TOWARDS A MINE-FREE COUNTRY Stopping “war after war” and reducing the threat from cluster munitions

One of the poorest countries in the world, Laos is also one of the most heavily polluted by cluster munitions. Every year, these weapons kill and injure hundreds of people, and hamper the country’s economic development. Present in Laos since 1983, Handicap International has been

of war since 1996.

PROJECT BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

>> More than 270 million cluster munitions were dropped by the United States during the Vietnam War, of which 80 million did not explode on impact and still lie in and around

>> A major threat to physical security: • Since 1964, more than 50,000 people have been killed or injured in accidents caused by explosive remnants of war. • These weapons have claimed around 300 new victims every year over the last decade. • Children: the main victims (in 2012, some 40% of reported victims were children).

>> Cluster munitions are also a cause of poverty.

>> Among the 17 provinces covered, Savannakhet is the most severely polluted.

© Nicolas Axelrod / Handicap International

LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS:

POPULATION : 6,8 millions inhabitants (World Bank 2013)

LANGUAGES: Lao

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX: 138 out of 187 (UNDP 2012)

% OF THE POPULATION LIVING ON LESS THAN $1.25/DAY : 33.9 % (UNDP 2011)

UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY RATE : 72 per 1,000 live births (WHO 2012)

LIFE EXPECTANCY: 67.8 years (UNDP 2012)

PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WITH DISABILITIES: 8%

MAIN GOAL OF THE PROJECT Reducing the threat from unexploded ordnance to protect people from the danger of cluster munitions.

PROJECT BUDGET

>> Overall project budget: €1,697,000

>> Financial requirements/funding gap:

WHY DONATE? WHY IS YOUR DONATION IMPORTANT?

To run this project, we still need

Your donation will help us decontaminate 20 villages in 2014, destroy more than 2,000 explosive remnants of war and offer safety and economic development to people living under the threat of war and its effects since 1964.

BENEFICIARIES

DIRECT BENEFICIARIES:

>> 15,000 people living in 80 villages in the districts of Nong, Sepon and Vilabully.>> Landowners in all decontaminated areas whose land is restored to them.

DIRECT BENEFICIARIES:

>> 107,067 people in three districts of the province of Savannakhet living close to polluted areas and who benefit from better opportunities for development and economic activities.

PROJECT IN DETAIL

>> Mapping and technical surveys to identify the extent of UXO contamination. >> Compiling decontamination plans and prioritising areas in conjunction with district

authorities. >> Deploying decontamination and rapid response teams to clear unexploded ordnance

lying on the surface; restoring land to owners. >> Implementing a community liaison system to obtain and share information at each stage

of the decontamination process. >> Continuous training for deminers and other technical staff. >> Following-up the Quality Assurance and Quality Control of decontaminated areas.

HI’S LEGITIMACY

WHY NOT THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES?

>> UXO Lao is the national operator in Laos. It is unable to tackle all of the problems caused by contamination without outside support.

WHY HI?

>> Excellent knowledge of the intervention areas (HI has been present in Laos since 1983)

>> It has a high level of expertise in humanitarian demining: the first NGO to conduct demining operations, it has more than 20 years’ experience of running projects in different countries (including Cambodia, Libya and Mozambique).

>> Awarded several international prizes for its mine actions: • In 1996, the Nansen Prize from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, for its commitment to refugees, its contribution to humanitarian work, and its mine action. • In 1997, Handicap International was the co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize as the co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

Handicap International staff members marking explosive remnants of war.Villager advised them the way. Now the war remnants are marked in a map with GPS-data.

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Handicap International’s debombing team is visiting them. Together they draw a card with all known explosive remnants of war on it.

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PROJECT LOCATION The three districts worst affected by unexploded ordnance: Sepon, Nong and Villabully in the province of Savannakhet.

LENGTH OF THE PROJECT4 years (2013-2016).

It took more than 3 hours to the debombing team to defuse the bomb which fell near a village and to move to the site of destruction.

Your contact:

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