Legacies of War Sector Meets in Laos

(Thursday 28 June 2001 )

At a conference held in Vientiane Laos 19-22 June 2001, the Legacies of War sector of the 10th Forum on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, organized by the US based Reconciliation Fund recommended:

Recommendations from legacies: landmines, uxo, Agent Orange.

Participants in the sectoral group on landmines, uxo's, agent orange, aware of the devastating effects of these legacies of war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and of the enormous task of clearing and rehabilitating affected land, communities and disabled individuals facing the governments and people of these countries recommend:

• that funding for clearance, survivor support and development of affected communities be extended;
  
• that data from Level One surveys almost completed by Geo Spatial in Cambodia and by UXO Laos on mine / uxo contaminated areas with relevant socio-economic impact data be made available to all relevant government departments, mine clearance and development agencies in Cambodia and Laos so as to assist prioritization and good planning for mine affected communities;
  
• that a comprehensive Level One survey be carried out in Vietnam as early as practicable with cooperative funding and technical assistance;
  
• that Laos, Vietnam and the United States accede to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty;
  
• that a meeting of those involved in mine action planning in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand be held, preferably in Vietnam, to share policy and coordination frameworks and legislation on mine/uxo, disability and land tenure issues.

With particular reference to Agent Orange we:

• strongly support that documentation on Agent Orange continue in Vietnam and extend to Cambodia and Laos; that it be made available in a centralized site and widely publicized;
  
• strongly support the organization of a conference of scientists on effects of Agent Orange in the South East Asia region;
  
• encourage the launching of an international campaign on Agent Orange issues, and linking with existing campaigns on clearing military toxins, with a view to raising awareness and eventually the question of paying compensation;
  
• encourage the creation of an International Association of Agent Orange victims.

The task of following up each of these recommendations was given to particular members of the group.

Participants in the workshop included 22 mine action experts from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. At plenary sessions of the 360 participants, government representatives of the three countries noted that poverty alleviation was closely tied to mine and uxo clearance and development of mine affected communities.

For more information contact Ms Denise Coghlan or Ms Sok Eng by e-mail: jrscamSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERforum.org.kh