Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh (L) and head of the Vietnamese mission to the UN Dang Dinh Quy at the workshop (Photo: VNA) New York (VNA) – Vietnam wants the international community to joinefforts in dealing with war consequences, helping the country developsustainably and participate in UN peacekeeping operations more actively.
This was the message the country conveyed at an international workshop held bythe Office of the Standing Agency ofthe National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war UnexplodedOrdnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Office 701) and the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York on March 25 (local time).
In his remarks, Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen ChiVinh thanked international friends, especially the UNDP, for helping Vietnamovercome war consequences over the years.
Vietnam is a symbol for efforts to move on from war to step into a newdevelopment period, and a symbol of international cooperation, including countrieswhich made war in Vietnam, he said.
Vinh attributed the results to the Vietnamese Government’s endeavours to makeVietnam recognised as a country of peace and safety.
However, the officer said, there remain difficulties ahead, and further supportfrom the international community is crucial.
Asako Okai, Assistant Secretary General of the UN, UNDP Deputy Director Generaland Director of the UNDP Crisis Bureau, acknowledged the challenges facingVietnam in settling war consequences and maintaining sustainable development.
These challenges may lie in climate change or global financial uncertaintiesthat affect financial resources for war consequence settlement, she said.
Given this, the UNDP plans to support Vietnam, especially through existingprojects coordinated by the UNDP and funded by the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency (KOICA), aiming to cope with climate change and clear bombsand mines, she said.
The UNDP has also deployed projects that support Vietnamese bomb and minevictims, she added.
Caitlin Wiesen, a representative of UNDP Vietnam, spoke of cooperation betweenVietnam and the US in war consequence settlement over the years.
Other international delegates lauded Vietnam’s efforts in handling waraftermaths and participating in UN peacekeeping, as well as effectivecollaboration between Vietnam and the UNDP, foreign countries and internationalorganisations in this regard.
They said they were impressed by development in Vietnam, which has emerged fromone of the world’s poorest countries to become a middle income earner in only25 years and complete most of UN Millennium Development Goals at the nationallevel before the 2015 deadline.
Results in war consequence settlement in Vietnam have significantly contributedto the fulfillment of these goals, they said.
They also committed to continuing their assistance to Vietnam to ease plight causedby the war, thus contributing to peace and sustainable development in theworld.
In an interview with Vietnam News Agency, Vinh said Vietnam is willing to shareits experience and support with the international community in dealing with waraftermaths.
Vietnam has sent military health workers and officers, and will dispatchsappers to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, he said.
War consequence settlement will be combined with issues regarding the environment,development and science so that each related project would benefit nationaldevelopment as well as international relations, he said.
According to Office 701, although the war in Vietnam ended 44 years ago, itsconsequences have remained severe as a large amount of toxic chemicals usedduring the war are still affecting human health and the environment.
The work, therefore, has met various difficulties, especially with limited funds.
In 2019, the office will continue to implement projects on dioxin remediationat Bien Hoa airport, and expects to treat 35 percent of the contaminated landand review all people who participated in the war and their children exposed tothe chemicals by 2020.
Statistics released by the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxinshow that there are still more than 3 million Vietnamese people affected by AO/dioxin.
During 1961-1971, some 80 million litres of herbicides were sprayed onto 2.63million hectares of land in Southern Vietnam, 60 percent of which wereAO/dioxin, the Ministry of National Defence said.
It is estimated more than 2ha million of forest and some 20,000 villages wereaffected, with about 2.1-4.8 million people exposed to the deadly chemicals.
As of 2018, about 320,000 people fighting in the war and their children whowere exposed to the chemicals had benefitted from social policies.
Between 1964-1975, Vietnam suffered from more than 16 million tonnes of bombsand mines, four times more than those used during all of World War I.
All 63 cities and provinces in the country are contaminated with unexplodedordinance, with total poisoned area amounting to some 6.1 million ha or 18.71percent of national area.
The international seminar saw the attendance of Vietnamese Ambassador Dang DinhQuy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the UN; representatives from relevantVietnamese ministries and agencies; and delegates from the US, Japan,Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the UK, France, Canada, someASEAN countries, along with those from the EU, the UN and international organisations.-VNA
This was the message the country conveyed at an international workshop held bythe Office of the Standing Agency ofthe National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war UnexplodedOrdnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Office 701) and the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York on March 25 (local time).
In his remarks, Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen ChiVinh thanked international friends, especially the UNDP, for helping Vietnamovercome war consequences over the years.
Vietnam is a symbol for efforts to move on from war to step into a newdevelopment period, and a symbol of international cooperation, including countrieswhich made war in Vietnam, he said.
Vinh attributed the results to the Vietnamese Government’s endeavours to makeVietnam recognised as a country of peace and safety.
However, the officer said, there remain difficulties ahead, and further supportfrom the international community is crucial.
Asako Okai, Assistant Secretary General of the UN, UNDP Deputy Director Generaland Director of the UNDP Crisis Bureau, acknowledged the challenges facingVietnam in settling war consequences and maintaining sustainable development.
These challenges may lie in climate change or global financial uncertaintiesthat affect financial resources for war consequence settlement, she said.
Given this, the UNDP plans to support Vietnam, especially through existingprojects coordinated by the UNDP and funded by the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency (KOICA), aiming to cope with climate change and clear bombsand mines, she said.
The UNDP has also deployed projects that support Vietnamese bomb and minevictims, she added.
Caitlin Wiesen, a representative of UNDP Vietnam, spoke of cooperation betweenVietnam and the US in war consequence settlement over the years.
Other international delegates lauded Vietnam’s efforts in handling waraftermaths and participating in UN peacekeeping, as well as effectivecollaboration between Vietnam and the UNDP, foreign countries and internationalorganisations in this regard.
They said they were impressed by development in Vietnam, which has emerged fromone of the world’s poorest countries to become a middle income earner in only25 years and complete most of UN Millennium Development Goals at the nationallevel before the 2015 deadline.
Results in war consequence settlement in Vietnam have significantly contributedto the fulfillment of these goals, they said.
They also committed to continuing their assistance to Vietnam to ease plight causedby the war, thus contributing to peace and sustainable development in theworld.
In an interview with Vietnam News Agency, Vinh said Vietnam is willing to shareits experience and support with the international community in dealing with waraftermaths.
Vietnam has sent military health workers and officers, and will dispatchsappers to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, he said.
War consequence settlement will be combined with issues regarding the environment,development and science so that each related project would benefit nationaldevelopment as well as international relations, he said.
According to Office 701, although the war in Vietnam ended 44 years ago, itsconsequences have remained severe as a large amount of toxic chemicals usedduring the war are still affecting human health and the environment.
The work, therefore, has met various difficulties, especially with limited funds.
In 2019, the office will continue to implement projects on dioxin remediationat Bien Hoa airport, and expects to treat 35 percent of the contaminated landand review all people who participated in the war and their children exposed tothe chemicals by 2020.
Statistics released by the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxinshow that there are still more than 3 million Vietnamese people affected by AO/dioxin.
During 1961-1971, some 80 million litres of herbicides were sprayed onto 2.63million hectares of land in Southern Vietnam, 60 percent of which wereAO/dioxin, the Ministry of National Defence said.
It is estimated more than 2ha million of forest and some 20,000 villages wereaffected, with about 2.1-4.8 million people exposed to the deadly chemicals.
As of 2018, about 320,000 people fighting in the war and their children whowere exposed to the chemicals had benefitted from social policies.
Between 1964-1975, Vietnam suffered from more than 16 million tonnes of bombsand mines, four times more than those used during all of World War I.
All 63 cities and provinces in the country are contaminated with unexplodedordinance, with total poisoned area amounting to some 6.1 million ha or 18.71percent of national area.
The international seminar saw the attendance of Vietnamese Ambassador Dang DinhQuy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the UN; representatives from relevantVietnamese ministries and agencies; and delegates from the US, Japan,Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the UK, France, Canada, someASEAN countries, along with those from the EU, the UN and international organisations.-VNA
VNA
