Lao PDR

Mine Action

Last updated: 25 November 2016

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]

Operator

Area covered (km2)

Areas confirmed

Area confirmed (km2)

HALO

28.69

404

9.00

HI

12.77

570

3.82

MAG

20.44

109

15.79

NPA

96.41

631

37.16

UXO Lao

N/R

N/R

36.34

Total

158.31

1,714

102.11

 

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]

Operator

Area cleared (km2)

Submunitions destroyed

Large bombs destroyed

UXO destroyed

Mines destroyed

Humanitarian

 

 

 

 

 

HALO

1.05

1,157

2

404

0

HI

0.54

491

15

804

0

MAG

7.26

6,424

2

259

0

NPA

1.03

2,034

2

63

0

UXO Lao

19.73

39,391

34

11,632

108

Subtotal

29.61

49,497

55

13,162

108

Commercial

 

 

 

 

 

ASA

0.02

0

0

25

0

AUSLAO

3.68

2

0

2

0

BACTEC

0.53

11

0

17

0

Lao BSL

1.16

59

0

0

0

LAUNC

0

0

0

0

0

Milsearch

0.22

24

2

5

0

MMG

3.70

125

49

402

0

OUMMA

0.19

319

0

213

0

PSD

2.08

47

1

1,518

0

SBH

0

0

0

0

0

XTD

0.11

0

0

0

0

Subtotal

11.69

587

52

2,182

0

Total

41.30

50,084

107

15,344

108

 

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]

Operator

Submunitions destroyed

Bombs destroyed

Other UXO destroyed

Mines destroyed

HALO

2,398

23

684

0

HI

2,432

21

1,256

2

MAG

830

6

749

0

NPA

1,666

39

817

0

UXO Lao

15,449

126

8,855

34

Total

22,775

215

12,361

36

 

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

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2015

41.20

2014

67.78

2013

64.86

2012

54.42

2011

38.74

Total

267.00

 

 

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.



[1] Data from operators. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for 2015), Form F states that 35.99km2 of land was cleared, and 115,082 items destroyed, of which 87,389 were “cluster munitions.” NRA, “UXO Sector Annual Report 2012,” Vientiane, undated but 2013 states that 100,026 submunitions were destroyed.

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

[3] Interview with Michael Hayes, Programme Manager, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Vientiane, 5 February 2004.

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

[5] “US bombing records in Laos, 1964–73, Congressional Record,” 14 May 1975.

[6] NRA, “UXO Sector Annual Report 2009,” Vientiane, undated but 2010, p. 13; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for 2013), Form F.

[7] Presentation by Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, Director, National Regulatory Authority (NRA), Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Clearance and Risk Reduction, Geneva, 7 April 2014; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for 2015), Form F.

[8] Interviews with international operators, Vientiane, 3−7 May 2016.

[9] Interview with Jo Durham, author of “Post-Clearance Impact Assessment,” Vientiane, 10 November 2011.

[10] UNDP, “Hazardous Ground, Cluster Munitions and UXO in the Lao PDR,” Vientiane, October 2008, p. 8.

[11] Interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 4 May 2016; and NRA, “From Survey to Safety, Quantifying and Clearing UXO Contamination in Lao PDR,” March 2016.

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

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

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

[15] NRA, “UXO Sector Annual Report 2009,” Vientiane, May 2009, p. 14.

[16] Prime Minister’s Decree No. 406, “Concerning the National Regulatory Authority for UXO in Lao PDR,” 8 November 2011.

[17] Government Decree No. 43, “On the appointment of the NRA Board,” (Unofficial translation) 3 February 2015; and interview with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 28 April 2015.

[18] “Agreement 96,” NRA Board, 27 November 2012.

[19] NRA website, “About the NRA,” 17 August 2012.

[20] Interviews with Allan Poston, Chief Technical Adviser, UXO Mine Action Sector, Vientiane, 6 May 2016; and with Nils Christensen, UXO Portfolio Manager, UNDP, Vientiane, 6 May 2016.

[21] NRA, “UXO Sector Annual Report 2009,” Vientiane, May 2009, p. 11; and telephone interview with Phil Bean, NRA, 22 August 2012.

[22] NRA, “NRA Annual Report 2012,” Vientiane, undated but 2013; and NRA, “Safe Path Forward II,” 22 June 2012, p. 5.

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

[24] Interviews with Phoukhieo Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 13 June 2013; and with Phil Bean, NRA, Vientiane, 12 June 2013.

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

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

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

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

[29] Ibid., p. 4; and interviews with Allan Poston, UNDP, and operators, Vientiane, 3−7 May 2016.

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

[31] NRA, “2015 Sector Achievements,” (data as of 29 April 2016) provided by NRA, 4 May 2016. Note: the Monitor is aware that there is a discrepancy between this total figure are the disaggregated figures found further below.

[32] According to Lao PDR’s Article 7 Report for 2015, 35.99km2 of land was cleared and 87,389 submunitions were destroyed. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for 2015), Form F.

[33] NRA, “2015 Sector Achievements,” (data as of 29 April 2016) provided by NRA, 4 May 2016.

[34] Total of data provided by operators (see table). The total figure provided by the NRA is 101.5 km2. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for 2015), Form F; and “2015 Sector Achievements,” (data as of 29 April 2016) provided by NRA, 4 May 2016. In 2014, NPA confirmed 39km2 as hazardous. See Lao PDR’s 2015 Mine Action country profile for more details.

[35] Interview with Thipasone Soukhathammavong, National Programme Director, and Saomany Manivong, Chief of Programme Office and Public Information, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 5 May 2016; and “UXO Lao Progress Summary Report, 2015,” received from UXO Lao, 6 May 2016.

[36] Email from Nick Torbet, Programme Manager, HALO Trust, 29 March 2016.

[37] Email from Jonas Zachrisson, Country Director, NPA, 21 April 2016.

[38] Data provided by Nick Torbet, HALO Trust, 29 March 2016; by Kim Warren, Head of Mission, HI, 5 May 2016; by Simon Rea, Country Director, MAG, 3 May 2016; by Jonas Zachrisson, NPA, 21 April 2016; and by UXO Lao, 5 May 2016.

[39] Skype interview with Asa Gilbert, Operations Manager, NPA, 8 May 2016.

[40] Interview with Phoukhieou Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 4 May 2016.

[41] Skype interview with Asa Gilbert, NPA, 8 May 2016.

[42] Interviews with Phoukhieou Chanthasomboune, NRA, Vientiane, 4 May 2016; and with Allan Poston, UNDP, Vientiane, 6 May 2016.

[43] “2015 Sector Achievements,” (data as of 29 April 2016) provided by NRA, 4 May 2016.

[44] Interview with Thipasone Soukhathammavong, and Saomany Manivong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 5 May 2016.

[45] Interview with Simon Rea, MAG, in Vientiane, 4 May 2016.

[46] Interview with Kim Warren, HI, in Vientiane, 5 May 2016.

[47] “Sector Achievements,” interim figures (29 April 2016), received from NRA, 4 May 2016.

[48] Email from Simon Rea, MAG, 3 May 2016.

[49] Interview with Thipasone Soukhathammavong, and Saomany Manivong, UXO Lao, Vientiane, 5 May 2016.

[50] “Sector Achievements,” interim figures (29 April 2016), received from NRA, 4 May 2016.