Victim Assistance Support Team (VAST) staff, including a data specialist, also had training on the Information System for Mine Action (IMSMA) used by the NRA and were able to make the data compatible.[19]

Handicap International (HI) and national disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) supported the adoption of the Washington Group Questions relating to disability in the 2015 national census.[20] Lao PDR included basic questions relating to persons with disabilities in its national census in early 2015, but limited training of the census personnel created some confusion among respondents and preliminary results of the census did not mention data on disability.

An Australian-funded project to identify barriers and facilitators to social and economic participation and development for persons with disabilities in Lao PDR together with Lao organizations (government, DPOs, and international and national NGOs) was undertaken by Curtin University in order to improve their information about people living with disability, and develop disability-inclusive development policies and programs. Australia also supported a four-week program for Lao government representatives from the ministries of labor and social welfare, health, and education and sports, along with delegates from DPOs, service providers, and advocacy agencies.[21]

Victim assistance coordination

The NRA shared victim assistance information with stakeholders, attended meetings of actors in the disability sector and made presentations to regional meetings, and represented the Lao PDR government on victim assistance issues while working with NGOs to build capacity for stronger leadership in both victim assistance and disability issues. Victim assistance remained a minor component of the work of the ministries responsible for disability issues and it was, therefore, challenging to get victim assistance into the ministries’ agendas and strategies.[22]

Plans to hold regular disability sector coordination meetings and link victim assistance coordination with the development of disability strategies were yet to be realized, hampering rapid implementation of recently adopted legislation. A new strategic plan for the UXO Sector, developed in 2015, saw a need to improve the coordination of victim assistance between sector stakeholders and relevant ministries, and to better integrate assistance into broader disability sector programs and workplans.[23]

A victim assistance strategic plan was adopted in February 2014, with approval from the NRA Board,[24] after having being completed in March 2013.[25] The strategic plan addresses seven sections of victim assistance implementation: data collection; medical care; physical rehabilitation; psychological support and social inclusion; economic rehabilitation and education; legislation and policy; and coordination.[26]

The victim assistance strategy authorizes the NRA to support the National Committee for Disabled and Elderly People (NCDE) to:

• develop a sector-wide strategy for persons with disabilities, including ERW survivors;
• cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to ensure adequate vocational and other training is provided; and
• cooperate with the Ministry of Health to ensure that the physical and psychological needs of cluster munition victims and other survivors are more adequately met.[27] 

As a coordination measure, service providers enter into memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the relevant state ministries responsible for the sector in which the NGOs will operate. World Education has MoUs with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education; COPE with the Ministry of Health; and HI with the Ministry Labor and Social Welfare.[28]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare holds primary responsibility for the needs of, and related services to, persons with disabilities through the NCDE (previously the National Committee for Disabled People, NCDP. The title and responsibilities changed in September 2013).[29] The disability sector required far greater coordination and international backing. There were no official disability coordination meetings for all stakeholders.[30]

Frequent changes of designated disability focal points within ministries hindered the effective coordination of disability across government departments; there were no guidelines for government departments that ensure the participation of persons with disabilities in policy-making processes.[31]

In early 2015, World Education held multi-stakeholder consultations in the process of implementing its multi-year USAID-funded Training, Economic Empowerment, Assistive Technology, and Medical and Physical Rehabilitation (TEAM) project.[32]

Victim assistance is one of the three main components of the NRA strategy, entitled “Safe Path Forward II 2011–2020.”[33] Two of the six strategic objectives relate to victim assistance, including: reduce the number of UXO casualties from 300 to less than 75 per year; and ensure that the medical and rehabilitation needs of all UXO survivors are met in line with treaty obligations. The latter was assigned a series of actions that began to be implemented in 2012, including setting up and maintaining a Lao Victim Information System (LVIS), strengthening physical rehabilitation services, providing emergency medical response at the village level, and developing an effective rural transfer/ambulance system to medical facilities.[34]

The strategy and its victim assistance component were included in Lao PDR’s Millennium Development Goals Compact of 2010.[35] A key indicator for progress under these Millennium Development Goals includes “the number of survivors receiving proper assistance.”[36]

In 2015, Lao PDR reported on victim assistance in its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report, and made statements on victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference in 2015 and the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2016.[37]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2015, survivors, persons with disabilities, and their representative organizations participated in TWGVA meetings and in the implementation of services. Representatives of the LDPA, LDWDC, and QLA–Xieng Khouang province, actively participated in consultative processes and special events, including annual review meetings and ERW sector-wide working group meetings.[38]

HI’s Lao Ban Advocates project ended in March 2015. A final project workshop was held in February of that year.[39]

Lao PDR has never included a survivor on its delegation for the Convention on Cluster Munitions Meetings of States Parties or intersessional meetings.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

Emergency and continuing medical care

Village health volunteers (6,000) provided basic healthcare and first responder emergency assistance in rural areas across Laos. World Education Laos worked with the Ministry of Health and various international NGOs, and village health volunteers to create a comprehensive First Aid curriculum for village health volunteers in 2016.[40] The approved curriculum was being used for training in Xieng Khouang, Houaphan, and Sekong provinces.[41]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

The Ministry of Health provides prosthetic and orthotic services in Lao PDR under the Centre for Medical Rehabilitation and associated physical rehabilitation centers, and in cooperation with COPE.

There are five rehabilitation centers, each in urban provincial centers. Clients are reimbursed for travel costs and a small living allowance during their stay for rehabilitation.[42]

The results of an independent client service satisfaction survey of COPE beneficiaries in 2015 found clients were satisfied overall with the service and assistive device they had received. Respondents to the evaluation in 2015 reported even higher levels of satisfaction than in 2014.[43]

A study carried out at the Vientiane, Savannakhet, and Xieng Khouang centers showed that while respondents reported being “quite satisfied” with the prosthetic devices received some 17.3% of participants reported that their device was in need of repair, and only 66.5% of devices used were said to be in good condition; 12.8% said they were not currently using their device, and some had not used their device at all. Among lower limb prosthetic users surveyed, 61.5% (88) were mine/ERW survivors. Respondents were happy overall about the technical skills of staff. Most respondents rated being treated with respect and dignity over technical capacity. The ability to travel to avail of services was affected by poor access to appropriate and affordable transport and the demands of agricultural work as well as the rainy season.[44]

The Faculty of Medical Technology in Laos conducted a four-week medical rehabilitation training program in August 2016, supported by the World Education Laos TEAM project. The four-week training focused on rehabilitation medicine for 10 medical doctors from central and provincial hospitals in order to create a broader physical rehabilitation medicine network.[45]

The ICRC began to support three physical rehabilitation centers in the Lao PDR. In the Lao PDR, some 270 persons with disabilities (including 201 mine/ERW survivors: 184 men, 15 women, and two girls) received rehabilitation, including prostheses, at the three rehabilitation centers that began to receive ICRC support in 2015.[46] HI also worked on improving the functional rehabilitation sector in Laos by implementing clear policies, developing a more effective training program, and establishing a management system in order to better meet the needs of persons with disabilities.[47]

Economic and social inclusion and psychological support

Disability-specific vocational training available to persons with disabilities was limited. The qualifications provided by these services were generally not accredited or officially recognized equally by other government vocational training programs.[48] In 2015, World Education and QLA provided vocational training and economic support specifically for survivors. Survivors also received education scholarships through World Education.[49] HI initiated a project to support persons with disabilities, including survivors and their family members, with income-generating and livelihood activities.[50]

Into 2015, the ICRC provided livelihoods support for UXO victims survivors and their families in southern Laos, through income-generating activities initiated in 2014.[51] Following an assessment of their impact, ICRC livelihood projects in southern Lao PDR were phased out; resources were reallocated to support physical rehabilitation services.[52]

Psychological support was generally not available in Lao PDR. There were only one or two psychiatrists in the country. Where mental health services did exist in the capital they were medical-based. Community-based services were not widely considered as a possible form of assistance. Disability organizations lacked knowledge on mental health issues and DPOs did not have the expertise to provide mental health services. World Education’s integrated victim assistance project, carried out by its Victim Assistance Support Team (VAST), mapped services and provided individual support to survivors to address psychologic and other needs, including referrals to services. To address depression, recognized among some survivor beneficiaries, World Education held a peer support meeting.[53]

The TEAM project partnered with AAR Japan to promote wheelchair basketball in particular in Vientiane during a project that lasted from May 2015 through May 2016. LDPA and AAR organized wheelchair basketball events and training as a social inclusion measure.[54]

The Ministry of Education and Sports and Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare joint strategy for implementing a National Vocational Qualification Framework for the period 2013 to 2018 specifically  provides easier access to vocational training for persons with disabilities, other marginalized groups and individuals living in rural communities.[55]

The ICRC, together with local authorities and the Lao Red Cross, upgraded water systems in areas contaminated with mines/ERW; this helped to ensure that communities had safe access to water for their daily needs.[56]

Laws and policies

The Decree on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was finally approved and adopted on 18 April 2014. It had been prepared at the beginning of 2008, submitted to the Ministry of Justice in July 2012, and passed to the Cabinet in November 2012. The Decree on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Decree No. 137) was adopted alongside the Decree on the Organization of Operation of National Committee for Disabled People and the Elderly (Decree No. 232) of Lao PDR, thereby establishing a mechanism for coordination of implementation with the new NCDE.[57]

In 2014 and into 2015, HI supported efforts to establish strategic planning for implementation of the Decree on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at national and local levels. It also carried out workshops for awareness-raising and the development of local action plans.[58]

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare established regulations regarding physical accessibility, and some ramps were built in Vientiane. Legislation adopted in 2009[59] requires that the construction of buildings, roads, and public places provide facilities for persons with disabilities. There is a list of access requirements that must be complied with in all public facilities. Yet construction companies were not always aware of these regulations and there was no enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance. Most public buildings were not modified or adapted, which limited persons with disabilities’ access to public services and employment. Public transport infrastructure was mostly not accessible.[60]

Social protection programs support war veterans with disabilities unable to work, however there were no social protection programs to support other persons with disabilities in similar situations. DPOs recommended that social protection programs should be extended to include all persons with disabilities.[61]