Assessing the True Cost of the Cluster Munition Legacy in Lao PDR 50 Years On

 

DATE AND TIME

Wednesday, 11 September 2024, 13:00-14:30 hours

 

VENUE

Palais des Nations Room XXI

 

ORGANIZER

Legacies of War

 

INFORMATION

Lao PDR remains the country most contaminated by cluster munition remnants globally over 50 years after the weapon was widely used by US forces to pursue the war in Southeast Asia. Neighbouring countries Cambodia and Vietnam are estimated to have “large” and “massive” cluster munition contamination respectively. The CMRS process in the Lao PDR is undertaken by humanitarian clearance operators and is determined by evidence of ordnance. It is estimated that approximately 87,000 km² of the country (country territory of 236,800 km²) is contaminated with ordnance remnant. This figure was estimated from US bombing data where bombing missions over the period of 1964-1975, covered approximately one third of the Lao PDR national territory. For Cluster Munitions contamination, the initial estimation based on 70,000 individual cluster munitions target locations with each cluster munitions strikes producing a footprint of up to 12 hectares. Therefore, the initial estimation of cluster munition contamination area in the Lao PDR amounted to approximately 8,470 km2.

However, these are rough estimations where the country has used evidence based methodology since 2015, which has to date (December 2023) 195,704 hectares of Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHAs). This number continues to increase as the sector in the Lao PDR continue to identify contamination due to the fact that in addition to humanitarian clearance, commercial operators undertake clearance of contaminated land but with commercial objectives, for example in the preparation for hydro-electric damn construction, open cast mining projects etc.

H.E. Mr. Daovy Vongxay, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, Head of the National SDG Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR will share how the country has made immense efforts and realized great strides in addressing this deadly cluster munition legacy since becoming the second country to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008. Yet Laos continues to struggle under the massive impact that the weapon has had across society, and tragically to suffer cluster munition casualties more than 50 years after conflict ended in the country.

CCM Stakeholder and Cluster Munition Coalition member Legacies of War (LoW) is a US-based diaspora advocacy organization devoted to supporting communities in Laos and the region impacted by cluster munitions, other ERW, and landmines. Director Sera Koulabdara will share takeaways from Legacies’ work and its relevance to ensuring a strong Convention and preventing or mitigating further tragedies from cluster munitions globally.

LoW works to support affected communities in Lao PDR, in neighbouring countries, and the global community by addressing the history of use of cluster munitions, and advocating for resources to clear and “heal” contaminated lands and support victims. The fruit of this work is the restoration of previously contaminated lands and communities in the hope that future generations in Laos and elsewhere and can enjoy the same rights and opportunities as those living in regions free of cluster-munitions.

Overall humanitarian disarmament efforts and IHL more generally, are facing steep challenges today, and the CCM is at the centre of this tidal shift in attitudes. Amidst a destabilized security environment, states are increasingly hewing towards a military response to human security needs. This dangerous trend is most recently illustrated by ongoing developments in Lithuania where, for the first time ever, a State party to the Convention seeks to evoke Article 20, effectively withdrawing from the CCM.

Even as Lao PDR and other States make progress in addressing the legacy of decades-old contamination, new use of cluster munitions in the context of recent and ongoing conflicts in Myanmar, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine is rendering new victims, threatening lives, contaminating communities, and destroying livelihood in those countries for years to come.

The experience of Lao PDR therefore is more relevant than ever, providing a critical example of the overarching and devastating impact of cluster munitions on society as a whole, and what we may anticipate in a few short years if current trends are not reversed, use of the weapon soundly rejected, and implementation of the Convention robustly promoted.

Panelists:

Moderator: Mr. Jared Bloch

 

CONTACT EMAIL

sera@legaciesofwar.org