8 April 2024, Luang Prabang- A new UXO exhibition opened today at the UXO Visitor Center in Luang Prabang coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2024. Speaking on this occasion to Government officials, ambassadors and representatives of development partners, H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, and Chairperson of the National Regulatory Authority, highlighted the danger and challenge that UXO contamination continues to pose in Lao PDR where many communities rely on agriculture for a living.  

During the Second Indochina War (1964-1975), more than two million tons of explosive ordnance were dropped on Laos, making it, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in the world. Today, much of the country is still contaminated with cluster sub-munitions and other Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) that continue to kill and injure people every year. Since the beginning of the year, there have already been 10 UXO accidents in which 18 persons were injured and 3, killed. More than half of the victims were children.  

UXO contamination also has a direct impact on the economy of the country, as it constrains agricultural expansion and disrupts the safe use of land for the development of industry and tourism and the construction of infrastructure, increasing the costs of all development projects. As a result, economic opportunities that could spur growth and accelerate human development are restricted, complicated and made more expensive. And this affects the poorest disproportionately. 

The commemoration of International Mine Awareness Day, marked every year on 4 April, provided an opportunity to recognize the significant progress made by the UXO/Mine Action sector in Lao PDR in clearing explosive remnants of war, but also the considerable challenges that remain. 

With generous funding from Ireland and KOICA, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the event which also saw the release of “Invisible Scars”, a short documentary which shines a light on the psychological impact of UXO accidents on child victims. The documentary is narrated by Mrs. Lae, the mother of Layoud, an 11-year-old boy from Vientiane province. While playing with friends in the neighbourhood, they found a UXO which they mistook for a pétanque ball. Two children died that day, and 3 others were injured. With only a few physical scars, but deeply traumatized by the accident, Layoud who used to be a happy boy, has developed hearing difficulties and is now losing his ability to learn. (The documentary can be found here.) 

UNDP has been supporting the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao) since 1996 and the National Regulatory Authority since its establishment in 2006. This support has resulted in the clearance of 51,330 hectares of contaminated land and the destruction of 698,000 of unexploded ordnances. With UNDP’s assistance, the NRA has taken on the role of coordinating and regulating the overall management of the UXO sector in Lao PDR, a sector which includes national, commercial and humanitarian operators. The NRA leads the country’s UXO policy formulation, accredits operators, manages information and data, as well as the quality of UXO operations.  

For more information, please contact

Aksonethip Somvorachit, Communications Analyst, UNDP Lao PDR

Email: aksonethip.somvorachit@undp.org

Telephone: 021 267 778

Mobile: 020 5502 1550