On April 22, 2010 the Sub-Committee on Asia, Pacific and the Global Environment of the House Foreign Affairs Committee chaired by Representative Eni F.
H. Faleomavaega conducted Congressional Hearings on “The Legacy of War; Unexploded Ordnances in Laos”. Dr. Robert Keeley, the Country Director of the Humpty Dumpty Institute program in Laos testified before the
committee along with Scott Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and representatives from the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) and the Legacy of War. The Hearing marked one of the first and only instances that an in-depth review of the status of UXOs in Laos has been brought up in the form of Congressional Hearings.
Dr. Keeley and the other witnesses reiterated that Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history, that nearly half of that country is still contaminated with UXOs and that over 25,000 people have been killed or injured in Laos since the Vietnam era. The hearings originated from a trip to Laos by Representative Faleomavaega from Samoa, Representative Mike Honda from California and HDI’s Congressional Advisory Board Member, Representative Joseph Cao from Louisiana. During this brief visit to Laos, the group of Congressmen became even more concerned about the state of UXO clearance in Laos. Please click here to
get a full copy of the testimony and a recent article by Congressman Honda on the UXO situation in Laos.
I am proud that HDI was invited to participate in this hearing. It serves to remind us that our international work is very important and that we continue to play an important role in the conduct of U.S. Foreign Policy.
HDI is grateful to be singled out by Representative Faleomavaega and Representative Honda for our work in Laos.
Ralph Cwerman
President, HDI
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