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The Honorable Nita M. Lowey Chairwoman March 18, 2009 The Honorable Nita M. Lowey Chairwoman, Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs House of Representatives Room HB-26 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Kay Granger Ranking Member, Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs House of Representatives Room HB-26 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Representative Granger: Legacies of War is writing to request an increase in the 2010 budget of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) for Laos to $6 million, and for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee detailing the urgent need for additional funding. This increase would be an important step toward fully funding unexploded ordnance (UXO) removal on high priority lands and victim assistance for Laos over the next three to five years. Legacies of War is a United States (U.S.) based nongovernmental organization formed in 2004 to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the removal of unexploded bombs in Laos, to provide a space for healing the wounds of war, 1 and to create greater hope for a future of peace. The organization strives to represent the 200,000 Laotian Americans and millions of other Americans who seek to address the terrible lingering effects of U.S. involvement in the wider Vietnam War, including Laos and Cambodia. Our request comes after consultation with other organizations and individuals working on this issue both in the U.S. and Laos, including the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Laos, Mines Advisory Group, Mennonite Central Committee, Handicap International, War Legacies Project, and Friends Committee on National Legislation. Legacies of War appreciates that the U.S. has contributed an average of $2.9 million a year over the past 13 years for the removal of UXO and victim assistance in Laos.1 However, to put this in perspective, it is important to remember that the U.S. spent an average of $2 million a day for nine years bombing Laos—or approximately $7 billion. Without substantial increases in funding, the presence of UXO will remain a threat to the people of Laos for up to 100 years. We fully support funding for UXO removal in all countries burdened by this problem, but please note that the level of funding for Laos has not been proportionate to the scope of the contamination in comparison to funding for other nations, e.g. Kosovo and Bosnia where UXO has nearly been eradicated. While Laos has some of the most heavily contaminated lands in the world and accounts for half of all cluster munitions casualties worldwide2, it has received on average three percent of total U.S. funding for UXO removal since 1993--4.6 percent in 2006 and 3.2 percent in 20073. We ask only that Laos be given commensurate levels of funding to solve this devastating humanitarian situation. Laos has the tragic distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world. From 1964 to 1973 the U.S. dropped over two million tons of ordnance on Laos, the equivalent of 1 U.S. State Department, To Walk the Earth in Safety, 2008. 2 Circle of Impact: the Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities, Handicap International, May 2007. 3 U.S. State Department, Ibid. 2 a bombing mission every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years.4 U.S. bombing left close to 50 percent of the country contaminated with vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO), including 78 million unexploded cluster bomblets that litter forests, rice fields, villages, school grounds, roads, and other populated areas. Accidents involving UXO have caused over 50,000 civilian casualties since 1964 and 34,000 since the end of war in 1973--40 percent of these resulted in death. Close to 60 percent of the victims are children.5 Every year at least 300 new UXO casualties occur, primarily from unexploded cluster bomblets. It is worth repeating that half of the cluster munitions casualties worldwide have occurred in Laos. Thousands of people have been left without limbs or with other severe injuries. Aea Lee, a young husband and father, lost both his lower legs in November 2008 while working in his rice fields. Without receiving prosthetic limbs he will not be able to support his family. Bounmi is a young man who lost half his left arm at age 16 as he was digging a fishing pond for his family. He now volunteers with World Education/Consortium to help new cluster bomb victims. Xer Yang is a little boy who was blinded by shrapnel from a cluster bomb a year ago. Without help, his future is dismal. In addition to the terrible human cost of deaths and injuries, the impoverished Lao economy is further stymied by the presence of UXO. Hundreds of children have been orphaned. Families are left without the main breadwinner and struggle to survive. The extremely limited health care system within Laos is overwhelmed by the medical needs of UXO victims. The available funding does not begin to meet the demand for artificial limbs or employment retraining. As the population of Laos grows it is becoming more and more difficult to grow enough food. Over half of the arable land is littered with UXO. Many farmers have little choice but to risk death or injury by planting in contaminated fields in order to feed their families. A 4 Senate Congressional Record, May 14, 1975, pg. 14,266. 5 Preliminary data from new Lao PDR National Regulatory Authority survey. 3 recent United Nations study found half the children in rural areas are severely malnourished. Most infrastructure projects are burdened with the increased cost of first removing UXO. The Lao PDR government and nongovernmental organizations, with assistance from the U.S., eighteen other countries, and the UNDP, have made modest progress in removing UXO in several provinces. However, funding is grossly inadequate to the enormity of the task. Funding must be increased to speed up the removal of UXO on high priority lands for villages, agricultural fields, and infrastructure development. Recently, the Lao PDR was one of the first of 95 countries to sign the international Convention on Cluster Munitions in December 2008 in Oslo, Norway. And on March16, 2009, Laos became the fifth country to ratify the Convention, which takes effect six months after the 30th country ratifies the treaty. As such, Laos has committed to implementing the terms of the Convention for UXO removal and victim assistance. The Lao government and the UNDP prepared a comprehensive proposal for implementation with projected funding at $73 million over three years.6 An increase to $6 million for Laos in the PM/WRA 2010 budget would enable Laos to move more quickly in implementing the comprehensive plan for UXO removal on priority lands and victim assistance. The U.S. and Lao PDR governments have made great strides in improving relations in recent years, e.g. extending normal trade relations. But more than 35 years after the end of war, the U.S. has not taken full responsibility for the long term consequences of its bombing campaign. Our government must provide substantial funding to resolve a critical humanitarian issue. This act of reconciliation would not only help Laos, but would be another step forward for the U.S. in 6 The Scourge of Cluster Munitions in the Lao PDR: Meeting Treaty Obligations and Scaling Up the Response, Lao PDR National Regulatory Authority and United Nations Development Program, October 2008. 4 repairing our image abroad. It would help increase respect for our country among both allies and former adversaries. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our request. We understand that budgets are tight but we are confident that you find removal of UXO on high priority lands and victim assistance in Laos to be an important humanitarian priority and in our national interest. Sincerely, Channapha Khamvongsa, Director Legacies of War 3233 M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007 cc: President Barack Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Director, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State Other members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Representatives Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Adam Schiff, Steve Israel, Ben Chandler, Steven R. Rothman, Barbara Lee, Betty McCollum, David R. Obey, Ex Officio, Mark Steven Kirk, Ander Crenshaw, Dennis R. Rehberg, Jerry Lewis, Ex Officio Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Senators Diane Feinstein, Jeff Merkley, Robert Menéndez, Jeff Bingaman, Susan Collins Sherrod Brown, Benjamin Cardin, Edward Kennedy, Maria Cantwell, Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snowe, Robert Casey, Debbie Ann Stabenow, Patty Murray, Russell Feingold, Richard Durbin, Barbara Mikulski, Bernard Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tim Johnson, Ron Wyden Representatives Jim McGovern, Tammy Baldwin, Charles Boustany, Peter DeFazio, Lloyd Doggett, Keith Ellison, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, Raul Grijalva, Maurice Hinchey, Michael Honda, Darrell Issa, Henry Johnson, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, Betty McCollum, James Moran, John Oliver, Nick Rahall, Janice Schakowsky, and Lynn Woolsey 5.
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