Soldiers carrying out mine clearance in Hoa Phuoc and Hoa Nhon Communes, Hoa Vang District, the central Da Nang City. (Photo: VNA) Following is full text of an article written by Han-Deog Cho, KOICA CountryDirector in Vietnam, and Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam,on the occasion of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in MineAction (April 4), with the theme for 2022 “Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home”.
In the bustling streets of the modern cities of Vietnam,it can seem like the war is so distant, it does not even register as a memory.
Now that the COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, the coffee shops ringagain with laughter, the streets buzz with cars and motorbikes. It is anothercountry from 50 years ago.
But if you travel a few hundred kilometers down the road, to many centralprovinces, time has not moved as quickly.
The war is long gone but it continues to take a toll and the scars can be seenon some of the narrow streets of the villages here. Landmines and unexplodedordnance continue to impact the lives and livelihoods of the community, adevastating reality for people living in rural Vietnam. Moreover, it is holdingup further development in large rural areas in provinces.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh exchanged with representatives of international organisations on overcoming the consequences of landmines left after the war in Vietnam on February 17. (Photo: VNA) This means bringing an end to losing lives and limbs to this deadly legacy ofwar and to release land previously contaminated by explosive ordnance is safelyfor development and productive use of local communities.
It is our shared ambition that we continue to focus on the last mile and turnour energies to eliminating the impact of unexploded ordnance and landmines,and putting a complete stop to civilian casualties, by 2030.
In order to address explosive ordnance contamination in the country, a nationalaction plan, known as Programme 504, has been underway since 2010. At themid-term review event of the Program on February 17, 2022, Prime Minister PhamMinh Chinh praised the success of the initiative and presented a six- pointplan for the final phase of the programme, for the period 2021-2025.
KOICA and UNDP are committed to support the Government in realising this goal.The tripartite partnership has successfully completed phase 1 of the Republicof Korea-Vietnam Mine Action Program (KVMAP) with key results including:surveyed and cleared 17,000ha of land, paving the way for building sustainablelivelihoods for people in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh provinces; helped improveresilience of 450,000 people through risk education; and provided support for1,000 UXO victims.
Our special partnership has shown three lessons learnt that could help Vietnamfurther implement Programme 504. Firstly, information management is key to effective survey andclearance; (ii) Digitalisation of registration is crucial for timely meetingthe needs of victims; and (iii) It is the youth who were born after the warsbut can have many creative ways to convey mine risk messages, to protectthemselves, their families, and other children.
It is also important to highlight that Vietnam’s mine action programme isundergoing significant policy development, following the Decree No 18 andCircular No 195. Indeed, the adoption of these has provided a clear mandate,roles and responsibilities and established legal basis for revision of thenational regulations and standards.
Soldiers from Hanoi Capital High Command successfully salvaged a 1.6m-long bomb from the Red River, near Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi on June 22, 2020. (Photo: VNA) In March 2022, KOICA and UNDP signed a further extension of this initiativeproviding 25 million USD over a five-year period to 2026 to continue supportingthe Government of Vietnam in its efforts to strive towards zero casualties fromexplosive ordnance and to promote socio-economic development in ruralcommunities in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh. KOICA and UNDP lookforward to working with VNMAC and the three provinces in achieving theseimportant and ambitious goals of the project: Survey and clearance of 15,000ha in three provinces; based on data ofthe victims registration system developed in the first phase, more specialisedhealth services will be provided to the UXO victims in the second phase;education of risks caused not only by UXO but other climate disasters/issueswill be provided comprehensively to the people in the targeted areas; in addition, 10,500 farmers in the targetareas will be supported to apply smart-climate and resilient agriculture asresilience livelihood, 400 flood and storm resilient houses, and 50 communehealth stations will be built or upgraded for the people in the second phase.
These results will help ensure the people and the communities in the threeprovinces become more protected and resilient while facing multiple risks ofUXO, climate and health in their lives nowadays.
Today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Actionand the theme for 2022 is “Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home”. At the opening sessioncelebrating this day in the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 4,2022, the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations will speak,followed by a video about mine action in Vietnam, highlighting significantprogress made towards our ambitious goal of zero casualties due to unexplodedordnance by 2025.
The year of 2022 also marks 30 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnamand the Republic of Korea, through its development arm, and 45 years since theaccession of Vietnam to the United Nations. At this historic moment, we arepleased that the tripartite partnership of Government of Vietnam, KOICA andUNDP is making significant contributions to build safer, greener, moreprosperous, and resilient villages across the country.
Our goal is not just to clear land of explosive ordnance from the war but alsoto ensure that cleared land is integrated with efforts supporting ruraldevelopment plans and thereby promoting peaceful and sustainable communitiesthat are both safe for inhabitants and that thrive./.
VNA
