The government of Japan has provided assistance worth US$ 873,205 for the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS) to implement the project of clearing unexploded ordinances (UXO) in Pek and other seven districts in Xieng Khouang province, Laos under the Grant Assistance Scheme for Japanese NGOs Projects.
The Grant Contract of the above project was signed on 12 March at the Embassy of Japan in Laos by Mr. Masaaki Miya****a, Ambassador of Japan to Laos and Mr. Tomoyasu Tagawa, Country Representative of JMAS, a Japanese NGO.
Under this project, JMAS will provide financial and technical support for the activities of UXO Lao such as UXO clearance and Mine Risk Education in eight districts in Xieng Khouang province.
During the Indochina War, about two million tonnes of explosive ordinances were dropped on the Laos and 10 to 30 per cent of them still remains as UXOs.UXO not only causes peoples physical injuries, but also affects their socio-economic activities and food security.
The government of Japan has supported the Lao UXO sector since 1999.
The total funding cost up to 2009 is about US.5 million of which about US$ 3.3 million is funded for JMAS, about US$ 5 million is directly for UXO Lao through various schemes such as Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project, and about US$ 137,000 is for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) through the Japan-ASEAN integration Fund (JAIF).
Japans support for the Lao UXO sector contributes to reducing the number of casualties, increasing available lands for agriculture and other socio-economic activities, and enhancing national development of the Laos.
