Lao PDR

Mine Action

Last updated: 19 November 2018

 

Treaty status

Mine Ban Treaty

Not a party

Convention on Cluster Munitions

State Party

Article 4 deadline: 1 August 2020

Not on track to meet deadline

Mine action management

National mine action management actors

National Regulatory Authority (NRA)

United  Nations agencies

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Mine action strategic plan

“Safe Path Forward II” (SPF) plan, revised 2015

Lao PDR UXO Plan for 2016–2020

Annual workplan for 2018

Mine action standards

Lao PDR National UXO/Mine Action Standards

New “Lao PDR UXO Survey Procedures” were approved in July 2018

National Standard on Mine Clearance Operations

Operators in 2017

National NGO:

UXO Laos

 

International NGOs:

Sterling International

HALO Trust

Mines Advisory Group (MAG)

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)

Humanity & Inclusion (HI, formerly Handicap International)

16 national and international commercial companies are accredited

Laoatian armed forces has five humanitarian demining teams

Extent of contamination as of end 2017

Landmines

Extent unknown

Cluster munition remnants

Unknown, but massive. At least, 500km2 CHA has been identified

Other ERW contamination

Yes

Land release in 2017

Landmines

No planned or systematic mine clearance. However, 38 mines were destroyed during EOD operations

Cluster munition remnants

200km2 confirmed as hazardous

33km2 cleared

117,974 submunitions destroyed

(Discrepancies between data sources exist, see below)

Other ERW

27,545 other ERW destroyed

Progress

Landmines

The extent of mine contamination is much less than that of ERW, including cluster munition remnants. Systematic mine clearance is not commonly conducted, but the nationals standards state that, “at some stage in the future these areas will have to be addressed”

Cluster munition remnants

A Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and NRA study recommended that Laos PDR develop a policy for the prioritization of UXO clearance[1]

A national cluster munition remnants survey (CMRS) is ongoing, that is intended to form the basis for long-term planning and prioritization of clearance

Notes: UXO = unexploded ordnance; CHA = confirmed hazardous areas; ERW = explosive remnants of war; EOD = explosive ordinance disposal.

 

Mine Contamination

While by far the greatest contamination in Lao Peopele’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is from ERW, including cluster munition remnants, it is also contaminated by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, but the extent is not known. 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.[2] A HI survey in 1997 found mines in all 15 provinces it surveyed, contaminating 214 villages.[3] In the past clearance operators have estimated Lao PDR may have 1,000 mined areas.[4]

The remote location of many of these areas means that mines have little impact and are not a clearance priority. Of 115,554 items of UXO destroyed by operators in 2017, only 38 (0.03%) were mines.[5] The NRA, however, has stated that antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were “used in abundance” and observed that “with a steady expansion of land use “mined areas” will become “areas for growing concern.”[6] 

The NRA reports that “gravel mines” had all degraded but remaining mine types included United States (US)-manufactured M14 antipersonnel blast mines, M16 bounding fragmentation mines, M18 claymore mines, and M15 and M19 antivehicle mines, Soviet or Chinese PMN antipersonnel blast mines, POMZ fragmentation stake mines, and TM41, TM46, and TM57 antivehicle mines.[7] 

According to NPA, 12 of Lao PDR’s 17 provinces are believed to contain landmines, but the details and nature of the contamination are unknown, and NGOs do not have access to mined areas.[8]

 

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 US conducted one of the heaviest aerial bombardments in history, dropping more than two million tons of bombs between 1964 and 1973,[9] including more than 270 million submunitions (known locally as bombies). The failure rate is not known.

Lao PDR does not yet have a reliable estimate of cluster munition contamination. US bombing data indicate 70,000 individual target locations across Lao PDR. Fourteen of the country’s seventeen provinces are contaminated, with nine heavily affected: Attapeu, Champasak, Houaphanh, Khammouane, Luang Prabang, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, and Xiengkhuang.[10] International operators believe total cluster munition contamination is likely to amount to less than 2,000km2.[11] Over the last two years, around 500km2 of CHA has been identified during a nationwide survey that aims to provide a baseline estimate of cluster munition contamination by the end of 2021.[12]

Submunitions accounted for almost 78% of all items cleared in 2017,[13] a decrease from the 84% the previous year.[14] Cluster munition remnants continue to present a humanitarian and socio-economic challenge, causing deaths and injuries and contributing to food insecurity by limiting safe access to potentially rich agricultural land, as well as adding to the cost of development projects when land needs to be cleared.[15] High-risk activities, such as foraging on contaminated area or lighting fires directly on the ground surface, also continue to pose a risk and result in cluster munition accidents.[16]

 

Other explosive remnants of war and landmines

Extensive contamination from other ERW includes both air-dropped and ground-fired UXO, though the extent of contamination is not known. Clearance operators have reported the presence of at least 186 types of munition in Lao PDR.[17] These range from 20lb fragmentation bombs to 2,000lb general-purpose bombs and sometimes bigger items,[18] as well as artillery shells, grenades, mortars, and rockets.[19] Lao PDR is also contaminated, but to a much lesser extent, by antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines (see the 2017 Lao PDR Mine Action profile for details).

 

Program Management

The NRA was in the process of transferring from the National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) as of September 2017. The NRA management reported that day-to-day work at a central level already reflected the new arrangements, but that a formal handover of responsibilities had not yet taken place.[20] The NRA has a interministerial board composed of 22 representatives from government ministries.

According to Lao PDR’s national standards, “The Lao PDR National Regulatory Authority (NRA) is the authority responsible for the overall management of UXO/mine action within Lao PDR. This responsibility includes establishing requirements for mine clearance operations and ensuring that these requirements are met.”[21] According to the NRA itself, responsibility for clearance of mined areas in Lao PDR predominantly falls under the remit of the Laoatian armed forces, and if landmines are discovered the army is called to destroy them.[22]

The UNDP provides programmatic and technical support to the NRA and UXO Lao, including with regard to information sharing and coordination, albeit at a reduced capacity compared to previous years.[23]  Further capacity development in information management, quality management, and operations support, is provided primarily to UXO Lao, and to a lesser extent the NRA, through a US-funded grant manager, Sterling International. As part of its work, Sterling International has also provided training in both survey and data analysis and correction to UXO Lao and international clearance operators.[24] In May 2018, it was announced that Tetra Tech had won the new tender for this role.

Memorandum of understanding procedures in Lao PDR are reported to be complex and heavy, causing significant delay and impeding the implementation and expansion of survey and clearance, including by preventing the acquisition and import of equipment.[25] 

There is a sector working group process, led by the chair of the NRA board, and co-chaired by the UNDP and the US Ambassador in Vientiane, which works with donors and meets several times a year.[26]

 

Strategic planning

The Lao government adopted UXO clearance as a ninth Millennium Development Goal in 2010, targeting removal of all UXO from priority agricultural land by 2020.[27] During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in September 2016, Lao PDR launched sustainable development goal (SDG) 18, which aims to reduce the numbers of casualties caused by UXO, improve the socio-economic development of affected areas, and guarantee better support for victims.[28]

Strategic goals were set out in the “Safe Path Forward II” plan, as revised in June 2015, when the NRA set a number of specific targets for the remaining five years up to 2020. These included non-technical survey 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.[29] There is also a multi-year workplan, the Lao PDR UXO Plan for 2016–2020, which was approved in March 2016.[30]

The socio-economic development plan (2016–2020) and Agreement No. 65/PM of 2016, on the approval of Priority Development Areas (2016–2020), inform land release prioritization. By 2018, the government had identified 231 focal development areas (FDAs) across Lao PDR.[31] The NRA also reports that it cooperates with relevant ministries and local authorities to identify annual clearance needs.[32]

In September 2017, the GICHD and the NRA conducted a review of the prioritization system in Lao PDR. It concluded that, “there are few mechanisms in place to link macro-level prioritization policies with more specific procedures and policies that take place at a micro level.”[33] It reported that, “there are no observed systems in place to support the planning, monitoring or reporting of progress in the Government of Lao PDR policy of supporting UXO clearance in FDAs…Most micro-level prioritization decisions appear to be made by the UXO operators themselves with minimum substantive input from districts and provincial level authorities.”[34] Its key recommendation was that the NRA, with relevant stakeholders, should develop a policy for the prioritization of UXO clearance.[35]

A first-ever UXO sector annual work planning meeting, hosted by the NRA, took place in Vientiane province on 8–9 February 2018, with participation from HALO Trust, MAG, NPA, HI, UXO Lao, victim assistance (VA) operators, national and provincial authorities, and donors. The resulting annual UXO sector-wide survey workplan in Lao PDR for 2018 aimed to survey a total of 622 villages.[36]

 

Plans for cluster munition survey 

In March 2016, the NRA issued a paper entitled, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” that states the aim of producing Lao PDR’s first baseline estimate of cluster munition contamination by the end of 2021 through a national cluster munition remnants survey (CMRS), which comprises non-technical and technical survey.[37]  The planned survey underscored the focus on tackling the threat of cluster munitions rather than general battle area clearance.[38]

The paper called for completing non-technical survey of all villages in the 14 cluster munition-affected provinces within four years, at an estimated cost of US$6.84 million, and technical survey of all evidence points in five years (by the end of 2021), at a projected cost of at least $20 million.[39]

In July 2017, the NRA reported that of 3,860 villages targeted for non-technical survey in the 2016–2020 workplan, 2,873 are known to be impacted by cluster munition remnants,[40] and require CMRS as part of the nationwide survey, though the process by which the list was elaborated is unclear. The NRA has recognized that there may be anomalies in this list.[41]

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 non-technical survey. The paper also states that the government expects that international humanitarian operators will cease conducting clearance after technical survey has been completed.[42]

The GICHD/NRA paper, “Prioritization Policy, Procedures and Practices related to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” notes that as the number of CHAs is likely to rise as technical survey proceeds nationwide, UXO clearance will be unable to keep pace. It states that to deal most effectively with the increasing backlog of clearance tasks, prioritization will be necessary.[43]

 

Standards (cluster munition remnants and other ERW)

New national survey standards, drafted in consultation with operators, were officially approved by the chair of the NRA on 4 July 2018,[44] following a delay due to an issue with the Lao translation of the document.[45] They specify the minimum requirements for CMRS in Lao PDR.[46] They were drafted in consultation with clearance operators.[47]

As part of the new survey standards, non-technical survey is to be carried out on whole villages (i.e. all land within a village boundary), not just individual areas of land, with the aim to identify evidence points for follow-on technical survey. An additional aim during survey is to correct errors or omissions found with data in IMSMA or in operator files.[48] Whenever possible, cluster munition remnants and other ERW identified during non-technical survey are recorded and destroyed the same day, while non-technical survey is ongoing, allowing villagers to see action being taken on the information they have provided.[49] Technical survey is only carried out based on cluster munition evidence points and is also conducted on whole villages.[50]

According to the national survey standards, clearance must only be conducted in CHAs, unless either “official agreements with the NRA permit a dispensation” or “the UXO clearance is being paid for by a client and 100% clearance without survey is a requirement of the agreement.”[51] The NRA maintained the need to retain some flexibility to accommodate donor stipulations that sometimes require full clearance of UXO for development projects such as schools.[52] 

 

Standards (landmines)

Lao PDR’s national standards make a clear distinction between UXO clearance and mine clearance, and for the purposes of the national standards “UXO does not include hand laid mines but it may include disposal of ‘one off’ mines located during EOD roving tasks.”[53] As such, the National Standard on UXO clearance, only relates to UXO clearance operations and not to mine clearance operations.[54]

If a mine is located during UXO clearance, work is immediately ceased and “the clearance supervisor should then assess the situation and determine if the mine is a random one or part of a mined area. If the mine is assessed as being part of a mined area, work on the site is to cease and the matter reported to the tasking authority. Details of mined areas are to be reported by the clearance organization concerned to the NRA head office and the NRA provincial office.”[55] 

According to Lao PDR’s national standard on Mine Clearance Operations, “Mine clearance operations; the systematic locating and clearing of hand laid mines in known or suspected mined areas, are not commonly conducted in Lao PDR. However, it is known that mined areas exist in Lao PDR and at some stage in the future these areas will have to be cleared.”[56] The standards also note that, “Some relatively small scale mine clearance has been carried out by UXO LAO and by commercial operators in the past but mine clearance operations are not regularly carried out as a deliberate mine action activity in Lao PDR.”[57] 

According to the National Standards, “Mine clearance operations are considerably more dangerous than UXO area clearance operations and the requirements and procedures for mine clearance are more stringent. When mine clearance operations are necessary they are only to be carried out by accredited mine clearance organizations with personnel with the appropriate training and equipment and specific mine clearance operating procedures.”[58]

 

Quality management

The NRA reported that its quality management capacity is extremely limited, with only two quality management teams to cover sector-wide clearance.[59]

 

Information management

The national IMSMA database has multiple data problems, including incorrect or incomplete historical data, missing data from the migration to IMSMA, and delays in entering new or corrected data into the database.[60]

Sterling International, which provided capacity support to the UXO Lao Information Management department to identify and correct historical data, developed a tool to help identify data issues in IMSMA.[61] A 2017 report by Sterling International said analysis of data in the NRA IMSMA database found errors affecting up to 14% of the 67,000 entries on the database. Sterling believed that the errors could affect 22% of the area recorded in the database as cleared or technically surveyed. The errors included operators’ misreporting of coordinates and mistaken entry of reports into IMSMA. Other errors included use of the wrong GPS format or the wrong map datum. The result was to put many tasks in the wrong location. Sterling found that the errors occurred mostly with UXO Lao’s work and mostly between 2004 and 2010 but that it affected “many” organizations.[62] In 2018, evidence of falsification of UXO Lao’s cluster munition remnant CHA data in Houaphanh province came to light, and is subject to internal and external investigation.[63]

 

Operators

Land release operations in Lao PDR are conducted by a range of implementing partners including the national operator, UXO Lao; international NGOs, HALO Trust, HI, MAG, and NPA; commercial clearance operators; and the Lao PDR armed forces. Demining personnel of the national and international clearance operators, excluding commercial operators, totaled approximately 2,452 in 2017, of whom 680 were women, roughly unchanged from the previous year.[64] 

UXO Lao, the oldest and largest clearance operator in Lao PDR, is a government organization operating under the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.[65] Operating in nine provinces (Attapeu, Champasak, Houaphanh, Khamouane, Luang Prabang, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, and Xiengkhuang), it employs 1,381 staff (of whom 351 are female). In Luang Prabang, UXO Lao operates with funding from Norway and management support from NPA.[66] Its 2017 capacity comprised of 80 clearance teams, 15 technical survey teams, and nine non-technical survey teams.[67]

HALO Trust’s survey and clearance efforts are focused on Savannakhet province, where it is currently operating in the four most contaminated districts: Nong, Phine, Sepon, and Vilabouly.[68] As of the end of 2017, HALO Trust was employing a total of 303 national staff (45% women), which included a clearance capacity of 10 teams and a survey capacity of 14 teams. It has been granted permission in 2018 to work in 538 villages across 14 districts in Savannakhet province, with first priority given to the six most heavily contaminated districts to the east.[69] 

HI saw a big reduction in capacity in 2017, due to a fall in funding. In 2017 it had five clearance/technical survey sections. It ceased technical survey operations in February 2017 and instead prioritized clearance.[70] As of April 2018, HI had ceased land release operations in Savannakhet province, and had started a new project in Houaphanh province in the north of Lao PDR.[71]

MAG is operational in two provinces in Lao PDR: Xiengkhuang (Khoun, Paxai, and Nonghet districts) in the north and Khamouane (Boualapha district) in the south. Seventeen mine action teams (MATs) carried out survey and clearance in Xiengkhouang, while five teams focused exclusively on clearance activities in Khamouane. Also based in Xiengkhouang, MAG has two quality management teams, a mechanical support team, and a 15-person community liaison team that conducts non-technical survey, risk education, and dangerous area reporting. MAG subcontracted two NPA teams for six months to carry out CMRS in Khamouane after which MAG conducts follow-on clearance of the CHAs created by NPA.[72]

At the end of 2017, MAG employed 395 staff (25% female). However, with the shift to implementing a survey project in Xiengkhouang, as well as increased funding, MAG expanded significantly in both provinces in early 2018. By May, MAG was employing 528 staff (31% women). The additional teams were recruited and trained at the end of 2017 and focused predominantly on Xiengkhouang, where MAG will conduct CMRS across the entire province as well as clearance of priority areas.[73] 

NPA is operational in the three southern provinces of Attepeu, Saravan, and Xekong. In addition, and as mentioned above, NPA is also subcontracted by MAG to carry out CMRS in Khamouane.[74] Furthermore, NPA acts as the project coordinator for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) bilateral support to Lao PDR, through UXO Lao’s operations in Luang Prabang, in the north of the country.[75] Survey and clearance output was lower than in previous years due to a two-month stand-down period without field operations due to the delays in the issuing of a Memorandum of Understanding. [76] NPA employed 189 staff in survey and clearance operations in 2017, comprising 23 CMRS teams and one BAC team.

Lao PDR accredited 16 commercial companies in 2017,[77] of which 13 were active.[78] International commercial operators include Auslao UXO Clearance, BACTEC (Battle Area Clearance, Training, Equipment and Consultancy), Milsearch, and Munitions Management Group (MMG). Accredited national commercial operators include ASA Power Engineering, GREAT Company, Lao BSL UXO Clearance, Lao Uneod Cooper, L&B UXO Clearance, Longlo Lao UXO Clearance, OUMMA UXO Clearance, PSD, SBH, Sengphet UXO Clearance, and XTD UXO Clearance. One additional national commercial company, Phanvila, was registered in 2017.[79]

The Laoatian armed forces has five humanitarian teams in total.[80] Lao army engineers not involved with humanitarian teams and not coordinated by the NRA were reportedly due to start clearance of UXO, which was holding up construction work on the US$6 billion Laos-China high speed railway.[81] According to the NRA, Lao army engineers started clearance in 2017, under the Engineering Department of Ministry of National Defense, but as of April 2018, no cluster munition data was available.[82]

 

Land Release (landmines)

No planned or systematic mine clearance was conducted during 2017, though 38 mines were reported to have been destroyed by operators in 2017, according to Lao PDR’s transparency reporting under the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on Conventional Weapons.[83]

The NRA reported a slightly lower figure of 23 mines destroyed during clearance, technical survey, and roving/spot tasks in 2017 (three mines destroyed by the Laoatian armed forces; one by HALO Trust; one by MAG; two by NPA; and 16 by UXO Lao).[84]

The mine destroyed by MAG was an unfuzed M16 antipersonnel mine that was reported as having been found in a forest in Nonghet, Xiangkhouang province.[85]

NPA confirmed that it did not destroy any antipersonnel mines in 2017 in Lao PDR, and it believes that the two mines reported by the NRA as having been destroyed by NPA in 2017 were in fact due to an NPA reporting error during database entry.[86]

According to UXO Lao’s own data, 34 antipersonnel mines were destroyed during its operations in 2017, of which 17 were destroyed during roving tasks/spot tasks, and the remainder during ERW survey and clearance.[87]

 

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

The almost 200km2 of land confirmed as hazardous through survey in 2017, based on NRA data, was an increase on the 180km2 confirmed in 2016, based on operator data.[88] The amount of land released by clearance, which totaled 33km2 in 2017, was a slight increase on the 30km2 cleared in 2016.

 

Survey in 2017 (cluster munition remnants)

The NRA reported that non-technical survey was conducted by HALO Trust, MAG, NPA, and UXO Lao in 2017, in a total of 223 villages, during which 4,082 cluster munition remnants were destroyed.[89] In addition, technical survey in 2017 identified almost 200km2 as cluster munition-contaminated, and resulted in the destruction of nearly 29,000 cluster munition remnants and almost 4,000 items of other UXO (see table below).

Technical survey of cluster munition-suspected area in 2017[90]

Operator

Area surveyed

(m2)

Area identified

(m2)

Submunitions destroyed

Other UXO destroyed

Lao Army 58

140,000

0

4

0

HALO Trust

25,746,250

8,453,279

1,989

578

HI

1,387,500

622,230

99

6

MAG

67,174,283

65,179,171

5,957

11

NPA

54,544,335

53,990,927

4,927

107

UXO Lao

100,716,905

71,265,845

15,939

3,257

Total

249,709,273

199,511,452

28,915

3,959

 

A “UXO Hot Line” was approved on 28 November 2017, to make it easier for members of local communities to report unexploded ordnance[91] and to request support in the aftermath of an incident.[92]

 

Clearance in 2017 (cluster munition remnants)

The clearance results for 2017 as reported by the NRA and in Lao PDR’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 transparency report are not the same.

According to the NRA, just over 33km2 of cluster munition contamination was cleared, in the course of which 84,977 submunitions were destroyed, along with 135 bombs, 23 mines, and 23,451 other items of UXO (see table below).[93]

Battle area clearance by operator in 2017[94]

Operator

Roving tasks

Clearance tasks

Area cleared (m2)

Submunitions destroyed

Bombs destroyed

Other UXO destroyed

Mines destroyed

Army 58

14

1

42,251

51

2

132

3

Lao Army

0

2

35,841

0

0

0

0

HALO Trust

619

39

1,510,067

5,243

19

2,400

1

HI

100

6

177,686

1,564

33

350

0

MAG

2,148

111

4,760,152

10,888

12

1,501

1

Milsearch

6

121

731,177

40

0

21

0

MMG

0

13

435,645

24

0

77

0

NPA

390

13

255,973

5,674

4

956

2

UXO Lao

1,105

886

25,075,490

61,493

65

18,014

16

Total

4,382

1,192

33,024,282

84,977

135

23,451

23

According to the Article 7 report, a total of just over 41.8km2 was cleared in 2017 across 13 provinces (see table below).[95] However, this includes almost 5.8km2 of clearance reported for LAUNC, which was not in fact cluster munition clearance. This clearance was conducted in support of dam projects, irrigation, crops, and forestry, and other areas, but on land not contaminated with cluster munitions or other ERW.

Battle area clearance by province in 2017 according to Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report[96]*

Province

Area cleared (m2)

Attapeu

3,360,393

Bolikhamxay

2,357,251

Champasak

2,206,176

Hophanh

1,777,402

Khamouane

3,474,401

Luang Prabang

1,288,788

Oudomxay

35,841

Saravan

2,935,606

Savannakhet

8,646,986

Vientiane (province)

317,213

Xekong

1,092,027

Xaisomboun

3,147,844

Xiengkhuang

11,180,359

Total

41,820,287

* Includes almost 5.8km2 cleared by LAUNC on land not contaminated by cluster munitions or other ERW.

Taking the total clearance figure of 33 km2, 2017 clearance output represents a slight increase compared to 2016, when 30.17km2 was cleared (or alternatively, a slight decrease compared to the 34.1km2, according to Lao PDR’s Article 7 report for 2016).

Operational challenges in clearance tasks include heavy rains during the wet season; high scrap-metal contamination and fragmentation from other UXO; difficulty accessing tasks due to flooding and vehicles getting stuck in the mud; and the proximity of high-voltage pylons and power lines.[97]

UXO Lao reported that lack of support from the community on the vegetation cutting required prior to survey and clearance operations, also posed a challenge,[98] especially with regards to cutting of vegetation beyond the direct area of land that will be used. As is the case with MAG and NPA, UXO Lao mainly trains and deploys local people to cut vegetation, but unlike the international operators, it does not receive specific funding for this activity.[99] HALO Trust undertakes all of its own vegetation cutting.[100]

At the micro level, prioritization of clearance tasks in Lao PDR is in part dictated by the wet and dry seasons. During the dry season, operators are able to access and clear paddy fields, while in the wet season, they focus on clearing grazing and community land.[101]

 

Progress in 2018 (cluster munition remnants)

In 2018, Lao PDR began its national CMRS baseline survey, with funding from the US. The first phase of the survey involves six province-wide surveys by international operators HALO Trust, MAG, and NPA of all villages suspected or confirmed as cluster munition-contaminated, according to the NRA’s village list, in Attapeu, Champasak, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, and Xiengkhuang.[102]

 

Convention on Cluster Munition 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.

Given the extent of its cluster munition contamination, Lao PDR will need to submit a deadline extension request by the start of December 2018. It is expected that initial results from the national CMRS will inform Lao PDR’s estimate of the true extent of contamination for the purposes of the extension request, but that a more accurate assessment of contamination will not be known until the nationwide survey is completed.[103]

Over the last five years, Lao PDR has cleared almost 237km2 (see table below).

Five-Year Summary of Clearance

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2017

33.02

2016

30.17

2015

41.30

2014

67.78

2013

64.86

Total

237.13

The NRA has highlighted the challenges in balancing resources for survey and clearance.[104]  While nationwide CMRS is essential to quantify the extent of actual contamination in Lao PDR, there is also a need for follow-on clearance in priority areas, which also demands significant resources.[105] Over the last two years, around 500km2 of CHA has already been identified, and as the nationwide CMRS progresses this area of confirmed contamination is expected to continue to increase rapidly.[106]

The clearance of cluster munition remnants in Lao PDR will take many years and will require long-term national capacity and funding. In 2018, the NRA aimed to clear 5,000 hectares (50km2) of CHA, based on existing capacity.[107]

 

 

 

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the primary mine action research in 2018 and shared all its country-level landmine reports (from “Clearing the Mines 2018”) and country-level cluster munition reports (from “Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2018”) with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

 



[1] Kathryn Sweet, “Prioritisation policy, procedures and practices relating to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” GICHD and NRA, September 2017, p. 11.

[2] NRA website, “UXO types: Mines,” undated.

[3] HI, “Living with UXO, National Survey on the Socio-Economic Impact of UXO in Lao PDR,” Vientiane/Brussels, 1997, p. 7.

[4] Interview with Michael Hayes, Programme Manager, MAG, Vientiane, 5 February 2004.

[5] Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V Article 10 Report (for 2017), Form A; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form F.

[6] NRA website, “UXO types: Mines,” undated..

[7] Ibid.

[8] Email from Ulric Eriksson, Operations Manager, NPA, 1 May 2018.

[9] “US bombing records in Laos, 1964–1973, Congressional Record,” 14 May 1975.

[10] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, Assistant to the Director, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, Director, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[11] Interviews with international operators, Vientiane, 3–7 May 2016.

[12] Interviews with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, and Thipasone Soukhathammavong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018; and NRA, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” March 2016.

[13] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[14] “Sector Achievements” for 2015 and 2014, received from the NRA, Vientiane, 4 July 2016, and 11 May 2015.

[15] Lao PDR, “The Safe Path Forward II,” National Strategic Plan for the UXO Sector in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic 2011–2020, 22 June 2012.

[16] Interviews with Robby Dehondt, Sterling International, in Sepon, 11 May 2018; and with Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, in Sepon, 11 May 2018.

[17] Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines, Global Survey 2003−2004 (March 2005), p. 104.

[18] NRA website, “UXO types: Bombs,” undated.

[19] NRA, “National Survey of UXO Victims and Accidents, Phase 1,” Vientiane, 2009, p. 39.

[20] Kathryn Sweet, “Prioritisation policy, procedures and practices relating to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” GICHD and NRA, September 2017, p. 10.

[21] Lao PDR National UXO/Mine Action Standards (NS), “Chapter 12: Mine Clearance Operations,” undated, p. 5.

[22] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[23] Interview with Olivier Bauduin, UNDP, Vientiane, 2 May 2018; and email, 10 July 2018.

[24] Interview with Hugh Hosman and Marco Heuscher, Sterling International, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[25] Interviews with international operators, Lao PDR, 1–12 May 2018.

[26] Interview with Phil Bean, US Political-Military Affairs/Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), and Olivier Bauduin, Sterling International, in Geneva, 14 February 2018.

[27] “Laos: new MDG to tackle UXOs,” IRIN, 12 November 2010.

[28] Statement of Lao PDR on National Implementation Efforts, Convention on Cluster Munitions Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4–5 September 2017.

[29] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 4 May 2016.

[30] Kathryn Sweet, “Prioritisation policy, procedures and practices relating to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” GICHD and NRA, September 2017, p. 11.

[31] Presentation by Saomany Manivong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[32] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[33] Kathryn Sweet, “Prioritisation policy, procedures and practices relating to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” GICHD and NRA, September 2017, p. 3.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Ibid.

[36] UXO Survey Plan of UXO Sector in Lao PDR in 2018, February 2018.

[37] NRA, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” March 2016.

[38] Interview with Allan Poston, UNDP, Vientiane, 6 May 2016.

[39] NRA, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” March 2016, pp. 1–3.

[40] Email from Olivier Bauduin, UNDP, 10 July 2018.

[41] NRA, “Lao PDR UXO Survey Procedures,” draft, 20 September 2017; and interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[42] NRA, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” March 2016, pp. 1–3.

[43] Kathryn Sweet, “Prioritisation policy, procedures and practices relating to UXO clearance in Lao PDR,” GICHD and NRA, September 2017, p. 7.

[44] Emails from Olivier Bauduin, UNDP, 10 July 2018; and from Nigel Orr, Sterling International, 13 July 2018.

[45] Interviews with international operators, UNDP, and US PM/WRA, Lao PDR, 1–12 May 2018.

[46] NRA, “Lao PDR UXO Survey Procedures,” draft, 20 September 2017.

[47] Interviews with international operators, Lao PDR, 1–12 May 2018; and with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[48] NRA, “Lao PDR UXO Survey Procedures,” draft, 20 September 2017.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Ibid.

[52] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[53] Lao PDR National UXO/Mine Action Standards (NS), “Chapter 0: Introduction and Glossary,” undated, p. xi.

[54] Lao PDR National UXO/Mine Action Standards (NS), “Chapter 7: UXO Clearance Operations,” undated, p. 5.

[55] Ibid., p. 13.

[56] Lao PDR National UXO/Mine Action Standards (NS), “Chapter 12: Mine Clearance Operations,” undated, p. 5.

[57] Ibid., p. 5, note 1.

[58] Ibid., p. 5.

[59] Ibid.

[60] Ibid.; email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018; and interviews with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018; and with Hugh Hosman and Marco Heuscher, Sterling International, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[61] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[62] “Data errors on IMSMA,” Nigel Orr, Technical Adviser, Sterling International, 26 April 2017.

[63] Interviews with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018; and with Thipasone Soukhathammavong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[64] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[65] Presentation by Saomany Manivong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

 

[67] Ibid.

[68] Interview with Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, in Sepon, 11 May 2018.

[69] Email from Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, 18 July 2018.

[70] Email from Julien Kempeneers, Humanitarian Mine Action Coordinator, HI, 30 April 2018.

[71] Ibid.

[72] Email from Blossom Gilmour, Country Director, MAG, 25 June 2018.

[73] Ibid.

[74] Email from Aubrey Sutherland, NPA, 21 June 2018.

[75] Interview with Aubrey Sutherland, NPA, 1 May 2018.

[76] Emails from Ulric Eriksson, NPA, 1 May 2018; and from Aubrey Sutherland, NPA, 21 June 2018.

[77] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[78] Statement of Lao PDR, Convention on Cluster Munitions Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Session on International Cooperation and Assistance, Geneva, 4–5 September 2017.

[79] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[80] “Progress and Plans of Lao People’s Army,” presentation by Lao Army Humanitarian Team, 8 November 2016.

[81] Souksakhone Vaenko, “Army deployed to clear UXO for Laos-China railway,” Vientiane Times, 6 January 2017.

[82] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[83] CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report (for 2017), Form A; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form F. It also reported the destruction of 90,160 cluster munition remnants, 124 bombs, and 25,232 other UXO items. However, this is not consistent with data provided by the NRA and operators. See the land release of cluster munition remnants section of this profile.

[84] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[85] Email from Neil Arnold, Technical Operations Manager, MAG, 10 September 2018.

[86] Email from Ulric Eriksson, NPA, 27 September 2018.

[87] Email from Nigel Orr, Sterling International, 3 October 2018.

[88] The NRA reported 101.48km2 confirmed as hazardous in 2015 and 113.41km2 in 2016 but its data included major discrepancies with operators’ results. In particular, the NRA did not record any survey activity by HALO Trust and reported that NPA had confirmed 12.14km2 as hazardous area.

[89] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[90] Ibid. There was a discrepancy between technical survey data reported by the NRA, compared to data reported by the clearance operators. HALO Trust reported surveying 36,182,500m2 through technical survey, and confirming 22,981,244m2 as cluster munition remnant-contaminated. During technical survey HALO reported destruction of 1,893 submunitions and 629 other items of UXO. Response to questionnaire from Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, Sepon, 11 May 2018. MAG’s data on 2017 technical survey matched that of NRA’s almost exactly, with the exception that MAG reported destruction of 12, rather than 11, items of other UXO during technical survey. Email from Neil Arnold, MAG, 9 May 2018. NPA reported surveying 56,317,500m2 through technical survey, and confirming 53,963,776m2 as cluster munition remnant-contaminated. During technical survey NPA reported destruction of 3,709 submunitions and 448 other items of UXO. Email from Ulric Eriksson, NPA, 1 May 2018.

[91]  Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form A.

[92]  Email from Jason Villamil, HALO Trust, 23 June 2018.

[93] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[94] Ibid. Clearance data reported by Lao PDR for LAUNC (LAO UNEOD COOPER Co., Ltd), on 14 tasks totaling 5,799,051m2 has been excluded. Clearance work by LAUNC in 2017, was in support of dam projects, irrigation, crops, and forestry, and others, in the provinces of Bolikhamxay, Champasak, and Xaisomboun. However, no items of cluster munition remnants or other ERW were reported as having been destroyed during these projects. In addition, there was a discrepancy between clearance data reported by the NRA and the data reported by the clearance operators. HALO Trust reported 1,324,314m2 of BAC, and destruction of 3,265 submunitions (1,640 during BAC and 1,625 during EOD callouts) and 1,533 other items of UXO (1,203 during BAC and 330 during EOD callouts). Response to Mine Action Review questionnaire from Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, Sepon, 11 May 2018. MAG reported a slightly higher amount of BAC (4,734,636m2), but the same number of items destroyed: 10,888 submunitions (3,238 during BAC and 7,650 EOD call outs) and 1,513 items of other UXO (421 during BAC and 1,092 during EOD callouts). Email from Neil Arnold, MAG, 9 May 2018. NPA reported 369,904m2 of BAC, and destruction of 7,472 submunitions (1,305 during BAC and 6,167 during EOD callouts) and 1,188 other items of UXO (19 during BAC and 1,169 during EOD callouts). Email from Ulric Eriksson, NPA, 1 May 2018.

[95] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form F.

[96] Ibid.

[97] Presentation by HALO Trust, Sepon, 10 May 2018.

[98] Presentation by Saomany Manivong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[99] Ibid.; and interviews with Ulric Eriksson, NPA Laos, Saravan, 4 May 2018; and with Neil Arnold, MAG, Phonsavanh, 6 May 2018.

[100] Interview with Olivia Meader, HALO Trust, Sepon, 11 May 2018.

[101] Interviews with international and national operators, Laos, 1–12 May 2018.

[102] Statement of Lao PDR, Convention on Cluster Munitions Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Session on International Cooperation and Assistance, Geneva, 4–5 September 2017; and interview with Phil Bean, US PM/WRA, and Machut Shishak, Political/Economic Counselor, US Embassy, Vientiane, 3 May 2018.

[103] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[104] Email from Bouala Thongsavanh, NRA, on behalf of Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, 30 April 2018.

[105] Statement of Lao PDR, Convention on Cluster Munitions Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4–5 September 2017.

[106] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, and Thipasone Soukhathammavong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 2 May 2018.

[107] Ibid.