With an estimated 1.5 – 2 million tons of ordnance and 250 million cluster munitions dropped over Laos, it is generally considered the most heavily bombed country in the world, per capita. According to John Dingley, UN Development Programme Senior Technical Adviser to UXO Lao, the scale of the problem in Laos is unprecedented. “More bombs were dropped on Laos than Germany and Japan put together in the Second World War.” All 17 provinces of the country and 25 percent of the villages are still contaminated with UXO.

Every year there are some 300 UXO accidents, resulting in approximately 120 deaths and 180 injuries. Amongst those injured, some 14,000 amputees have been recorded over the period 1964 to 2004. According to the National Census conducted in 2005, 45,000 people were identified as having a physical disability. The highest rates were in areas severely contaminated by UXO (Xieng Khouang, Savannakhet and Sekong).

UXO is an identified cause of poverty. Such contamination severely limits the expansion of agricultural production, leads to shortages in food supplies, and denies villagers’ the ability to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Per Saleumxay Kommasith, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says, “the UXO problem now constitutes an impediment to socio-economic development in our country. We cannot carry out our development projects and poverty eradication without getting the UXO out of our land.”

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. It became the fifth country globally and the first in Asia to ratify the convention on 18 March 2009, when it deposited its instrument of ratification at a special event to promote the convention at UN headquarters in New York. Thus, it was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010. Lao PDR hosted the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in Vientiane in November 2010.

The event was also used for the government and UNDP to officially launch a UXO trust fund, created to encourage strong support for the convention and the First Meeting of States Parties. As of early September, four countries (Australia, Canada, France, and Ireland) had contributed about US$4.15 million to the fund.

Lao PDR has established the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the focal point for implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The ministry receives support for this through a Treaty Support Unit created in March 2010 within the National Regulatory Authority (NRA).

In March 2010, Lao PDR established a National Preparatory Committee on the First Meeting of States Parties, chaired by the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. Eight sub- committees have been established, with members from government agencies, to be responsible for specific tasks.

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lao PDR is required to complete clearance of all areas affected by unexploded sub munitions under its jurisdiction or control not later than 1 August 2020. If it is unable to complete clearance within 10 years, it may request an extension of up to five years.

In 2010, the NRA, which coordinates UXO/mine action in Lao PDR, drew up plans for a pilot district-level survey to determine the extent of contamination. The survey is intended to pull together household and village priorities, district plans for development, and national plans for development and investment. It is expected to provide a basis for districts to draw up annual work plans and for the NRA and clearance operators to draw up a multiyear plan in line with its obligations under the convention.

At least 40,499 unexploded sub munitions were reportedly destroyed by operators in 2009. The UXO/mine action program in Lao PDR did not, though, disaggregate areas cleared of cluster munitions remnants from other battle area clearance.