The development partners’ conference on leftover UXO clearance was held Ha Noi on March 14, 2014 – Photo: VGP

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who is also Head of the national Steering Committee to implement the national program of action on settling UXO (Committee 504) attended the event.

After consecutive wars, land and people of Viet Nam have been severely affected by used bombs and mines. Over 20% of the country's land has been contaminated, causing wounds and casualties to people and badly affecting natural resource extraction and people’s daily lives.

In spite of difficulties, the Government has paid great attention to studying and establishing a managing and monitoring system on UXO clearance.

A national program of action on settling UXO was established in 2010 to mobilize local and international resources to mitigate the effects and gradually clear UXO, contributing to socio-economic development, ensuring safety for people and helping victims integrate into the community.

Committee 504 has consuted the Government on monitoring related activities, issuing a decree on UXO clearance, improving the committee’s operation and management mechanisms.

Viet Nam has signed memorandums with the US Government and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), as well as agreed on cooperation frameworks with the United Nations Development Program, the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus and other international organizations.

In addition, relevant agencies have developed schemes and projects on UXO clearance to call for foreign aid, exchanged with representatives from some governments on their sponsor and established a national database on the clearance.

UXO clearance has been conducted on nearly 100,000ha for the past two years and the communication work has been enhanced, creating a consensus in the country and drawing the international comminity’s attention to the issue.

                                                                                                            By Ngoc Van