{
  "id": "R45749",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45749",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 599429,
      "date": "2019-06-03",
      "retrieved": "2019-12-20T18:58:23.732881",
      "title": "War Legacy Issues in Southeast Asia: Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)",
      "summary": "More than 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, unexploded ordnance (UXO) from numerous conflicts, but primarily dropped by U.S. forces over Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam during the Vietnam War, continues to cause casualties in those countries. Over the past 25 years, the United States has provided a total of over $400 million in assistance for UXO clearance and related activities in those three countries through the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (DOS), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as funding for treatment of victims through USAID and the Leahy War Victims fund. Although casualty numbers have dropped in recent years, no systematic assessment of affected areas has been done, and many observers believe it may still take decades to clear the affected areas.\nWar legacy issues such as UXO clearance and victim assistance may raise important considerations for Congress as it addresses the impact of U.S. participation in conflicts around the world and how the United States should deal with the aftermath of such conflicts. The continued presence of UXO in Southeast Asia raises numerous issues, including appropriate levels of U.S. assistance for clearance activities and victim relief; coordination in efforts among DOD, DOS, and USAID; the implications of U.S. action on relations with affected countries; whether U.S. assistance in Southeast Asia carries lessons for similar activity in other parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan; and, more generally, efforts to lessen the prevalence of UXO in future conflicts. \nMany observers argue that U.S. efforts to address UXO issues in the region, along with joint efforts regarding other war legacy issues such as POW/MIA identification and Agent Orange/dioxin remediation, have been important steps in building relations with the affected countries in the post-war period. These efforts that have proceeded furthest in Vietnam, where the bilateral relationship has expanded across a wide range of economic and security initiatives. In Cambodia and Laos, where bilateral relations are less developed, UXO clearance is one of the few issues on which working-level officials from the United States and the affected countries have cooperated for years. Although some Cambodians and Laotians view U.S. demining assistance as a moral obligation and the U.S. government has viewed its support for UXO clearance as an important, positive aspect of its ties with the two countries, the issue of UXO has not been a major factor driving the relationships. \nThe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) provides $196.5 million for \u201cconventional weapons destruction\u201d around the world, including $159.0 million for \u201chumanitarian demining,\u201d with $3.85 million appropriated for Cambodia, $30.0 million for Laos, and $15.0 million for Vietnam.\nThe Legacies of War Recognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act (H.R. 2097) would authorize $50 million per year for fiscal years 2020 to 2024 for humanitarian assistance in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to develop national UXO surveys, conduct UXO clearance, and finance capacity building, risk education, and support for UXO victims.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4931,
          "name": "South & Southeast Asia"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Asian Affairs",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}