Red Cross to open Lao project office

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will open a project office in Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday, according to an ICRC press briefing on Wednesday. The ICRC aims to support the unexploded ordnance (UXO) sector, specifically UXO Lao as well as assisting the victims of UXO. Another aim of the organization will be to work together with the Lao authorities to improve the conditions of detentions. "The ICRC is not new to Lao PDR," said ICRC Head of Project Office, Patrick Vilayleck, "We already established a Delegation in the country from 1960 until the end of the hostilities. In these difficult times, the ICRC could fully discharge its mandate as an impartial and neutral humanitarian agency. Our teams provided assistance to the most vulnerable victims of the conflict, in partnership with the Lao Red Cross." In 2004, the ICRC set up projects to improve access to clean water and hygiene for some of the poorest northern communities in Laos. In 2012, ICRC established a permanent presence in Vientiane, approved as a project office by the Lao Government in 2013.