research article IUCJ 34 What the World Owes to Laos Laura Navarro[1] [1] Laura is a junior undergraduate at Duke Kunshan University majoring in political economy with tracks in economics. Abstract During the Vietnam War, the United States justifed a military intervention in Published online Southeast Asia as a means to contain the expansion of communism and consolidate their January 2021 power and credibility. Although the war offcially took place in North and South Vietnam, Citation Laos PDR became the most Navarro, Laura. 2020. “What heavily bombed country in the world during this period. This paper examines these bombing the World Owes to Laos.” IUCJ missions and their repercussions. Ultimately, the goal is to determine the level of responsi- 1, no. 1 (Winter 2021), 34-39. bility that the U.S. government and the international community hold in fostering coopera- tion to provide an effective remedy to the victims in Laos and, in doing so, supporting the sustainable development of the country. Keywords: Vietnam War; Secret War; UXO; U.S.-Lao relations; reparations Introduction future efforts. uring the Vietnam War, the United States justifed a mili- The Secret War Dtary intervention in Southeast Asia as a means to contain the expansion of communism and to consolidate their power On paper, the Vietnam War took place in Vietnam and Cam- and credibility (Rotondi 2020). While the war offcially took bodia between 1965 and 1973. Although the confict offcially place in North and South Vietnam, it is now recognized that the ended in 1973 after the Paris Peace Accords, it is now known United States also intervened militarily in Cambodia and Laos. that the fghting continued until 1975 (Rotondi 2020). Laos In fact, Laos PDR became the most heavily bombed country was a strategic target for the United States to disrupt the supply in the world during this period (COPE Laos 2016). However, chain to Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh Trail; thus, despite being the war actions in Laos were not disclosed to the public as a signatory party of the International Agreements on the Neu- they directly violated the 1962 International Agreement on the trality of Laos, the United States began to bomb Laos as early Neutrality of Laos, and, as they pertained to a secret mission as 1964 and continued to do so until 1975 (Convery 2018). It of the CIA, these events were not offcially acknowledged by is estimated that, by the end of the war, 10% of the population the U.S. government for more than 40 years after the end of of Laos had been killed, over 20% had been severely wounded, the war (Shenoy 2016). The secrecy shrouding the situation in and approximately 25% had become refugees (Kurlantzick Laos earned it the name of the “Secret War.” 2017, 245-255). Although the United States has acknowledged it possesses War Crimes some level of responsibility in Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, Cambodia, it wasn’t until 2016 that former President Barack In order to provide a basis to assign responsibility, sanctions, Obama became the frst U.S. president to publicly admit that and reparations, it is necessary to defne the nature of the the United States dropped over a million tons of bombs in crime and its extent. In the case of the Vietnam War, this can Laos. Additionally, his administration doubled U.S. funding to be evaluated according to the framework of the international remove the unexploded ordnance that kill and maim people on humanitarian law. As will be discussed later, the crimes related a daily base (Shenoy 2016). Despite this, Laos’ fund is compar- to the bombing of Laos are not limited to war crimes nor to atively insignifcant to that provided to Vietnam, and, conse- the timeframe of the Vietnam War; however, this section will quently, it has been suggested that the United States has failed focus on the events of the Vietnam War and how they relate to to take full responsibility for their actions in Laos (Sisavatdy relevant international laws. 2018). War Crimes are generally defned as any act that violates the However, it is also essential to note that Laos’ government, in IHL. Some of the violations specifed include willful killing, some cases, has refused U.S. aid due to internal suspicions of torture and inhuman treatment, willfully causing great suffer- the American agenda in Southeast Asia (Andelman 1975, 3). ing, appropriation and destruction of property, and unlawful This paper will examine the bombing missions of the United deportation and confnement (United Nations 2020). Since the States in Laos during the 20th century and their repercussions. Geneva Conventions in 1949, all member states of the United The goal is to determine the level of responsibility that the U.S. Nations are required to abide by this law and any violations are government and the international community hold in fostering sanctioned by the International Criminal Court (International international cooperation to compensate war victims, impose Committee of the Red Cross 1949). sanctions, mitigate the effects of war remnants, and support the sustainable development of the country. To do so, the concepts In 1967, the International War Crimes Tribunal found the Unit- of war crime, foreign aid, responsibility, and reparations will ed States to be “guilty of all charges” for incurring war crimes be reviewed, and the relevant events, agents, and laws will such as genocide, use of forbidden weapons, maltreatment and be identifed. Ultimately, there will be an assessment of the killing of prisoners, and forceful displacement of civilians in reparatory progress in Laos and possible recommendations for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Notably, there was a strong 35 icUJ research article emphasis on the use of advanced weaponry in large areas pop- ulated by civilians (Foster 2017). For instance, cluster bombs UXO has also acted as a direct barrier to the development of were extensively used by the United States throughout the war. Laos. Frequent UXO-related injuries have severely impact- This type of weaponry has been prohibited since 2008 under ed the workforce. Victims of UXO who are lucky enough to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as they have been found survive often face abundant obstacles to enter the work market to be extremely ineffective when fghting adversary troops but as their productivity is perceived to be greatly diminished. fatal to the civilian population. While cluster bombs cannot This is also true for young UXO victims who have to face be directed towards a narrow target or group and cause little signifcant emotional distress and social stigma in their schools damage to concrete and steel structures and weaponry, they do and communities (United Nations 2018). Moreover, heavily affect largely populated areas and are designed to “tear through contaminated areas usually correspond to rural provinces with the fesh of human bodies” (Foster 2020). It is estimated that, higher levels of poverty. This exacerbates the social gap due to from 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped over 7.5 million UXO-related obstacles to livelihood activity and its contribu- tons of bombs on Southeast Asia (Hikosaka 2019). As a result, tion to food insecurity (Soulineyadeth 2014, 2-4). the territories of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were devastated and their people had to face long-lasting psychological, physi- Similarly, the contaminated land cannot be safely used for cal, and societal consequences (Hart 2020). industrial purposes, tourism, infrastructure, transportation, or education. This has hindered the development of all industrial In light of these facts and in accordance with the Tribunal’s and productive sectors of the economy as well as impeding ruling, in 1972, the United States agreed to give 4.5 and 3.5 proper technical and educational outreach to respond to UXO billion (U.S.) dollars to North and South Vietnam, respective- discoveries and accidents in rural areas (United Nations 2018). ly. By 1973, however, the fgure was down to less than half of what it was initially. Additionally, this compensation was con- In 1996, the Laotian government established “UXO Lao,” a ditioned on the maintenance of the peace agreement between national program that coordinates the clearance of contaminat- North and South Vietnam; therefore, when the North took over ed areas for agriculture and community purposes. Since then, the South, the United States seized the opportunity to back off more regulatory entities have been established and the efforts to entirely from its commitment to reparations (Langguth 2000). destroy UXO have dramatically increased. No similar reparation was agreed upon to compensate for the In 2016, Laos launched a unique national Sustainable Devel- damage of the war and support the victims in Cambodia and opment Goal: SDG 18 “Lives safe from UXO.” The project Laos. pursues a programmatic support and oversight of the national efforts to identify UXO contamination, clear the land, and re- Remnants of the war spond to civilian discoveries. The initiatives of the last decade have reduced the annual UXO casualties by almost 85%; how- Although the war has been offcially over for more than 40 ever, from the end of the war to the present, less than 1% of the years, its repercussions continue to affect Laos’ political, UXO has been destroyed (Legacies of War 2011). Undoubtedly, economic, and social development. This is particularly relevant that means that people will continue to suffer due to this cause in the context of the long-lasting consequences of the bombing for many years to come. missions of the United States. For that reason, it is crucial to assess the developmental effects of UXO and Agent Orange, Agent Orange as well as their direct implications on the well-being of past, present, and future victims.