Key developments since May 2004: Phase I of the UXO and Landmine
Impact Survey was completed in March 2005; as of September, it was still
awaiting government approval. International organizations cleared some 3.9
square kilometers of land in 2004, destroying over 25,000 mines and UXO. The
Army and other military units cleared 570,000 square meters in A Luoi district,
Thua Thien-Hue province from September 2004 to April 2005. More than 127,000
people received mine risk education during 2004, mainly in the central provinces
of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue and, increasingly, the Ho Chi Minh
Highway corridor. In 2004, more mine/UXO casualties were reported than in
2003.
Mine Ban Policy
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.
The Ministry of Defense has insisted that antipersonnel landmines are necessary
for defensive purposes. Vietnam has abstained from voting on every annual
pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including UNGA Resolution
59/84 on 3 December 2004. Nevertheless, Vietnam has expressed its opposition to
the indiscriminate use of landmines and its support for the humanitarian
objectives of the Mine Ban Treaty.[1]
In April 2005, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Duc Hung,
told Landmine Monitor, ”On the Mine Ban Treaty, the legal authorities are
working hard on that.... We see the importance of this treaty, and we are
considering it.”[2] In July
2005, a representative of the Technology Center for Bomb and Mine Disposal
(BOMICEN) of the Ministry of Defense told Landmine Monitor, “Vietnam is
already implementing many of the objectives and activities of the Ottawa Treaty,
even though we have not signed. Vietnam is on the road to clearance, education,
and helping victims, and these are the humanitarian objectives of the
treaty.”[3]
Vietnam participated in a regional landmine seminar hosted by Thailand on
30-31 August 2004, but did not make a statement. Vietnam did not attend the
First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Nairobi in
November–December 2004, or the intersessional meetings of the treaty in
Geneva in June 2005.
On 14 June 2005, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the Law on Signing,
Accession and Implementation of International Treaties, which sets out detailed
procedures for consideration and participation in all forms of international
treaties. Among the principles the law establishes are that Vietnam should
participate in international treaties that “respect freedom, independence,
territorial integrity, and prohibit the use or threat of force.” In the
case of a multilateral treaty involving issues of borders and security, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs bears primary responsibility for the accession
process. However, the Ministry of Justice must also consider the legal
questions involved, and “other concerned agencies and organizations”
must also submit their opinions before the treaty is presented to the Prime
Minister for signing.[4]
Vietnam has signed but not ratified the Convention on Conventional
Weapons.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use
Vietnam last confirmed that it continued to produce antipersonnel mines in
March 2000. Without any subsequent statement to the contrary, Landmine Monitor
continues to list the country as a
producer.[5] In the past, Vietnam
produced copies of US, Chinese and Soviet
mines.[6] The only mine Vietnam is
known to have produced since the 1990s is the “apple mine,” which is
a recycled version of the BLU-24 bomblet dropped by the US during the
war.[7]
Vietnam apparently maintains a policy against export of antipersonnel mines.
In 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote to Landmine Monitor that
“Vietnam has never exported and will never export
mines.”[8] Despite the denial
of past export, it appears Vietnam provided antipersonnel mines to Cambodia,
perhaps until the early 1990s.[9]
A Ministry of Defense official confirmed the existence of a stockpile of
antipersonnel mines in a May 2003 interview, but gave no details about size or
composition other than to state, “Vietnam does not keep large stores of
landmines, but we have enough to protect our country against
invasion.”[10] In 2000, a
BOMICEN official indicated that the Ministry of Defense was in the process of
destroying “tens of thousands” of unsafe pre-1975
mines.[11]
There have been no reports of recent use of antipersonnel mines by Vietnamese
government forces. The Army last laid mines in significant numbers during
border conflicts with Cambodia and China in the late 1970s and during
Vietnam’s occupation of Cambodia from 1979 to 1990.
Landmine and UXO Problem
Vietnam is heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the
conflict in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as smaller quantities of bombs
and mines from other conflicts. All provinces are affected, particularly in the
center and south of the country.[12]
As much as 20 percent of Vietnam’s land surface (or 66,578 square
kilometers) is affected by UXO and landmines, according to
BOMICEN.[13] In August 2004, a
Vietnamese military representative at a regional landmine conference stated that
5.53 percent of arable land (4,359,000 square meters) is contaminated and
remains fallow.[14]
Ministry of Defense sources have been quoted as stating that “three
million landmines remain in Vietnam’s soil,” not including UXO.
Minefields exist from as long ago as the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954,
extending through border conflicts with China and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
Despite significant clearance in the 1990s, landmines remain a serious problem
on the Chinese and Cambodian
borders.[15]
The hazard to Vietnamese citizens is, however, primarily UXO not landmines.
Official sources cite figures ranging widely from 350,000-800,000 tons of
war-era ordnance in the ground, an average density of 46 tons per square
kilometer, or 280 kilograms per
capita.[16] The most common types
of UXO are BLU 26/36 cluster bomblets and M79 rifle grenades, which are together
responsible for 65 percent of injuries since 1975. Few mines, but many UXO, are
found on the Lao border.[17]
Workers on the Ho Chi Minh Highway running through affected areas near
Vietnam’s western border have found tens of thousands of UXO since 2001.
New sections of the highway in the central provinces attract migrants from
lowland areas, and there is also planned development underway along the highway.
As migrants clear and explore previously unused land, they are likely to
encounter UXO and landmines.[18]
A local media report in June 2005 quoted Pham Van Chung, from the Department
of Justice in Kon Tum province, as saying, “The war has been over for 30
years, but the consequences it left behind are still serious...the
consequences of bombs, mines, and explosives remaining from the war are
also acute and miserable. However, the tasks of clearing and collecting mines
and UXO in many localities has not yet been done well and has not been paid
enough attention to, even though the central government and all localities all
have regulations on mine clearance and
management.”[19]
Sea mines also form part of the mine/UXO problem in Vietnam. Substantial
contamination resulted from both ship-laid mines and air-dropped UXO, including
payloads jettisoned by planes before returning to base, as well as significant
contamination in rivers resulting from bridges being bombed. UXO has been
discovered during the increasing development of sea and river areas; for
example, for oil exploration and bridge
construction.[20]
Few UXO/mine-affected areas in Vietnam are marked, even with local materials
such as bamboo sticks.[21] Survey
results in Quang Tri province in 2003 indicate that only 33 percent of
sub-districts contain marking signs, and 92 percent of incidents were in areas
not marked as dangerous.[22] In
some cases, maps of minefields are not available, or mines have shifted due to
floods, landslides and erosion.[23]
Mine Action Coordination and Planning
Vietnam has not developed a national strategy on mine action. Mine action is
not mentioned in the UN Development Assistance Framework or the
government’s Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, but some
UXO/mine-related concerns are addressed through the priorities set in those
documents for social protection.[24]
A Vietnamese officer stated at a regional workshop on mine action in August 2004
that the first step in establishing an integrated strategic plan for mine action
in Vietnam is “to promptly complete the Vietnam landmine/UXO impact
assessment and technological survey project which is expected to be the basis to
set mine action priorities for each region that is subordinate to the integrated
socio-development strategy of the country as a
whole.”[25]
The Ministry of Defense is in charge of military security aspects of the mine
issue and shares responsibility for policy matters with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.[26] BOMICEN acts as a
central coordinating body for clearance activities. However, NGOs working
across several humanitarian aid sectors, such as Project RENEW, are registered
under the Ministry of Planning and Investment; in effect, each project may have
its own coordinating agency for its activities without belonging directly to the
national coordination system in the mine action
sector.[27]
The Landmine Working Group acts as a de facto coordinating body for
international NGOs and donors, and meets quarterly. International organizations
coordinate their efforts with the Vietnamese Army. All clearance activity is
conducted with either military observers or military personnel and explosive
ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians leading the teams; ordnance disposal,
whether site-based or roving, must be approved by the provincial military units
that have sole access to
explosives.[28]
Mine action priorities are set by the provincial government, which are then
communicated to international organizations. District People’s Committees
decide which sub-districts or other areas should be targeted. According to an
official of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Quang Tri province, the task of
overlaying district-level priorities with provincial aims, using impact survey
and casualty survey data, remains to be
accomplished.[29]
Survey and Assessment
The National UXO/Landmine Impact Survey, funded by the US Department of
State, began in March 2004. Phase I was completed in March 2005, and survey
data was entered into the IMSMA database located with BOMICEN in Hanoi. The
survey was still being finalized with the government as of September
2005.[30] In the three central
provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri, 343 sub-districts were surveyed
and three percent of surveyed land was cleared with a budget of
US$1,158,000.[31] The implementing
agency is BOMICEN, with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF)
providing technical support, training and monitoring. The aim, according to
VVAF, is “to provide Vietnam and international donors with quantifiable,
standardized data... [to] better define the problems caused by UXO and provide
authorities with an improved capacity to plan and prioritize mine action
resources.”[32]
Following release of the Phase I report, negotiation of Phase II was expected
to start.[33] In an interview with
Landmine Monitor, the Director of BOMICEN emphasized that clearance of affected
areas in Quang Tri, Quang Binh, and Ha Tinh should proceed as soon as possible
in order to stop or at least limit the impact of UXO, instead of waiting for the
full national survey to be
finished.[34] One military expert
stated, “if there is a map of all the landmines, UXO, and bombs in our
province, especially in A Luoi and Nam Dong districts, it would be very helpful
to [Thua Thien-Hue] province in general, and for the military headquarters in
particular, in terms of implementing the clearance
projects.”[35]
Organizations involved in mine and UXO clearance in Vietnam conduct their own
pre- and post-clearance surveys. In previous years, surveys and assessments
have been carried out in some provinces by local and international
organizations.[36]
Landmine and UXO Clearance
The People’s Army of Vietnam is the primary agency involved in mine/UXO
clearance; comprehensive national data on current military clearance is not
available.[37] Although all
provinces of Vietnam are mine/UXO-affected to some degree, it is reported that
there are significant mine action programs in only three of the most affected
provinces (Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue), with clearance projects
being identified also in Phu Tho province in the
north.[38]
In September 2004, combined Engineering Department elements of the Ministry
of Defense and Thua Thien-Hue Provincial Military Commands began clearing two
square kilometers in A Luoi district, Thua Thien-Hue province; this was said to
represent only a fraction of the military clearance effort in the province, and
a small percentage of the national
effort.[39] This clearance
operation prioritized agricultural development and resettlement sites in four
sub-districts of A Luoi district, with a planned expansion to eight other
sub-districts and the township of A Luoi in 2005. By April 2005, 570,000 square
meters had been cleared of 14,435 UXO. Five teams of 20-25 members each worked
on the project. The Provincial Military Command coordinates activities on large
aerial bomb disposal with Potsdam Kommunikation. The operation was funded by
the central and provincial governments, with a total budget of 60 billion dong
(approximately $4 million).[40]
International Organizations
In 2004 international mine action organizations cleared some 3.9 square
kilometers of land of at least 18,131 UXO and 105 mines in the three central
provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. The following NGOs
carried out site clearance and EOD: Mines Advisory Group, Solidarity Service
International, Potsdam Kommunikation, Australian Volunteers International (AVI),
VVMF-Project RENEW,[41] and Peace
Trees Viet Nam (PTVN).[42]
Mines Advisory Group (MAG) remains the largest of the international clearance
organizations, with 194 staff carrying out site clearance and EOD in Quang Tri
and Quang Binh, where they field nine teams and also provide technical training
and assistance to AVI in Thua Thien-Hue. MAG states that it is the only
clearance NGO in Vietnam to train and employ civilian
technicians.[43] In 2004, MAG teams
cleared six landmines and 7,191 UXO from 1,289,944 square meters in Quang Tri,
and 3,565 pieces of UXO (mostly cluster bomblets) from 568,132 square meters in
Quang Binh. From January to March 2005, an additional 381,629 square meters
were cleared of 7,955 UXO and 47 mines. From 1999 to March 2005, MAG cleared a
total of 6,089,705 square meters of land, destroying 58,169 UXO and 2,356
landmines; mobile teams visited 61,921 households in 384 villages to dispose of
25,898 UXO and 270
landmines.[44]
Site clearance projects are integrated with resettlement for poor families:
176 families have settled on three sites in Quang Tri, with 212 to be added when
the project is complete. The resettlement site in Quang Binh was to house 453
families; it was reported cleared as of April
2005.[45] In May 2005, clearance
began on a 230,000 square meter site for the An Ma Youth Village resettlement in
Quang Binh, in the Ho Chi Minh Highway corridor in Le Thuy district.
MAG’s annual budget of $2.5 million is primarily funded by the US State
Department, Adopt-a-Minefield and the US-based Freeman
Foundation.[46]
Solidarity Service
International (SODI), the first international clearance organization to work in
Vietnam, cleared 40 schoolyards, kindergartens and other public places in 2004.
Some 786,380 square meters were cleared, in which they found 9,155 UXO. In 2005
through 1 July, SODI cleared 307,000 square meters of land in which 2,701 UXO
were found. SODI’s staff comprises 52 Vietnamese and three German EOD
experts.[47] The SODI budget for
Quang Tri operations in 2004 was €568,267 (some $706,800). Vietnamese
partners contributed €1,215 (some $1,500) toward a community development
project in 2004.
SODI carries out integrated projects, which include area clearance, EOD, mine
risk education and community development, in concert with local development
plans. The projects are primarily for resettlement, comprising village
infrastructure such as roads, water and electrical supply, construction of
schools and kindergartens, family houses with sanitation systems, as well as
income generation (primarily implemented through women). SODI focuses
capacity-development for local partners on the training of villagers for
implementation of micro-credit programs and training of military EOD
supervisors. The program was initiated in 2004 and is scheduled to conclude in
2006. The SODI resettlement project in Con Trung provided 65 families with
€680 ($850) toward construction of homes, €150 ($185) of
micro-credit for each family for animal husbandry or a small business, and a
grant of €275 ($340) per family for the establishment of a pepper
plantation to boost income generation in the area. Infrastructure development
included village roads, electric supply, wells, kindergartens and a village
meeting hall.[48]
Potsdam Kommunikation (PK) cleared 48 schoolyards, kindergartens and public
places totaling 975,500 square meters (5,080 UXO were found) in 2004, and an
additional 561,000 square meters (over 3,000 UXO) through 1 July 2005, in the
three districts of Thua Thien-Hue province, with a clearance and EOD staff of
three German experts and 50 Vietnamese. The PK integrated project works in
concert with local development plans, primarily for the construction and/or
renovation of schools, water and sanitation systems. In 2004, Vietnamese
partners undertook settlement of over 200 families in the cleared areas, and
some 154 children from the poorest families received school supplies, including
clothing, school satchels, pencils and exercise books in five schools built or
renovated by PK. A mobile team began operations in July 2003 and has since
cleared over 87,000 square meters of more than 8,000 UXO and
mines.[49] PK cooperated with World
Vision and other international NGOs in housing construction on cleared
land.[50]
By the end of 2005, SODI and PK planned to clear an additional 1.5 square
kilometers of land in Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, and resettle 180
families in two villages. The projects include mine risk education, marking of
affected areas, and training for Vietnamese
engineers.[51] SODI and PK are
funded by the German Foreign Ministry. A commercial clearance company, Gerbera,
provides technical expertise to both
organizations.[52]
Australian Volunteers International (AVI) conducted EOD and site clearance in
Phong Dien district, Thua Thien-Hue, and completed removal of all reported UXO
in 12 of 16 sub-districts by April 2005, followed by community development
activities. In 2004, 288,554 square meters were cleared for agriculture and
infrastructure purposes, with 3,826 UXO destroyed. In 2005 to 31 August,
101,298 square meters were cleared, with 3,034 UXO found and
destroyed.[53] Between 2003 and 15
April 2005, AVI teams cleared 320,634 square meters of 5,400 UXO and mines. AVI
has 26 seconded military personnel and receives technical assistance from
MAG.[54]
The mobile EOD team, managed jointly by the NGOs Peace Trees Viet Nam and
Project RENEW, was transferred in May 2004 to the Quang Tri Department of
Foreign Affairs, and continued operations with NGO funding. Although the team
operates province-wide, activities since the second quarter of 2004 focused on
Trieu Phong and Hai Lang districts and Dong Ha township. From April 2004 to
September 2005, the team cleared 22,796 square meters of 5,201 explosive items
at 506 locations.[55]
On 18 May 2005, a clearance technician from one SODI/Vietnamese military team
was killed in Linh Hai commune, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, while
excavating what was believed to be a
BLU-63.[56]
Mine/UXO Risk Education
Eight international organizations, working with Vietnamese counterparts at
the national, provincial and local levels, carried out mine/UXO risk education
(MRE) activities in 2004. The organizations were UNICEF, Project RENEW,
Catholic Relief Services, Peace Trees Viet Nam, SODI, PK, AVI and Vietnam
Assistance for the Handicapped. In addition, Handicap International and
Norwegian People’s Aid carried out needs assessments to evaluate possible
future projects.
More than 127,000[57] people
received some form of MRE during 2004. Most MRE efforts continued to focus on
the three central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, with a
growing focus on the Ho Chi Minh Highway corridor. New projects will also
target four provinces of the Central
Highlands.[58] Coordination is
focused at the provincial level with international organizations working in
partnership with regional government or para-state bodies. UNICEF is one of the
few nationally focused organizations working on MRE. The International Mine
Action Standards (IMAS) for MRE are not used in Vietnam, and there are currently
no plans to undertake the development of national
standards.[59]
MRE coverage in Vietnam is reported to be
uneven.[60] MRE providers believe
that personal contact, ranging from child-to-child efforts, to interactions
between survivors and the community, is critical to increasing the efficacy of
programs.[61]
UNICEF assumed a major role in 2004, with mine/UXO risk education included in
an ongoing injury prevention campaign in 15 provinces, through the Ministry of
Education and Training and the Committee on Population, Family and Children.
Strategies included mass media and development of a manual on safety and injury
prevention for child-safe homes, communities, and
schools.[62] Activities in Quang
Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces also included teacher training and
community MRE along the Ho Chi Minh Highway. In 10 sub-districts of Quang Ninh
and Le Thuy districts along the highway in Quang Binh, UNICEF-funded MRE was
conducted by the Youth Union, in cooperation with Department of Labor, Invalids
and Social Affairs, from February 2004 to a projected completion date of
December 2005.[63] UNICEF planned
to expand its role through partnership with a youth magazine (Tap Chi Thanh
Nhien) into the Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai, Dac Nong, Dac Lak and
Kon Tum, with a child-to-child and community-based focus, in part through
“pioneer communication teams” and weekend playgrounds that have MRE
integrated into social activities at local youth
centers.[64]
UNICEF would like all the MRE projects it funds to provide impact data, such
as demonstrated effects of MRE interventions on attitudes, awareness and
behavior, in addition to existing output data such as participant attendance and
locations.[65]
Project RENEW, after completing in 2003 an 18-month mine action pilot project
which included MRE activities in all 19 sub-districts of Trieu Phong district,
Quang Tri, implemented Phase II of the project in 2004. This involved passing
the project to local counterparts in Quang Tri, and expanding into the entirety
of Hai Lang district in continuing partnership with the provincial television
station and Youth Union. Changes made to enhance the delivery of MRE include:
child-to-child mobile teams targeting pre-teens at weekend playground events;
messages broadcast on community loudspeaker systems; programs for scrap metal
collectors that include income generation, micro-credit and home economic
management practices, under the direction of the Women’s Union. Since
starting its landmine/UXO clearance component in April 2004, Project RENEW has
sought to improve the linkage between MRE and mobile EOD clearance
activities.[66]
Catholic Relief Services
(CRS) provided MRE courses for teachers in Trieu Phong. In 2004, the project
reached seven primary schools in five sub-districts, and more than 4,000
children and 200 teachers used the UXO safety curriculum, now in its third
revision. In addition, a further 3,500 parents attending school/community
meetings were targeted with MRE messages. Since the project started in 2002,
there have been no incidents in the seven schools receiving MRE. The CRS and
RENEW MRE activities are viewed as being complementary, reinforcing one another
through different methodologies.[67]
CRS planned to continue in Quang Tri and expand to six more sub-districts in
2005, after a baseline survey to determine the number of accidents, how they
happened, awareness of UXO safety and disability sensitivity in the target
communities. One feature of the revised program is the “exchange
event,” in which mine/UXO survivors are invited by local officials to
share how they were injured, what difficulties are faced, their feelings, and
how they have been assisted to recover and reintegrate into their communities by
local and international providers. CRS will seek to mainstream MRE into schools
in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Binh
provinces.[68]
Peace Trees Viet Nam (PTVN)
established the Danaan Parry Landmine Education Center in September 1998 for MRE
and landmine survivor rehabilitation. In 2004, PTVN placed MRE materials in
libraries the organization constructed in five sub-districts. In 2005, 200
children were due to attend an MRE
camp.[69]
SODI, PK and AVI all include MRE components in their clearance projects. In
Phong Dien district, Thua Thien-Hue, 276 people took part in two AVI-sponsored
focus group meetings in June and December 2004. These activities generated five
clearance requests, four of which resulted in clearance of 143 explosive items.
AVI teams visited 17,168 homes in 120 villages of the district during
house-to-house mobile EOD tasks and agricultural training courses, which also
involve the distribution of UXO awareness
leaflets.[70]
Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) began an MRE project in Quang
Binh in 2003, completing the project in mid-2004 after training 90 secondary
school teachers in Bo Trach district, adapting some of CRS and RENEW’s
material from Quang Tri. A total of 3,400 pupils in six elementary and junior
high schools participated.[71]
Citing a lack of funding for evaluation and expansion, VNAH ceased MRE activity
in Quang Binh.[72] Television spots
were aired province-wide three times a week for 18 months, targeted at children
and people involved in agriculture and in scrap metal and UXO
collection.[73] MRE in Dong Hoi,
the provincial capital, was not completed due to a lack of
funds,[74] but 15 communes in Bo
Trach district received MRE.
Incidents in the target communes dropped from between one and three
casualties per year, to zero over the 18 months of
implementation.[75]
Quang Binh Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs sought other
funding sources to expand MRE
province-wide.[76] UNICEF will fund
Youth Union MRE activities focused on the sub-districts along Ho Chi Minh
Highway.[77]
Twelve national and provincial government staff attended the Regional
Workshop on Landmine/UXO Risk Education in the Mekong sub-region, organized on
15-16 November 2004 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The workshop formulated a statement
of best practices and recommendations for MRE in the region, with particular
attention to common problems such as UXO contamination, scrap metal collection
and village demining. Vietnamese government participants, including two from
the Ministry of Defense, were sponsored to attend by CRS and
UNICEF.[78]
Funding and Assistance
Vietnam has no published national budget for mine action, but official
sources state that the government invests “hundreds of billions of dong
(tens of millions of US dollars) for mine detection and clearance” each
year.[79] The Ministry of Defense
estimates that complete clearance within ten years would cost $4 billion, plus
$1 billion more for survivor assistance needs over the same
period.[80] BOMICEN recently
indicated that without exact statistics, an accurate estimate of general funds
required for clearance and victim assistance is not
possible.[81]
In 2004, four countries reported providing approximately $4,924,451 for mine
action in Vietnam, an increase from $4.3 million in
2003.[82] Donors in 2004 were:
Australia: A$1,198,793 ($882,911) to the AVI project in Thua Thien-Hue in
2004-2005;[83]
Canada: $150,000 ($115,234) to UNICEF for MRE with
children;[84]
Germany: €974,679 ($1,212,306) consisting of €489,514
($608,858) to SODI mine clearance and €485,165 ($603,448) to PK for mine
clearance;[85]
US: $2,714,000 consisting of $2,714,000 from the Department of State
($1,154,437 for equipment for BOMICEN; $1,137,158 to MAG for clearance; $272,405
to VVAF for UXO/Landmine Impact Survey; $150,000 to VVAF for
MRE).[86]
Japan completed its donation of $12 million in demining equipment to clear
the Ho Chi Minh Highway in 2002. A Japanese embassy official told Landmine
Monitor in 2004 that the equipment would remain in use until construction of the
highway was completed, and that the Japanese government had no plans for further
assistance.[87]
International mine action NGOs working in Vietnam received funds from a
variety of additional bilateral, multilateral and private sources in 2004.
Landmine and UXO Casualties
In 2004, there were at least 238 new mine/UXO casualties, including 89 people
killed and 149 injured in 130 incidents. Incidents were reported in 11
provinces, including 53 in Quang Tri
province.[88] However, there is no
comprehensive nationwide mechanism for collecting and recording data on mine/UXO
incidents, and casualties are believed to be significantly under-reported.
Estimates of new casualties range from between 1,200 and about 3,000 each year.
The reported casualties in 2004 represent an increase over the 220 new mine/UXO
casualties reported in 2003.[89]
The majority of casualties in Vietnam are caused by cluster munitions and
other UXO, rather than antipersonnel mines; therefore, survivors suffer greater
incidences of upper body trauma, upper limb loss and blindness. Scrap metal
collection, “bomb hunting” and tampering with ordnance were the
leading activities at the time of recent incidents, representing between 25-50
percent of all reported casualties in the last five years. Other activities of
recent casualties included farming, tending livestock, collecting firewood and
fetching water.[90]
No accidents during clearance operations were reported in
2004.[91] On 18 May 2005, a deminer
was killed in Linh Hai commune during clearance
operations.[92]
Casualties continued to be reported in 2005 with 81 new mine/UXO casualties,
including 24 people killed and 57 injured to 25 August; 38 were
children.[93]
The total number of mine/UXO casualties is not known. The latest available
nationwide statistics released by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social
Affairs in December 2000, report 38,849 people killed and 65,852 injured since
1975.[94]
Survivor Assistance
In Vietnam, medical and healthcare services are provided by the national
Ministry of Health (MoH) at the province, district and sub-district levels;
rehabilitation services are provided by the MoH and the Ministry of Labor,
Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA). The government-sponsored Community Based
Rehabilitation (CBR) program operates in 46 of the 64 provinces. The CBR
program provides basic medical rehabilitation services, and vocational training
and social reintegration programs for persons with
disabilities.[95]
Adequate healthcare and rehabilitative services exist in Vietnam for mine/UXO
survivors. However, survivors face obstacles accessing services because of cost
and distance of medical facilities from the affected areas. A health insurance
program for people with disabilities covers only one percent of the total
estimated disabled
population.[96]
Clear Path International (CPI) provides emergency assistance to mine/UXO
casualties in 14 provinces in central and south-central Vietnam, extending from
Nghe An south to Gia Lai and Dac Lak in the Central Highlands, to Binh Phuoc and
Khanh Hoa in the south. In 2004, CPI responded to 120 mine/UXO incidents,
assisting 158 casualties; 55 people died as a result of their injuries. The
Emergency Outreach Services program provides transportation and financial
support for emergency medical needs, and offers financial assistance to
families, if necessary. CPI also provides educational scholarships to children
who have been injured by mines and UXO, or to children of parents that have been
killed or injured, so that the children can continue their studies. In 2004,
CPI provided direct assistance to 602 mine/UXO survivors and their families. In
the focus districts of Vinh Linh in Quang Tri and Le Thuy in Quang Binh, 249
families were assisted with socioeconomic services, and CPI and its Outreach
Team, comprising survivors and local partners, made direct assessment of 838
households, in 2004. In addition to the matching grants provided to families in
the past, a pilot “pig bank” revolving fund began in June 2004, with
20 families from Vinh Linh district
participating.[97]
The Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) supports the Ho Chi Minh City Rehabilitation Center, which is
run by MOLISA. The ICRC/SFD also supports eight prosthetic centers in Hanoi and
Thai Nguyen (since 2004), Da Nang, Vinh, Quy Nhon, Can Tho, Thanh Hoa and Kon
Tum.[98]The program covers the
cost of the first prosthetic fitting of amputees considered
“destitute” (those without state support). The Vietnam Red Cross
(VNRC) is responsible for identifying amputees in need of services and providing
follow-up. In 2004, the VNRC component of the project was expanded to seven
more provinces, with coverage now in 44 out of 64 provinces. In 2004,
ICRC/SFD-supported centers produced 4,646 prostheses, including 3,252 for
UXO/landmine survivors, and distributed 14,604 crutches and 32 wheelchairs
through the VNRC network. A Tripartite Co-operation Agreement with MOLISA and
the VNRC extended ICRC/SFD support to the Institute of Orthopedics and
Rehabilitation Science in Hanoi in 2004. The ICRC/SFD also provides ongoing
training for prosthetic/orthotic technicians and physiotherapists, including
formal three-year training programs at the MOLISA Vietnamese Training Center for
Orthopedic Technologists (VIETCOT) in Hanoi. In 2004, 17 physiotherapists from
11 MOLISA and six MoH facilities attended a two-week refresher course on gait
training for lower limb amputees, and one technician graduated from VIETCOT.
[99]
The US-based Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF) supports the Prosthetics
Outreach Center in Hanoi, the Ba Vi Orthopedic Technology Center in Ha Tay
province, and rehabilitation centers and prosthetic clinics in Nghe An, Quang
Binh, Quang Ninh, and Thai Binh. The majority of amputees are reached through a
mobile clinical outreach program. For example, in September 2004, 64 amputees
in Ha Giang province in the northern mountains were fitted with prostheses, and
in December over 25 people in the remote mountains of Lao Cai province in the
northwest of Vietnam received prosthetic limbs made from plaster casts made
during earlier outreach
trips.[100]
Vietnam Assistance to the Handicapped provides assistance to five
rehabilitation centers in Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Dinh, Da Nang and Ha
Tay provinces/cities. In Quang Binh and Quang Tri, VNAH donated 130 prosthetic
devices and 130 wheelchairs in
2004.[101] VNAH also operates a
grassroots project aimed at addressing skills training and employment for war
survivors and other people with disabilities. The program, which includes
vocational training, apprenticeships and job placement, was due to end in March
2005.[102]
The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation funds rehabilitation centers in
Hanoi, Ha Giang and Nam Dinh provinces. In 2004, the Mobile Outreach Program
visited eight provinces, assessing 2,453 people with disability, and fitted
nearly 500 people with orthotic devices. VVAF, with funding from
Adopt-A-Minefield, is currently collecting data in Ha Giang related to the
incidence of mine/UXO casualties in the
province.[103]
VVAF also planned a survey of the incidence of mine/UXO casualties in Ha
Giang province, on the Chinese border, in
2005.[104]
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and Project RENEW operate a
survivor assistance program in Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri, and since 2004
in Hai Lang district. In 2004 and early 2005, Project RENEW upgraded the
facilities of 21 nurse stations in Hai Lang, providing medical equipment and
first aid training specific to mine/UXO casualties. To date, 459 local
healthcare workers have been trained in both districts. The project also works
with mine/UXO survivors to design creative programs to reintegrate survivors
back into the workforce. Activities include training mine/UXO survivors to grow
edible mushrooms in their homes for the wholesale markets. With the expansion
into Hai Lang district, a total of 150 families have participated, while another
110 families in the two districts received micro-credit loans, in cooperation
with the Vietnam Women’s Union. Project RENEW recently signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Farmer’s Union, with a budget of
approximately $38,000, which will provide 160 survivor households with training
on modern cattle-rearing techniques and development of local grazing land with
new grass varieties.[105]
Landmine Survivors Network Vietnam (LSN) continues to use peer support to
assist mine/UXO survivors and other amputees in improving their health, living
conditions, and socioeconomic integration by providing links or referrals to
emergency or continuing medical care, regional rehabilitation centers, and
institutions providing loans or grants and job training, in Quang Binh province.
In April 2005, LSN extended its initial two-year agreement with the
People’s Committee of Bo Trach district in Quang Binh province, with an
expansion into 15 communes of the district. To April 2005, 1,511 survivors and
amputees (120 mine/UXO survivors and other amputees in the original six communes
in 2003-2004, and 1,391 survivors and amputees in 2005) have been identified by
this NGO in a survey of 13 of the 15 sub-districts. By January 2005, 1,900
people, including 100 mine/UXO survivors and nearly 400 family members,
benefited directly or indirectly from LSN activities, such as referrals to
health services, economic opportunities, as well as training, institutional
support and events on social integration. Over 1,000 people participated in
awareness raising events on the occasions of national and international days of
disabled persons, and 50 district staff received training on policy related to
amputees. From May 2003 to March 2005, LSN supported the district hospital of
Bo Trach and six commune clinics with medical supplies; 1,013 people benefited
from this support.[106]
The American NGO, Kids First Vietnam, provides assistance to survivors in
Quang Tri through a scholarship program for disadvantaged youth, including 100
students with war-related disabilities. Construction continues on the Kids
First Rehabilitation Village in Dong Ha, Quang Tri, which will offer medical
care, rehabilitation services and treatments, vocational training programs and
recreation activities for youth, aged 16 to 24 years, with physical disabilities
and economic
disadvantages.[107]
Other organizations assisting mine/UXO survivors in Vietnam include the
Support Association for People with Disabilities (in each sub-district),
American Red Cross, Peace Trees Viet Nam, Handicap International, Health
Volunteers Overseas and Ho Chi Minh City Sponsoring Association for Poor
Patients. Other charitable groups are based in Buddhist temples and Catholic
churches.[108]
Disability Policy and Practice
Vietnam has legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities to
health care, education, employment and social participation. However,
implementation remains weak, lacking mechanisms for monitoring and
enforcement.[109]
Decree 88, adopted by the Prime Minister in July 2003, provided a legal basis
for independent associations to register with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Associations of people with disabilities were among the first groups to take
advantage of this new status. The decree allows local associations to recruit
members, conduct advocacy, and raise their own funds domestically and
internationally.[110]
The Vietnam Business Association for Disabled Employees, set up in April
2003, is the first commercial organization for people with disabilities working
in the private sector. People with disabilities own more than 400 businesses in
Vietnam, employing 20,000 other people with
disabilities.[111]
The Disability Forum, a coalition of local organizations, works to raise
awareness on the rights and needs of persons with disabilities. Members of the
Disability Forum are actively participating in discussions and preparations for
the proposed “International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the
Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities,” which is supported by
Vietnam.[112]
[1] For developments in
Vietnam’s policy from 1997-2004, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004,
pp. 1159-1160.
[2] Meeting with Nguyen Duc Hung,
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director General, Americas Department,
Hanoi, 20 April 2005.
[3] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, Director, BOMICEN, Ministry of Defense, Department of International
Cooperation, Hanoi, 27 June 2005. He went on to note that decisions on acceding
to international conventions are made at the whole government level and do not
come under the purview of BOMICEN, which is a technical implementation agency
only. BOMICEN was formerly known as BOMICO.
[4] National Assembly of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Luat Ky ket, Gia nhap va Thuc hien cac Dieu
uoc Quoc te (Law on Signing, Accession and Implementation of International
Treaties), Law # 41/2005/QH11, passed 14 June 2005; see articles 3, 5, 9 and
49.
[5] Interview with Bui Minh Tam,
Ministry of Defense, Hanoi, 15 March 2000.
[6] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, p. 513.
[7] Stephen D. Biddle,
“Landmines in Asia,” paper presented at the Phnom Penh Landmines
Conference, 1995.
[8] Correspondence from Nguyen Manh
Hung, Americas Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 8 March 2001. An
internal policy document provided to Landmine Monitor by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, “The Question of Antipersonnel Mines,” 2 March 2000, also
stated that Vietnam has not and will never export antipersonnel mines.
[9] Human Rights Watch,
Landmines: A Deadly Legacy, 1993, pp. 103-104; Paul Davies, War
of the Mines, 1994, pp. 13-19, 44.
[10] Interview with Lt. Gen. Vu
Tan, Ministry of Defense, Hanoi, 13 May 2003.
[11] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, p. 542.
[12] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, Senior Technical Advisor, MAG, Dong Ha, 15 April 2005. This figure
differs slightly from that in the 2004 report (61 provinces) owing to the
establishment of new provinces in 2004–2005.
[13] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1161.
[14]Text of remarks made by Sr.
Col. Phan Duc Tan, Ministry of Defense, Regional Workshop on Development
Challenges of Mine Clearance and Victim Assistance, Bangkok, 30-31 August 2004,
p. 1.
[15] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 1161-1162.
[16] Col. Bui Minh Tam,
“Cuoc chien dau sau chien tranh” (The Struggle After the War), Su
kien & Nhan chung (monthly military magazine), date unknown, pp.
17, 31; “Vietnam Demining Activities and Challenges” unpublished
paper, February 2002; Sr. Col. Phan Duc Tan, Regional Workshop on Development
Challenges of Mine Clearance and Victim Assistance, Bangkok, 30-31 August
2004.
[17] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 1161-1162.
[18] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, MAG, Dong Ha, 15 April 2005; interview with Rob White, Head of
Operations, MAG, in Geneva, 19 September 2005.
[19] “The task of clearing
and collecting mines and UXO is not yet complete,” Nguoi Lao Dong
(daily newspaper), 20 June 2005.
[20] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, , BOMICEN, Hanoi, 27 June 2005.
[21] Interview with Tran Khanh
Phoi, Program Coordinator, MAG, Quang Tri, 30 March 2004.
[22] Project RENEW and Quang Tri,
“A Study of Knowledge-Awareness-Practices to the Danger of Postwar
Landmines/Unexploded Ordnance and Accidents in Quang Tri Province,
Vietnam,” November 2003, pp. 10, 32; email from Phan Hung, Project RENEW,
27 September 2005.
[23] Interview with Nguyen Quang
Vinh and Amb. Nguyen Quy Binh, Vice-Director of the Boundaries Committee,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2003.
[24] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1164.
[25] Sr. Col. Phan Duc Tan,
Regional Workshop on Development Challenges of Mine Clearance and Victim
Assistance, p. 3, Bangkok, 30-31 August 2004. Sr. Col. Phan Duc Tan, from Quang
Tri Provincial Military Engineering Command, led a three-man military delegation
to the workshop.[26] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1164.
[27] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, BOMICEN, Hanoi, 27 June 2005.
[28] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, , BOMICEN, Hanoi, 27 June 2005; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004,
p. 1165.
[29] Interview with Nguyen Duc
Quang, Director, Foreign Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dong Ha,
Quang Tri, 14 April 2005; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp.
1164-1165.
[30] Email from H. Murphey McCloy
Jr., Senior Demining Advisor, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US
Department of State, 27 September 2005
[31] Interview with Nguyen Thu Ha
and Nguyen Bui Thi Hien, project officers, VVAF, Hanoi, 19 April 2005.
[32] VVAF, “Vietnam
UXO/Landmine Impact Assessment and Survey,” information sheet; Nguyen
Vinh, “Cooperation to Resolve Postwar Mine Legacy,” Lao Dong,
26 February 2004. The survey had been under negotiation since December 2000.
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 782; Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 720.
[33] Email from Alexander
Reitveld, Representative, VVAF, 14 September 2005.
[34] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, BOMICEN, Hanoi, 27 June 2005.
[35] Interview with Lt. Tran Duc
Thanh, Clearance Monitor, Engineering Department, Thua Thien-Hue Provincial
Military Command, Office of Department of Foreign Affairs, Hue City, Thua
Thien-Hue, 22 April 2005.
[36] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 1163-1164.
[37] Interview with Tran Khanh
Phoi, Program Coordinator, MAG, 30 March 2004.
[38] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, MAG, Dong Ha, 15 April 2005; interview with Rob White, Operations
Director, MAG, in Geneva, 19 September 2005.
[39] Interview with Lt. Tran Duc
Thanh, Thua Thien-Hue Provincial Military Command, Office of Department of
Foreign Affairs, Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue, 22 April 2005.
[40] Interview with Lt. Tran Duc
Thanh, Office of Department of Foreign Affairs, Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue, 22
April 2005.
[41] Project RENEW is a joint
effort of the Quang Tri People’s Committee and Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Fund (US).
[42] PTVN has not responded to
Landmine Monitor requests for information on its 2004 clearance.
[43] Email from Rudi Kohnert,
Program Manager, MAG, 26 September 2005.
[44] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, MAG, Dong Ha, 15 April 2005.
[45] Email from Tim Carstairs,
Director of Policy, MAG, 26 September 2005.
[46] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, MAG, Dong Ha, 15 April 2005; interview with Nguyen Duc Quy, Foreign
Relations Department, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14 April 2005.
[47] Information provided by
Ilona Schleicher, Project Manager, SODI, 14-15 September 2005.
[48] Presentation by Ilona
Schleicher, SODI, Assessment of 10 Year International Cooperation on Reversing
Legacy of War-Development Orientation Workshop, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, 22-23 August
2005; information provided by Ilona Schleicher, SODI, 14-15 September 2005.
[49] Information provided by
Ilona Schleicher, SODI, 14-15 September 2005.
[50] Email from Wolfram Schwope,
Vice-Chairman, PK, 15 August 2005.
[51] Email from Wolfram Schwope,
PK, 15 August 2005.
[52] Communication from Lutz
Vogt, Chairman, PK, 13 July 2004.
[53] Telephone interview with
Colin White, Project Coordinator, AVI, 16 September 2005.
[54] Interview with Colin White,
AVI, Phong Dien, Thua Thien-Hue, 15 April 2005.
[55] Email from Phan Hung,
Project RENEW, 27 September 2005.
[56] Information provided by Karl
Werther, Project Manager, SODI, 13 September 2005.
[57] The total attendance for MRE
activities breaks down as follows: AVI, 17,168; CRS, 4,700; VNAH, 3,400; REWEW,
89,996; PK, 12,432. No data was received from PTVN or SODI.
[58] Telephone interview with
Nguyen Thi Thanh An, UNICEF, 20 April 2005.
[59] Notes taken by Hugh Hosman,
War Legacies Program Consultant, Fund for Reconciliation & Development,
during MRE discussion at the Assessment of 10-Year International Cooperation on
Reversing Legacy of War-Development Orientation Workshop, Dong Ha, Quang Tri,
22-23 August 2005.
[60] Interview with Nguyen Thi
Thanh An, UNICEF , 20 April 2005; Project RENEW and Quang Tri Provincial Health
Service, “A Study of Knowledge-Awareness-Practices to the Danger of
Postwar Landmines/Unexploded Ordnance and Accidents in Quang Tri Province,
Vietnam,” November 2003, pp. 30-1, 42-44. See Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 1168. Initial results from the Catholic Relief Services
school-based project suggest that personal contact through the community may be
more effective at achieving behavior change than using mass media. Interview
with Dang Huong Giang, leader of CRS evaluation team, Quang Tri, 1 April
2004.
[61] Each humanitarian
organization or local partner at some point in their interviews made mention of
the need to increase personal contact in implementing MRE. The strongest of
these statements was by Tran Van Tuan, Quang Binh Department of Labor, Invalids
and Social Affairs, who believed that child-to-adult contact, especially in
homes where scrap metal collection was practiced, had been a major factor in the
apparent elimination of mine/UXO casualties in the 15 sub-districts of Bo Trach
receiving MRE under the Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped project. However
the VNAH project had not been evaluated when this statement was made on 14 April
2005.
[62] Information provided by
Nguyen Thi Thanh An, UNICEF, 21 April 2005.
[63] Interview with Tran Van
Tuan, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14
April 2005.
[64] Interview with Nguyen Thi
Thanh An, UNICEF, 20 April 2005.
[65] Interview with Nguyen Thi
Thanh An, UNICEF, 20 April 2005.
[66] Email from Phan Hung,
Project RENEW, 27 September 2005; interview with Hoang Nam, Project RENEW, Dong
Ha, 15 April 2005; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1168.
[67] Presentation by Thai Thi
Hanh Nhan, Project Assistant, CRS, Landmine Working Group, Hanoi, 20 February
2004.
[68] Interview with Thai Thi Hanh
Nhan, CRS, Hanoi, 19 April 2005; interview with Nguyen Thi Thanh An, UNICEF, 20
April 2005; additional information provided by Nguyen Thi Thanh An, 21 April
2005.
[69] Presentation by Pham Hoang
Ha, PTVN, Landmine Working Group, Quang Binh, 8 April 2005; see Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, p. 1169.
[70] Interview with Colin White,
AVI, Phong Dien, 15 April 2005.
[71] Email from Bui Van Toan,
Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped, 21 May 2004.
[72] Interview with Bui Van Toan,
VNAH, Hanoi, 19 April 2005.
[73] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1169; Interview with Tran Van Tuan, Department of Labor,
Invalids and Social Affairs, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14 April 2005.
[74] Interview with Tran Van
Tuan, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14
April 2005; interview with Bui Van Toan, VNAH, Hanoi, 19 April 2005.
[75] Interview with Tran Van
Tuan, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14
April 2005.
[76] Interview with Tran Van
Tuan, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, 14
April 2005.
[77] Interview with Nguyen Thi
Thanh An, UNICEF, 20 April 2005.
[78] Information provided by
Andrew Wells-Dang, Fund for Reconciliation & Development, 29 April 2005.
[79] Col. Bui Minh Tam, BOMICEN,
“Vietnam Demining Activities and Challenges,” briefing paper,
revised February 2002.
[80] Col. Bui Minh Tam, BOMICEN,
“Vietnam Demining Activities and Challenges,” briefing paper,
revised February 2002. This calculation is based on eight percent of the country
contaminated (=26,500 sq. km.) and the cost of clearance per hectare at military
rates ($2,300 per hectare).
[81] Interview with Nguyen Trong
Canh, BOMICEN, Hanoi, 27 June 2005.
[82]Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 1170.
[83] Article 7 Report, Form J, 27
April 2005; email from Norbert Hack, Minister, Department of Disarmament, Arms
Control and Non-Proliferation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1 August 2005.
Average exchange rate for 2004: $1 = A$0.7365. US Federal Reserve, “List
of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005. The Australian fiscal year is
July 2004 to June 2005.
[84] Mine Action Investments
database; emails from Elvan Isikozlu, Mine Action Team, Foreign Affairs Canada,
June-August 2005. Average exchange rate for 2004: US$1 = C$1.3017. US Federal
Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[85] Article 7 Report, Form J, 15
April 2005; email from Dirk Roland Haupt, Federal Foreign Office, Division 241,
25 July 2005. Average exchange rate for 2004: €1 = $1.2438, used
throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[86] USG Historical Chart
containing data for FY 2004, email from Angela L. Jeffries, Financial Management
Specialist, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, 20
July 2005; email from H. Murphey McCloy Jr., Senior Demining Advisor, Office of
Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State, 27 September 2005.
[87] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1171.
[88] Data provided by Le Thi Yen
Nhi, Clear Path International, 27 and 30 April 2005,for the period
January-December 2004; data provided by Andrew Wells-Dang, Fund for
Reconciliation and Development, covering the period January to April 2004.
[89] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1171-1172.
[90] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1172; Clear Path International
presentation, Scrap Metal Collection, December 2004.
[91] Interview with Stephen
Bradley, Senior Technical Advisor, MAG, 15 April 2005; Interview with Nguyen Duc
Quang, Foreign Relations Department, Department of Foreign Affairs, Quang Tri,
Dong Ha, 14 April 2005; interview with Colin White, AVI, Phong Dien, Thua
Thien-Hue, 15 April 2005.
[92] Information provided by Karl
Werther, SODI, 13 September 2005
[93] Data provided by Le Thi Yen
Nhi, Project Officer, CPI, 30 August 2005; Landmine Monitor analysis of media
reports, January to August 2005.
[94] Information provided by Karl
Werther, Project Manager, SODI, 13 September 2005.
[95] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1173-1174.
[96] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1173.
[97] Information provided by Tran
Thi Thanh Toan, and Tran Hong Chi, CPI, Dong Ha, 12 April 2005; emails from Le
Thi Yen Nhi, CPI, 16-18 March 2005; for more information, see Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1173-1174.
[98] Email from Peter Poetsma,
ICRC, 27 September 2005.
[99] ICRC Special Fund for the
Disabled, “Annual Report 2004,” Geneva, February 2005, pp. 31-40;
ICRC “Annual Report 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p. 172; see also
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1174-1175. VIETCOT is funded by GTZ
(Germany).
[100] POF,
“Newsletter,” Fall/Winter 2004; POC, “Project Update from
Vietnam,” December 2004,available at www.pofsea.org;
see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, 1175.
[101] Information provided in
email from Bui Van Toan, VNAH, 21 May 2005.
[102] Standing Tall Australia
and Mines Action Canada, “101 Great Ideas for the Socio-Economic
Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005, p. 87.
[103] Response to Landmine
Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire by Kerry Fisher, Advisor,
Rehabilitation Program, VVAF, Hanoi, 18 April 2005; see also Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1175.
[104] Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Kerry Fisher, Rehabilitation Program, VVAF, Hanoi, 18
April 2005.
[105]Email from Phan Hung, Project
RENEW, 27 September 2005; interview with Hoang Nam, Project RENEW, 15 April
2005; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1176; Standing Tall
Australia and Mines Action Canada, “101 Great Ideas for the Socio-Economic
Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005, p. 86.
[106] Presentation by Lieve
Sabbe, Advisor, LSN, at Landmine Working Group meeting, Quang Binh, 8 April
2005; interview with Lieve Sabbe and Nguyen Hoa Hoc, Coordinator, LSN, 13 April
2005; information provided in emails from Lieve Sabbe, LSN, 28 April and 26
September 2005; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1176.
[107] Standing Tall Australia
and Mines Action Canada, “101 Great Ideas for the Socio-Economic
Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005, p. 85; for more information,
see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1176.
[108] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1174-1176.
[109] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1177; Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 731; see also US Department of State, “Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices-2004: Vietnam,” Washington, DC, 28 February
2005.
[110] Decree No.
88/2003/ND-CP (July 30, 2003) Providing For The
Organization, Operation And Management Of Associations; Presentation by Bui Van
Toan (Viet Nam Assistance for the Handicapped) at the People’s
Participation Working Group, Hanoi, 12 September 2003.
[111] Research by Andrew
Wells-Dang, Fund for Reconciliation and Development: “Government Agrees to
Business Association for the Disabled,” Phap Luat [The Law] daily
newspaper, 15 April 2003, p. 2; “Disabled must gain job access,”
Viet Nam News, 15 April 2004.
[112] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1177; see also “Minutes of the Ninth Session of the
Thematic Working Group on Disability-Related Concerns, Bangkok, 1-2 December
2004,”