Mine Action Donors’ Roundtable

Hanoi, Vietnam
December 5, 2011

Ladies and gentlemen:

I am honored to join you today for the Mine Action Donor Roundtable Meeting organized by the Executive Office of the National Steering Committee on Mine Action.

The United States has provided substantial support to mine action activities here in Vietnam since 1989.  Many Americans, from our elected representatives and government officials, to private citizens working through non-governmental organizations, recognize the special importance of U.S. assistance in resolving this legacy of the painful history shared by our two countries.  In particular, I would like to recognize the work of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, and VVAF’s country director, Thao Griffiths, in supporting today’s event.  Her efforts and the work of countless others play an important role in addressing the challenges related to UXO removal in Vietnam.

Our efforts to help Vietnam deal with this difficult problem of the past – even prior to the establishment of diplomatic relations – have helped build the mutual trust and understanding between the United States and Vietnam that has allowed our bilateral relationship to flourish across the board.  U.S. support addresses real, ongoing challenges – continued clearance, returning land to productive uses, reducing the risks of accidents through education, and assisting victims of accidents – and supports Vietnam’s development of sustainable national mine action capabilities.  U.S. assistance to mine action in Vietnam has totaled over $62 million dollars to date, spent on provision of equipment, grants made to non-governmental organizations, and capacity-building for national institutions.

This support takes many forms – from the clearance of six hectares for an expansion of Mai Linh Vocational College to accommodate an additional 800 students and 80 teachers in Quang Tri province by Project RENEW in January of this year with a U.S. Department of State grant – to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Demining Research and Development program, which distributed new demining technology to Mines Advisory Group in Quang Binh.  MAG estimates that this year alone, this equipment has already saved over 1,850 hours of manual labor needed to access potentially UXO-contaminated areas.  

The goal of U.S. support for mine action in Vietnam is clear – to enable a brighter future for Vietnam and its people.  We are determined to maintain our strong commitment to UXO and mine action assistance and look forward to continued cooperation with Vietnam’s government and the NGO community.

The scale of UXO contamination in Vietnam remains significant in the size of the affected area and most importantly, in its impact on the lives of affected residents, both as victims and in reduced economic opportunities.  This is why it is so important that Vietnam, with international support, develop an effective, sustainable national capacity to deal with UXO contamination.  

We should keep in mind that our ultimate goal is to help Vietnam achieve an environment for socio-economic development that is as “impact-free” from explosive remnants of war as possible.  This goal is achievable if we coordinate our mine action efforts and prioritize the health and well-being and socio-economic opportunities of people living in UXO-contaminated areas.

This past year has seen important accomplishments in building a comprehensive national mine action program.  I congratulate the members of the newly-established National Steering Committee on Mine Action for taking initial steps towards implementation of the National Mine Action Plan for 2010 to 2015.  Establishment of the Steering Committee and support for institutional infrastructure shows the high priority the government of Vietnam places on this issue.  Strong, effective, and engaged national coordination is necessary to mobilize the full capabilities of Vietnam and its international partners to face the challenge of contamination by explosive remnants of war.

This year also marked the successful creation of a national mine action data center under the Vietnam Bomb Mine Action Center (VBMAC), with financial support from the U.S. and Norway.  This data center provides a platform for the collection and analysis of operational data from mine action organizations to enable better coordination.  I want to emphasize that transparent, public reporting on mine action activities, whether by government agencies or NGOs, civilian or military operators, benefits everyone by sharing relevant experiences and expertise, and providing better information for planning and prioritization.  In that regard, I encourage all operators to provide standardized inputs, including geocoordinates, to the new VBMAC data center to ensure the accuracy of the integrated information and resulting reports and maps.  I am particularly encouraged by new efforts to develop more effective and efficient methodologies to measure and remove contamination in Vietnam, including the planned VVAF-BOMICEN land release pilot project in Thanh Hoa.  I hope that all mine action organizations share their individual successes and remain open to incorporating lessons learned by others into their operations.

As we look forward to the potential participation by more mine action partners in Vietnam, the importance of the National Mine Action Technical Standards currently being drafted becomes clear.  These standards will impact the operations of all current and future mine clearance operators in Vietnam.  I urge the drafters to consult with all potentially-affected organizations and consider relevant international standards in the drafting process in order to better integrate Vietnam’s efforts into the global mine action community.  

This is an opportunity to ensure that all mine action activities in Vietnam are efficient, adhere to internationally recognized standards, and contribute to an environment for socio-economic development unimpeded by explosive remnants of war.  Building Vietnam’s demining capabilities based on international standards could have future benefits should Vietnam’s demining teams join a UN-sponsored peacekeeping operation.

The recent progress made in establishing a national strategy and framework for mine action is heartening.  I hope it will make Vietnam’s own mine action efforts more successful and provide clarity and confidence for increased international cooperation.  While explosive remnants of war remain a complex and challenging problem in Vietnam, I am optimistic that we can mitigate the negative effects of UXO contamination in the not-so-distant future.  The United States looks forward to continuing to work with the Vietnamese government, NGOs, and other international partners to tackle this issue.