Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Vietnam still considers antipersonnel mines as a legitimate weapon of self-defense and has cited national security concerns, especially border security, as reasons for not joining the Mine Ban Treaty.[1]

In September 2012, a military officer noted that Vietnam has been studying the treaty, but the officer said that stockpiles of mines held by countries outside the treaty are of concern to Vietnam since they could be used at any time.[2] In June 2011, a representative from Vietnam said it was unlikely that the country would join the Mine Ban Treaty at this time because they are still using mines on their borders “as a form of defense.” The representative added that Vietnam was not necessarily laying new mines, but it was actively maintaining them.[3] However, in an apparent review of policy, in 2013 a Ministry of Defence official stated to the Monitor that there is no longer any political reason to maintain minefields on its border with China, and that border minefields are being removed along with demarcation to ease economic activities with neighboring countries.[4]

Vietnam sent an observer delegation to the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2012, but did not make any statements. Vietnam did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2013. Vietnam made its only statement to States Parties during an intersessional Standing Committee meeting in June 2008, where it stated, “We support the humanitarian aspects of the Ottawa Convention of Anti-personnel Landmines but we could not sign it yet as it regrettably does not duly take into account the legitimate security concerns of many countries including Vietnam.”[5] Vietnam did attend the Bangkok Symposium on Enhancing Cooperation & Assistance in June 2013 in Bangkok.

On 3 December 2012, Vietnam abstained from voting on UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 67/32 calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has abstained on all previous annual pro-ban treaty UNGA resolutions.

Vietnam signed, but has not ratified, the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, stockpiling, transfer, and use

Vietnam has not made any new official statements regarding its continued need for, or capacity for, the production of antipersonnel mines and has not made any new statements regarding the types and quantities it holds in stockpile.

Vietnam produced antipersonnel mines in the past.[6] In 2008, officials said that Vietnam has not produced mines since the Mine Ban Treaty came into force, but also emphasized that it reserves the right to produce mines in the future.[7] Until Vietnam issues an official public statement that it does not currently and will not in the future produce antipersonnel mines, the Monitor will continue to list Vietnam as one of the few remaining global manufacturers.

In 2003, an official confirmed the existence of a stockpile of antipersonnel mines, saying, “Vietnam does not keep large stores of landmines, but we have enough to protect our country against invasion.”[8] In September 2012, a military officer stated that in the past two years (2011–2012), Vietnam destroyed 287 tons of stockpiled antipersonnel mines as well as destroying a limited number of antivehicle mines. While unable to provide a stockpile figure, the officer stated that “significant amount of mines stocked in Vietnam have been destroyed” and that each year Vietnam destroys around 100 tons of mines. The officer also stated Vietnam needs new technology for destruction of munitions and support from the international community.[9]

Vietnam told States Parties in June 2008, “we strictly observe our policy not to export” antipersonnel mines.[10] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously wrote to the Monitor, stating, “Vietnam has never exported and will never export mines.”[11]

Vietnam is not thought to have used antipersonnel mines since its occupation of Cambodia in the 1980s, but it has said it reserves the right to use antipersonnel mines in the future.[12]

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In September 2012, Vietnam informed States Parties that it has “strong support for the humanitarian goal of the Convention” and notes “the increasing number of States that have become Parties” but believes that “a number of important obligations under the Convention present great difficulties to the implementation” and that it would “not be in a position to complete clearance under the Article 4 deadline of ten years.” Vietnam said it was “of the view that states who have produced, used or abandoned cluster munitions must be accountable for the implementation of obligations under the Convention, including the clearance and destruction of cluster munitions.”[1]

Vietnam has stated its full support for the humanitarian aims of the Convention on Cluster Munitions on several occasions, but it regularly expressed the same concerns with respect to joining it, specifically its ability to meet the convention’s clearance obligation and the lack of participation in the convention by certain states.[2]

In 2010, senior officials informed the CMC that an interministerial policy review process was studying a number of issues relating to the convention.[3] As of 1 July 2013, it was not clear if this review was ongoing or had been completed.

Vietnam participated in two of the international Oslo Process diplomatic conferences to develop the convention text, but attended the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008 and the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008 only as an observer.[4]

Vietnam has continued to participate in meetings related to the convention. It attended a regional conference in Bali, Indonesia in 2009 and an international conference in Santiago, Chile in 2010. Vietnam has participated as an observer in every Meeting of States Parties of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the Third Meeting of States Parties in Oslo, Norway in September 2012. Vietnam has participated in every intersessional meeting of the convention held in Geneva, including those held in April 2013.

Vietnam is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Vietnam signed the Convention on Conventional Weapons in 1981, but has not ratified any of its protocols.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

At the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2012, Vietnam declared, “We do not produce, store, use or encourage to [sic] use cluster munitions.”[5]

In the past, some officials have said that Vietnam does not have a stockpile, but others have been less than certain.[6] A May 2010 position paper states that “foreign reports” show that Vietnam has never used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[7]

Jane’s Information Group cites Vietnam’s Air Force as possessing KMGU submunition dispensers.[8]

 

Contamination and Impact

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is heavily contaminated by explosive remnants of war (ERW), mainly unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mostly dating back to the war with the United States (US) in the 1960s and first half of the 1970s. This includes among the most extensive contamination from cluster munition remnants in the world. There is, however, no precise estimate of how much contamination remains.

Vietnam says ERW still affect all of its 63 provinces and cities; officials continue to assert contamination covers 66,000km², one-fifth of its total land area.[1] That estimate, however, reportedly dates back to 2000. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in December 2011 that Vietnam had so far cleared a total of some 3,000km².[2]

Cluster munition remnants

The US dropped 413,130 tons of submunitions over Vietnam between 1965 and 1973, striking 55 provinces and cities, including Haiphong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Vinh. Vietnam’s Military Engineering Command has recorded finding 15 types of US-made submunitions.[3] Most submunition types used by the US were air-dropped, but artillery-delivered submunitions were used in central Quang Binh and provinces to the south of it.[4]

Overall, submunitions reportedly account for about 20−25% of items cleared.[5] The Military Engineering Command says it has encountered substantial amounts of cluster munitions abandoned by the US military, notably at or around old US air bases, including eight underground bunkers found in 2009, one of them reportedly covering an area of 4,000m² and containing some 25 tons of munitions.[6]

Other explosive remnants of war

Vietnam estimates it still has between 350,000 and 600,000 tons of ERW to clear, including unexploded bombs, missiles, artillery shells, mortars, and grenades, which are affecting cities as well as rural areas in almost every province.[7] UXO continue to be found routinely in the course of construction and agricultural work, often close to residential areas. Military teams working in Ha Tinh Province reportedly destroyed five 500-pound bombs and a 1,000-pound bomb along with 600 submunitions and around 500 artillery shells among other UXO between April and August 2012.[8] A Project Renew team, called in by a family in the Trieu Phong district of Quang Tri province early in 2012, cleared 193 items of UXO, including mortars and rocket propelled grenades, from land located 15 meters from the family home at depths of between 0.5 and 1.5 meters.[9]

Mines

Vietnam has a lesser problem of mines, mostly left by conflicts in the 1970s with neighboring Cambodia and China and affecting areas close to its borders with those countries,[10] but mines are also around former US military installations.[11] Vietnam cleared an area up to 1km deep along its northern border under an agreement with China, but areas further inland from the border are still contaminated. Mines in those northern areas were emplaced by the military of both countries. Since 2004, military engineers have reportedly cleared around 95km² of contaminated land in the northern provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, and Quang Ninh bordering China under a project known as “Program 120,” destroying mainly Type 72, K58 and PPM-2 antipersonnel (AP) mines.[12]

Cambodian border areas were affected by randomly placed mines reflecting the more irregular nature of the fighting there,[13] but Military Engineering Command reported in 2013 that the problem had been eliminated. Clearing residual mine contamination in northern Vietnam is the responsibility of provincial army commands.[14] Many ports and river deltas were mined extensively during the war and were not completely cleared when it ended, and some sea mines have been found on the coast.[15]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

Vietnam’s mine action program is undergoing a period of transition. A Prime Minister’s Decision in 2006 assigned the Ministry of National Defense to oversee mine action at the national level, with clearance undertaken by the Army Engineering Corps of the PAVN[16] and with BOMICEN (part of the Ministry of National Defense) acting as a central coordinating body for clearance and survey by national operators.[17] International NGOs are required to conclude an agreement with the People’s Aid Co-ordinating Committee and separate agreements with authorities in each of the provinces where they work.

Since 2010−2011, Vietnam has created new mechanisms intended to accelerate mine/UXO action. Under Prime Minister’s Decision No. 504 of December 2010, Vietnam established a National Steering Committee (NSC) based at the Ministry of National Defense consisting of 12 members chaired by the Prime Minister and including the Minister of Defense and of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) as deputy chairmen; the committee meets every six months to oversee mine action, decide policy and determine budgets. Other members include the ministers of foreign affairs, environment, education, and health. The NSC was launched at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in December 2011.[18]

The NSC is supported by a 21-member Standing Committee or Executive Office, chaired by the Vice-Minister of Defense, Sr. Lt.-Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh.[19] The Executive Office, which is supposed to meet quarterly, decides mine action priorities and makes recommendations to the NSC.[20] In 2013, Vietnam reported plans to establish a national mine action center (VNMAC) reporting to the Prime Minister’s office to strengthen the direction and coordination of mine action.

The new mine action center falls within a National Mine Action Plan for 2013−2015 released in May 2013. The plan calls for clearance of 1,000km² a year to support socio-economic development, giving priority to provinces with the highest levels of contamination and accidents. Military Engineering Command estimates that to achieve such a target it would need at least double the number of clearance teams. In addition, Vietnam proposes to set up a new training center and a national database, which is understood to mean that the new VNMAC will take over the database currently located in BOMICEN. The plan proposes spending 14,000 billion Dong (approximately $US700 million), hoping to raise a little over half of it from foreign sources.[21]

The Vietnam Bomb and Mine Clearance Action Center (VBMAC), set up as a civilian agency under MoLISA with a US$1.56 million donation from Japan,[22] has a mandate to accelerate clearance and mobilize international funding. VBMAC operates with departments for planning, project management, and finance. From May 2010, it also deployed a total of 200 personnel in eight clearance teams and one explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team operating in central Vietnam’s Quang Tri province. Operations continued into 2011 when these teams were stood down.[23]

Land Release

Most ERW clearance is conducted by Vietnam’s army which reported clearing a total of about 450km² in 2012, including approximately 350km² under projects linked to socio-economic development and an additional 100km² in humanitarian projects undertaken under Program 504. International NGOs, operating in four central provinces, cleared an additional 3.48km².[24]

The clearance by BOMICEN, a part of the Ministry of Defense, represents a significant decrease from the 600km² BOMICEN says it averaged in 2008−2010, reflecting the impact of financial recession, but it is about one-third more than the area clearance reported by BOMICEN in 2011. In 2013, BOMICEN expected to complete less area clearance as a result of financial constraints.[25]

Survey in 2012

BOMICEN started a landmine impact survey (LIS) in 2004 and by June 2013 had completed all but 10 of Vietnam’s 63 provinces and cities. It expected to complete field-work for the LIS by the end of 2013.[26]

BOMICEN began working with NPA in 2012 on a pilot project in Ha Tinh province training military engineers in the non-technical community survey and the cluster munitions survey methodology, developed by NPA in Lao PDR to evaluate suspected hazardous areas and define confirmed hazardous areas.[27]

Battle area and roving clearance in 2012

BOMICEN reported that it has some 250 mine/UXO clearance teams with about 20 to 25 personnel in each team. As of June 2013, these included teams operated by 52 military companies.[28]

Four international NGO operations with more than 400 clearance staff worked in 2012 on tasks assigned or approved by provincial authorities. The teams cleared marginally less area than in 2011 but have been shifting more capacity onto roving and spot clearance tasks, which, in 2012, were up by a quarter on the previous year, and cleared 11% more items.

MAG, the biggest of the NGOs, had four mobile EOD teams in each of Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces in 2012, focusing mainly on spot clearance of tasks identified by community liaison teams, but also undertaking some battle area clearance on sites earmarked for development projects where the scope of clearance is defined more by task boundaries than by actual contamination. In 2012, MAG expanded operations into Quang Nam province, beginning community liaison in June and clearance in October.[29]

NPA, managing six Project Renew teams in three districts of Quang Tri province in 2012, added nine personnel during the year and increased productivity, clearing triple the amount of land and 75% more items than in the previous year, helped by application of a cluster munitions survey methodology developed by NPA which has proved efficient in defining the scope of ERW contamination. In 2013, NPA has added three multi-tasking teams—one for Project Renew and two for NPA working in two districts of Thua Thien Hue province. NPA also supported Quang Tri provincial authorities in setting up a database with $195,000 of the US Department of State funding, expected to be fully operational by March 2014.[30]

PTV started 2012 with two EOD teams in Quang Tri and one team in Quang Binh but had to stand down the third team because of lack of funding. However, after a 30% rise in demand for clearance through telephone call-outs in 2012, PTV was also exploring the possibility of expanding one of its Quang Tri teams in 2013.[31]

SODI, working in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces, maintained capacity with 143 clearance staff but set up a mobile team focused on deep search which it said was in response to increased demand in its project area. In 2013, it planned to focus all its resources in Thua Thien Hue on one district, Aluoi, and expand operations into a third province, Quang Binh, working with a mobile EOD team for spot tasks and area clearance on tasks of up to 50,000 m².[32]

International NGO clearance in 2012

Quality management

International NGOs conduct internal quality assurance (QA). In the case of NPA and Project RENEW, QA is conducted by NPA’s operations manager and technical advisor along with RENEW’s national technical officer. MAG has a three-man QA team which conducted 877 internal assessments in 2012; its technical operations manager also conducts a random assessment of each EOD team every six months. SODI maintains a QA officer in each of the two provinces it works in.[33]

 

Summary action points based on 2012 findings

·         Increased support to the rehabilitation sector is needed; it was estimated that less than 10% of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors were able to access rehabilitation programs.

·         More opportunities were needed for survivors and other persons with disabilities to participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of coordination and planning.

·         Survivors required employment options and job training activities that were aligned with demands and realities of the labor market.

Victim assistance commitments

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

Details and trends

On the basis of incomplete data,[1] at least 73 new mine/ERW casualties were identified in Vietnam in 2012, including six from cluster submunitions. All casualties were civilians. Among the 41 adults, 35 were men, four were women, and the sex of two was unknown. Children made up 42% of recorded casualties in 2012; 21 were boys, 11 were girls. Just four incidents with multiple casualties accounted for a third (24) of the total casualties.[2] While the 2012 total represented a significant increase from the 31 casualties reported in 2011 and 42 in 2010, with no nationwide data collection mechanism it is impossible to say whether casualties actually increased or if the higher figures were due to improved monitoring of Vietnamese-language media.

At least 104,973 mine/ERW casualties (38,940 killed; 66,033 injured) have been reported in Vietnam. It was reported that from 1975 to the end of 2007, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) recorded 104,701 mine/ERW casualties (38,849 killed; 65,852 injured).[3] The total number of casualties is not known due to a lack of adequate data and the absence of a nationwide casualty data collection mechanism.[4] The semi-governmental organization Project RENEW recorded 7,081 mine/ERW casualties (including 2,637 people killed) between 1975 and the end of 2011 in Quang Tri province alone.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 2,117 casualties from incidents involving cluster munition remnants were reported as of the end of 2012. However, one estimate put the likely total of such casualties as high as 34,000.[6] In many cases, the type of explosive remnants causing casualties could not be determined and all these were recorded as ERW casualties, although there were likely many among them caused by unexploded submunitions.[7] In addition, numerous casualties during cluster munition strikes have been reported.[8] A 2012 study of data for the period 1975–2009 found that 1% of the population of Quang Tri province had been involved in mine/ERW incidents and that unexploded submunitions were the main cause.[9]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors is unknown but has been estimated to be between 66,000 and 100,000.[10]

Summary of victim assistance efforts since 1999[11]

Vietnam does not have a national casualty data collection system. However, a major study of survivor needs was undertaken in 2006 and updated in 2010. Clear Path International (CPI) in Vietnam transitioned to national management. CPI continued the geographic expansion of passive casualty surveillance, while providing services to new survivors. Coordination among governmental bodies responsible for the provision of victim assistance and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities improved considerably since 2010.[12] The number of survivors that received services by both government agencies and civil society organizations or NGOs gradually increased. The NGO and local government collaboration, Project RENEW, steadily increased its services to survivors and the capacity-building of local medical institutions. Landmine Survivors Network Vietnam (LSNV) became the first organization to include survivors in the design and provision of services and the only international NGO to successfully transition from an international to a national NGO, becoming the Association for Empowerment for Persons with Disability (AEPD) in 2010.

By 2010, survivors had more opportunities to access free healthcare programs and inclusive education programs provided by the government and relevant organizations. Physical rehabilitation also improved in both quality and in the number of services available from existing service providers. Since 1995, the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) has assisted the Vietnamese rehabilitation sector to both increase the quality of its services and expand their geographical coverage to virtually the entire country, while serving the country’s most vulnerable populations.

The greatest improvements seen by organizations representing mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities since the Monitor began reporting on Vietnam in 1999 have been in the development of laws designed to protect their rights and provide access to services. Gradual improvements were made in economic reintegration by creating more employment opportunities, increasing accessibility to available services and in social inclusion activities. Poor survivors in rural areas were especially vulnerable. Reaching survivors in remote and rural areas remained difficult for service providers and generally these populations did not receive adequate assistance.[13]

Victim assistance in 2012

In 2012, services for mine/ERW survivors continued to improve in quality, quantity, and accessibility in Vietnam. The number of survivors that received services from both government agencies and civil society organizations or NGOs rose again, in line with an overall gradual increase in recent years. However, outside major population centers, accessibility to services and activities was lacking, particularly in remote areas.

Assessing victim assistance needs

There was no national survey or needs assessment for mine/ERW survivors in 2012. However, an ongoing nationwide impact survey conducted by the National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA) contains information regarding casualties. Vietnam Bomb/Mine Action Center (VBMAC), which is the secretariat for the steering committee, also hosts the national database on casualties, which became operational in September 2011.[14]

In 2012, inter-sectoral government discussions began with international organizations regarding the development of a pilot injury surveillance system that would include mine/ERW casualties.[15] Subsequently in early 2013, MoLISA, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conducted a fact-finding mission with funding and technical support by the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).[16]

MoLISA is responsible for the collection and management of information regarding persons with disabilities overall, including mine/ERW survivors. Information on the needs of mine/ERW survivors was collected through broader assessments of the needs of persons with disabilities. However, in the absence of a comprehensive national database on persons with disabilities, information remained scattered and inconsistent. Various ministries, such as those for education and heath, also collect and manage information on persons with disabilities as part of their activities. This information was used to develop, adjust, or supplement policies and programs that support persons with disabilities, including survivors.[17] In 2012, MoLISA began planning a needs assessment for the employment of persons with disabilities.[18] No progress was reported on this initiative through the end of 2012.

In 2012, there were ongoing NGO activities to assess the needs of the survivors through regular implementation of projects and services.[19] Project RENEW continued to use its 2010 survey update to improve program effectiveness.[20] CPI routinely employs a participatory process with survivors to determine the type and extent of the services to be provided.[21] Also in 2012, enterprises and production foundations employed at least 32 persons with disabilities in Quang Binh province alone.[22]

Victim assistance coordination in 2012[23]

The “National Mine Action Program for Vietnam Period 2010–2025,” which includes victim assistance, was approved by the Prime Minister in April 2010. In April 2011, MoLISA issued the decision to implement the first phase of the “Victim Assistance Project for the Period 2012–2015.” The project is managed and implemented by MoLISA in cooperation with relevant authorities at the central, provincial, and sub-provincial levels. MoLISA’s Department of Social Protection is directly responsible for coordination.[24] The project framework details key actions to be taken, responsible or cooperating agencies, and annual budgets. The project framework does not specify timeframes for the actions or the method of coordination. MoLISA continued to facilitate meetings and develop detailed action plans and budgets for victim assistance sub-projects under the national program in 2012. [25]

The National Coordinating Council for Disabilities (NCCD) is responsible for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It also liaised with national and foreign organizations.[26]

Non-governmental service providers also discussed victim assistance at meetings of the Landmine Working Group. In 2012, the Landmine Working Group organized two coordination meetings, the same frequency as in the previous year.[27]

The first official national coordination body of disabled persons’ organizations, the Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD), was established in March 2011.[28]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Survivors and organizations which represent them were not included in the development of the Victim Assistance Project within the NMAP.[29]

The inclusion of mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities or their representative organizations in planning and provision of victim assistance again increased in 2012.[30] Survivors/persons with disabilities or their representative organizations were consulted in the planning or monitoring of programs and activities and in developing legislation. They also attended meetings, seminars, or workshops to contribute recommendations and share lessons learned.[31]

Survivors and other persons with disabilities did not have many opportunities to participate in the development, implementation and monitoring of plans. MoLISA officially consults ministries and departments. However, in some cases the opinions and comments of survivors and other persons with disabilities or their representative organizations were taken into account.[32] Persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were consulted in the development or review of national programs, such as the national poverty reduction program, vocational laws, and various educational policies relevant to them.[33]

Many NGOs have consulted survivors and other persons with disabilities on issues related to their needs and adjusted their services in accordance with survivors’ recommendations. Survivors and persons with disabilities implement victim assistance activities with some NGOs, including AEPD, which continued to employ survivors.[34]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[35]

Emergency and continuing medical care

In Vietnam’s central provinces, CPI continued to cover hospital expenses for survivors immediately following mine/ERW incidents and also provided transportation and per diems during the patients’ treatment period. In mid-2013, CPI began discussions with MoLISA towards to goal of establishing a nationwide system for the implementation of emergency assistance support that could respond to all new mine/ERW incidents in Vietnam.

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

In 2012, the Ministry of Health estimated less than 10% of mine/ERW survivors were able to access rehabilitation programs in Vietnam.[36] About one third of newly registered ICRC beneficiaries continued to be war victims; many were being assisted for the first time. The ICRC continued to focus efforts on centers in the south of the country where 85% of its beneficiaries are located, butended support to three centers in 2012 due to decreases in identification of new patients in those centers. The ICRC also conducted an impact assessment of its work in Vietnam. Among the findings were that only 10% of those receiving services would seek prostheses if required to pay for them because of the cost compared to the quality of prosthetics available from other sources, as well as travel and time restrictions. The assessment also found that there was relative gender parity regarding accessibility of services.[37]

Economic and social inclusion and psychological support

Only 30% of persons with disabilities in Vietnam have stable employment or sufficient income to lead independent lives and support their families. A lack of decent work inhibits persons with disabilities from realizing their rights and often means they are living in poverty at much higher rates than the general population.[38]

The majority of persons with disabilities remain unemployed and continued to face discrimination in hiring. There remained a significant need for employment and training opportunities for mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities. Economic inclusion services for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, have increased in recent years. However training for persons with disabilities generally remained inadequate and was not aligned with demands of the labor market.[39] Those who require prostheses face even greater challenges if they are not able to acquire them.[40] In 2013, the VFD launched a project to be carried out in Hanoi and the three central provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh over a three-year period to improve access to socioeconomic services for persons with disabilities.[41]

The Blue Ribbon Employers Council (BREC), established in 2007, increased the number of businesses that were members and provided consultations and employment for persons with disabilities.[42]

Psychological support was not widely available and, although it was integrated in rehabilitation processes, did not receive separate government resources. Social inclusion services for survivors and other persons with disabilities were provided through both government and NGO programs.[43] To increase the capacity of local actors in psychological assistance, in March 2012 the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) conducted a peer-support workshop for persons with disabilities in partnership with AEPD.[44]

Laws and Policies

The first comprehensive national law providing for the rights of persons with disabilities came into effect in January 2011. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and requires equality in healthcare, rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and employment.[45] The Ministry of Transportation implemented accessibility for public transport, including providing staff training and materials on physical accessibility. Construction or major renovation of new government buildings and large public buildings must include access for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Construction units enforced accessibility regulations, primarily in major cities and pilot locations, as well as provided training on construction codes for inspectors and architectural companies.[46]

Vietnam signed the CRPD on 22 October 2007.

 

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is heavily contaminated by explosive remnants of war (ERW), mainly unexploded ordnance (UXO) dating back to the war with the United States (US) in the 1960s and first half of the 1970s. Vietnam contains some of the most widespread and extensive contamination from cluster munition remnants in the world. There is, however, no precise figure measuring the extent of the remaining contamination.[1]

In 2012, eight donors contributed US$8.7 million for clearance and victim assistance.[2] Victim assistance contributions totaled $1.8 million with six donors supporting 12 projects with the ICRC, Project Renew, PeaceTrees Vietnam, the International Center/Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Clear Path International, Solidarity Service International, Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, the Humpty Dumpty Institute, and Catholic Relief Services, in addition to Norwegian funding to the Survivor Network through the ICBL.[3] In 2013, USAID commenced a new three-year, $2.3 million project for people with disabilities.[4]

In 2012, as in previous years, Vietnam did not report national contributions to mine action or publish any details of land released through clearance or technical survey. Nevertheless, various sources indicate national spending may be significant. In April 2010, Vietnam released its 2010–2025 National Mine Action Plan. Although the plan did not include projected costs, a media article at the time of the plan’s release reported Vietnam “annually invests hundreds of billions of dong on disposing UXO and supporting victims.”[5] In 2011, the commander of the Army Engineering Corps of the People’s Army of Vietnam reported in an interview with the Monitor that Vietnam spent $89 million in 2009 and around $100 million in 2010 on mine action.[6] No comparable figures are available for 2011 or 2012.

The lack of transparency and legislative oversight also makes tracking government expenditures for mine action difficult. There is no national mine action budget. The government of Vietnam’s budget structure involves a combination of national and provincial revenue sources from taxes, fees, bonds, and state-connected “private” firms. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Defense is a self-contained military-industrial complex in which profit-making entities (road construction, telecoms, manufacturing, etc.) subsidize the ministry’s budget. The Engineering Command and army firms receive payments as revenue for the ministry, data that the Engineering Command must collect and compile. Research conducted by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) has found that as many as six central provinces in 2011 spent an estimated $4 million on mine action. Additionally, based on 2009–2010 data, government and private investor funds could account for as much as an estimated 90% of mine clearance in Vietnam. Like other affected countries where large investments are being made in public infrastructure (such as Afghanistan, Angola, and Cambodia), Vietnam is also improving its infrastructure through investments in transportation and poverty reduction that require parallel investment in demining. Little information is available on these investments.[7]

The new mine action center falls within a National Mine Action Plan for 2013−2015 released in May 2013. The plan calls for clearance of 1,000km² a year to support socio-economic development, giving priority to provinces with the highest levels of contamination and accidents. The Army Engineering Command estimates it would need at least double the current number of clearance teams to achieve such a target. In addition, Vietnam proposes to set up a new training center and a national database, which is understood to mean that the new Vietnam Mine Action Center will take responsibility for the database currently located at the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal (BOMICEN). The proposed cost of the plan is VND14 trillion (approximately $677 million). The government hopes to raise a little over half of this figure from foreign sources.[8]

International contributions: 2012[9]

Thematic contributions: 2012

Summary of contributions: 2008–2012[10]