The Lao PDR (2012) Statement of Lao PDR to Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Oslo, 12 September 2012; and Mine Ban Treaty Voluntary Article 7 Report, Form J.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Historical Lesson: Environmental and Human Impacts of Cluster Bomb Use by the United States during the Second Indochina War

  AUTHORS: Kenneth R. Olson

  KEYWORDS: Cluster Munitions, Ordnance, Bombs, Laos, Cluster Bomblets, US Air Force, Air America, UXO

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Soil Science, Vol.15 No.1, January 2, 2025

  ABSTRACT: The legacy of United States cluster munition use in Laos and Cambodia during the Second Indochina War is residual bomblets that unexpectedly detonate years later, killing and injuring children, farmers, and other civilians. Cluster munitions release dozens of smaller bomblets that rain deadly ammunition on troops, armored tanks, and vegetation, effectively striking broad sections of war zone landscapes in one launch. While many bomblets detonate immediately, others fail to detonate and can lie dormant on the ground for years. The primary objectives of this study were to document the long-term consequences and impacts of the US Air Force bombing of Laos and Cambodia during the Second Indochina War (1959 to 1973). The historical lessons learned by United States should be shared with Russia and Ukraine governments and military. These countries need to discontinue the use of cluster bombs to prevent additional people living along the Russia-Ukraine border from having to live and die with the consequences of unexploded ordnance, including cluster bombs, for the next century.