Publication

This study was commissioned by UNICEF in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in response to an increase in 2004 in the number of reported unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties and an increase in children as a proportion of these casualties. It was suspected that such changes may be linked to an expansion of the scrap metal trade, an expansion attributed in turn to the availability of cheap metal detectors, a growth in the market for scrap metal and improved road transport facilitating trade. The study conducts a basic analysis of the components of the scrap metal trade, the relationship between the scrap metal trade and UXO accidents, and the different forms of response that work to mitigate such accidents.