About UXO LAO

We are the national agency responsible for unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance and education in the Lao PDR. Established by Prime Minister’s decree in 1996, we now employ over 1000 deminers, surveryors, community awareness staff and trainers in the 9 provinces where we work.

We deliver benefits to many hundreds of communities: the risk-removal benefits of clearance, risk-reduction benefits of education, and importantly, contributing to development and income-generation benefits.

Our teams clear land for development: land then used for laying clean water pipes, installing irrigation systems, putting in sanitation facilities, extending school-yards, hospitals, and markets; as well as clearing land for agriculture: rice production and cash-crops such as coffee, oranges and other fruit.

We use an integrated work-planning process to plan, manage and evaluate all our clearance, survey and education activities. This process incorporates extensive consultation with communities to help determine where clearance priorities will deliver the most benefits.

We co-ordinate with a range of development agencies, responding to their requests to assist with a range of social and economic development projects. We continue to work within our mandate of humanitarian clearance, leaving commercial clearance to other providers in the country.

We work with our international implementing partners: Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Gerbera, Handicap International ( Belgium ), Norwegian People’s Aid and Belgian Military Advisors. UNDP, UNICEF and UNV also provide support to the programme.

UXO LAO will be training staff, surveying affected areas, educating communities and clearing bombs for decades. Reducing UXO risk in the Lao PDR is a long-term undertaking and one that requires continued international support.

To contact us:

National Programme Director
UXO LAO
P.O. Box 345
Vientiane , LAO PDR
Tel: (856-21) 414896
                    415767
Fax: (856-21) 415766
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.uxolao.org


[Back to top]