Dealing with Hidden Danger: Capacity Development of Lao PDR’s Unexploded Ordnance Sector

Authors

Kiengkay Ounmany, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Community Education DevelopmentFollow

Abstract

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) suffered from the heaviest bombing in its history during the Second Indochina War (1955–1975). Two decades after the war, the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Programme (UXO Lao) was established with financial and technical assistance from United Nations (UN) agencies and donor countries. The development of Lao PDR’s national UXO clearance capacity has been within the framework of multilateral and bilateral cooperation. The Lao PDR government is prepared to take ownership of the program, but additional capacity development is essential in the areas of strategic planning and funding mobilization if it is to meet the needs of its citizens who continue to live in the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita.1 This article examines how Lao PDR’s UXO sector has developed its capacity over the past three decades and identifies areas for further capacity development: strategic planning, financial and information management, and humanitarian mine action (HMA) quality management.

Recommended Citation

Ounmany, Kiengkay (2024) "Dealing with Hidden Danger: Capacity Development of Lao PDR’s Unexploded Ordnance Sector," The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction: Vol. 28 : Iss. 3 , Article 9.
Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol28/iss3/9