Meeting with the Hon Teresa
Australia funds UXO clearance
Australia has announced an additional A$900,000 to support further activities to reduce the threat from unexploded ordnance in Laos.
The statement was made by the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Special Representative on Mine Action, Ms Teresa Gambaro during her four-day visit to Laos from June 4-7.
During in Laos, Ms Gambaro called on and discussed bilateral cooperation issues relating to Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) on Monday with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad.
The two leaders also discussed cooperation in general between Laos and Australia.
“Even though the war ended over 30 years ago, its negative impacts still threaten people’s lives and has also adversely affected commercial production,” said Mr Somsavat. “Many investors interested in setting up projects in some areas have to spend time clearing unexploded ordnance first.”
He said that thanks to the assistance of many countries and organisations, large quantities of UXOs had now been cleared. However, because of the huge number of bombs dropped on Laos, there were still large areas of the country that remained contaminated and therefore unsafe for development.
The funding will comprise a grant of A$300,000 to support the newly established national regulatory authority (NRA) for UXO in Laos. It also includes A$600,000 to assist the work of Fondation Suisse de Deminage, an international UXO clearance operator working closely with the World Food Programme in four heavily contaminated districts in southern Laos.
This brings total Australian support for UXO clearance this year to US$1.5 million, a significant contribution.
Australian support for the NRA will enable the establishment of a UXO victims assistance database and recruitment of technical staff.
“The database is critical to the ability of the government and other UXO stakeholders to identify high risk areas and develop appropriate Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance strategies and other related services,” said Ms Gambaro.
She pointed out that from 1964 to 1973 Laos was one of the most heavily bombed areas in the world. Even today, 15 of 18 provinces remain severely affected and it is hoped that this funding will help Laos to address the socio-economic issues associated with UXO contamination.
Ms Gambaro visited Luang Prabang province and Vientiane this week, part of her trip to Laos and Cambodia to examine UXO and landmine clearance issues. In Luang Prabang, Ms Gambaro observed the clearance work of UXO Lao, the Lao government UXO clearance operator in Pak Ou district.
She also launched a Lao language version of an international handbook on mine action produced by the Geneva International Humanitarian Centre for Demining with Australian government support.
The handbook is a practical guide detailing necessary legislative and administrative processes for developing effective national legislation to coordinate and regulate mine action activities in mine or UXO affected countries.