Explosive Remnants of War: A Case Study of Explosive Ordnance Disposal in Laos, 1974-2013 Anna F. Kemp A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Greenwich for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2014 i DECLARATION I certify that this work has not been accepted in substance for any degree, and is not concurrently being submitted for any degree other than that of Doctor of Philosophy being studied at the University of Greenwich. I also declare that this work is the result of my own investigations except where otherwise identified by references and that I have not plagiarised another’s work. ___________________________ ___________________ Anna Kemp Date Student ___________________________ ___________________ Professor Christopher Bellamy Date First Supervisor ___________________________ __________________ Dr Christopher Ware Date Second Supervisor ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has greatly profited by the influence and support of many individuals. First and foremost, I wish to express my gratitude to Cranfield University at Shrivenham U.K. I am profoundly grateful to Professor Christopher Bellamy, both at Cranfield and Greenwich, for his contribution to my intellectual growth and unstinting inspiration in tackling a thesis on UXO, plus the encouraging discussions about the problems which have been treated in this work, and answering constant and probably banal questions from a student, who never served in the armed forces. After Professor Bellamy moved to Greenwich, no-one suitably qualified to supervise my research remained at Cranfield and I, too, transferred. I am also grateful to Professor Alan Reed, Chair of the University of Greenwich Research Degrees Committee for easing that process. I would also like to express my appreciation of the help and advice of the staff of the Joint Service Command and Staff College and Barrington libraries. I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the encouragement of my friends during this endeavour. I also wish to express my thanks to Dr Robert Cooper, the former Head of the British Trade Office in Laos for housing me in the British compound in Vientiane and for his many introductions, in particular to the Australian author Grant Evans. They have both written extensively on Laos. I also extend my thanks to the British Ambassador Philip Mallone. My sincere thanks to Phommichan at UXO Lao for keeping me safe in a country full of unexploded bombs and John Dingley, and later Tim Lardner both of UNDP, for advice on UXO, and the International School of Explosives Engineers, and Mr. Ponk for interpreting. My enormous thanks to Mike Boddington, of Power, who gave me invaluable support and access to his own extensive research on victim assistance. I am most grateful to the Greenwich Maritime Institute and Greenwich Research and Enterprise for the bursary that enabled me to carry out the last phase of fieldwork. The bursary commenced on 1 August 2012, when the necessary cost codes for expenditure were initiated. Therefore, on 1 August, I was able to book travel dates out for mid August to return mid February 2013. An advance was negotiated, on my behalf, very exceptionally, which enabled the full amount to be allocated to cover hotels, subsistence, local travel and other local incidentals. As a bursary holder undertaking approved research for six months on behalf of the University, I automatically received the standard University insurance for someone travelling to Laos, essential for any travel but particularly so for Laos. I alone am responsible for the substance and any mistakes in this study. iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines one man-made disaster, resulting from the plethora of UneXploded Ordnance (UXO) in Laos, to clarify the performance of post-conflict humanitarian aid and development until 2012. This is achieved through case study field work in Laos. The time period studied is from 1954, the beginning of the political background to the war in Laos, through to the work carried out by the national agency UXO Lao in the field to 2012. The academic disciplines driving this research are War, Conflict and Security Studies, including Post-Conflict Studies, plus aspects of International Relations and Disaster Management. It is not a Law thesis although of necessity it touches on aspects of International Law and particularly the subsequent Protocol V to the 1980 Treaty on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CMC). In nine years from 1964-1973 the U.S.A. dropped 260 million cluster bomb submunitions on Laos. It is estimated that 30 percent of the cluster munitions failed to detonate. It is not known exactly where they were dropped and rivers and rain cause them to move. The effect of UXO in the most affected provinces has made them unsuitable for expansion in tourism and agriculture. Analysis of responses to this situation shows that efforts to educate people about the dangers of UXO have often been ineffective and victim assistance is lacking, although now covered by the CMC. The U.S.A. bombing, remained shrouded in official secrecy, and Laos's Communist status precluded overt aid. Laos was therefore a forgotten war but one which has profound implications for warfare and subsequent peace-building. Clearance remained a low priority, in part because it was a low priority for the Lao Government which was not much interested in the welfare of the rural communities affected. The National Regulatory Authority (NRA), the agency within the Laotian government responsible for UXO and EOD requires in FY 2013 $30 million, for UXO clearance with substantial additional increases over the next ten years. The U.S.A. is now committed diplomatically and financially to assist Laos in its bomb removal effort, after President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Determination in 2009 declaring that Laos was no longer a Marxist-Leninist Country and thus facilitating U.S.A. and other international aid. New technology may finally unlock the solution to this 50-year old problem. The distribution of GPS to farmers would enable them to report locations of any UXO they found, for immediate attention, greatly increasing the speed and effectiveness of response. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION...................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ v List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. x Glossary and list of Acronyms .................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 15 1.1. Background ....................................................................................................................... 15 1.2. Thesis Aim ........................................................................................................................ 20 1.3 Research Objectives and Questions ................................................................................. 21 1.4. Introduction to the research .............................................................................................. 22 1.5. Significance of the research .............................................................................................. 23 1.6. Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 23 1.7. Summary ........................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2. Conceptual Framework and Literature Review ............................................. 25 2.1. Outline............................................................................................................................... 25 2.2. Conceptual Framework for this Research ......................................................................... 25 2.3. Why Laos is a definitive conflict and post-conflict Case Study, and research design ..... 29 2.4. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 34 2.5. This Thesis and social science debates ............................................................................. 39 2.6. Philosophy that underpins the development of humanitarian ideas.................................. 40 2.7. Development of Humanitarian Agencies Relevant to this Thesis .................................... 46 2.8. Relevance of International Conventions to the research ................................................... 49 2.9. Disaster Management........................................................................................................ 55 2.10. Summary ........................................................................................................................