Lao People’s Democratic Republic

In 2024, two teams from The HALO Trust continued mine clearance in Savannakhet province. However, the government’s priority continues to be on addressing cluster munition remnants (CMR) and the only other mines found and destroyed by humanitarian operators in 2024 were during explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) spot tasks or occasionally during CMR survey or clearance. In 2024, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop its capacity for quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) of mine clearance, and by June 2025 the NRA reported it could accredit and oversee such operations.

• The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) should accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) as a matter of priority.

• Lao PDR should clear anti-personnel (AP) mines in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, consonant with its obligations under international human rights law.

• Lao PDR should commission or undertake and publish a detailed assessment of mined areas.

• The NRA should ensure that its Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database can easily disaggregate AP mines from anti-vehicle (AV) mines and that a mechanism exists whereby humanitarian clearance operators can report mined area in IMSMA.

• In light of clearance operators continuing to discover AP mines during CMR survey and clearance, the NRA should consider convening a sector-wide meeting to discuss national standards, accreditation, and procedures for addressing mine contamination.

Click here to download the "Clearing the Mines 2025" report for Lao PDR.