Laos launches SDG 18 to make lives safe from UXO
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon September 8 inaugurated the Lao PDR’s own national Sustainable Development Goal on unexploded ordnance during the ongoing ASEAN Summits. The SDGs have been drawn up by the United Nations as targets for developing countries. Goal No. 18, which relates specifically to Laos, is Lives safe from UXO; remove the UXO obstacle to national development. The logo shows, on a red background, a disabled person walking away from cluster munitions on a crutch, towards an empowered, self-reliant future. At the SDG 18 launch on September 8, which was attended by high-ranking Lao officials and the UN Resident Coordinator, representatives of UN agencies and donor representatives, a renewed commitment was expressed for a future safe from UXO in the Lao PDR, and for dignified lives for all UXO survivors, many of whom have life-long needs.
