On January 25th, 2025, the U.S. State Department paused all programs funded by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA) for an 85-day review, citing alignment with the President’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning U.S. Foreign Aid. This suspension is disrupting vital demining and community development efforts worldwide, jeopardizing human lives, halting progress on clearing explosive remnants of war, and undermining trust and collaboration with local communities.
For PeaceTrees, this suspension means that all our unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance programs in Quảng Trị and Quảng Bình are on hold for at least the next 85 days. The impact of this sudden halt to mine clearance program is devasting to our work:
- 300 highly trained explosive ordnance (EOD) technicians will be unable to return to the field to conduct their work during this period because their payroll and equipment are funded by the WRA Office.
- Nearly 1,500 pieces of UXO will remain in the ground, posing risks to communities throughout Central Vietnam: a child playing soccer, a farmer planting new seedlings, or a contractor laying foundations.
- Our teams will be unable to respond to requests to clear suspected UXO by individuals and communities – this ‘spot-tasking’ is an essential part of our mine clearance programs and means any discovered UXO will sit until programs resume.
- Explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) programs will be on pause until work is resumed. This means no awareness or education programs in kindergartens, primary schools, or community centers.
PeaceTrees has worked tirelessly over the years to build a healthy reserve to help us through uncertain times. However, the magnitude of this suspension is unlike anything we imagined. Funds that we can raise now to meet this moment will help protect PeaceTrees’ financial health and support us in navigating what a changing funding landscape.
What You Can Do
We’re raising $750,000 over the next 85 days, which will cover payroll for all our dedicated EOD technicians in Vietnam. These funds will ensure our staff can meet their basic needs until they can return to the field. PeaceTrees EOD and support teams have devoted their lives to making Vietnam safer—let’s stand with them now when they need us most.
A gift of $2,500 will support a deminer for the duration of the pause.
Apart from contributing to our work, you can also use our Advocacy Toolkit to contact your elected officials, share our official press release within your networks, and join us for a community call on Thursday, January 30th at 4:30 PM.
Please also know that this situation is changing by the hour. We'll do our best to keep you updated as we receive more information.
