Laos urges stronger action on cluster munitions

FILE PHOTO: The 200 bombs found in a school in Phonsavanh town are destroyed during a demolition exercise for visiting delegates attending the UNDP South-East Asia Regional Conference on Cluster Munitions held in Xieng Khouang, Laos in September, 2011.

GENEVA: The government has called for enhanced global cooperation to tackle the issue of unexploded bombs and protect rural communities, as Laos marks 15 years as a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The call was made by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anouparb Vongnorkeo when leading a Lao delegation attending the 13th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Geneva, which is taking place from September 16-19, the Lao Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva reported.