Balasubramaniam Murali

Board of Directors​​

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"I had the wonderful opportunity to serve in Lao PDR between 2016 & 2022. I served as the Deputy Representative / Deputy Head of Office for United Nations Development Programme -UNDP / UN. UXO clearance was / is the single largest programme for UNDP in Lao PDR. That enabled me to learn about this horror and how it impacts the lives of ordinary Lao people so much. UNDP was instrumental – in partnership with the Government of Lao PDR in the creation of UXO – Lao & National Regulatory Authority (NRA) . Overseeing this portfolio of US$ 10 + million it gave me an immense opportunity to learn about UXOs and the terrible impact it has on literally all aspects of life in Laos.

I always advocate that unless Laos is able to make significant progress in UXO clearance none of its development goals can be achieved. Literally you cannot build a road, a rail line, an airport, a school, a hospital or cultivate the land without encountering UXOs and hence their clearance is NOT an option BUT a necessity for survival. I have directly visited and seen UXOs impact on every province in Laos PDR. I have met hundreds of families directly impacted by UXOs. When you hear the victim say –‘ I wish I had died instead of surviving’  - it has left a lasting impact on me. Similarly when I visited schools in rural districts to find a tall fence around the school with signs that children cannot go outside in the field to play as they are not cleared of UXOs it does choke you up brining a tear to your eye!!"