First Lao-American and Millennial To Sit As Chair Of The US Campaign To Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition

Legacies of War (LoW) CEO Sera Koulabdara is the new Chair of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition (USCBL-CMC). She will be the first millennial, BIPOC, and afflicted nation native to assume the job.

LoW is the only worldwide U.S. advocacy and educational organisation that addresses the repercussions of the American Secret War in Laos and its battles in Cambodia and Vietnam during the Vietnam War, including UXO disposal and victim/survivor support.

Héctor Guerra, Director of International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), has welcomed LoW, acknowledging their work as a great example of global collaborative efforts in supporting communities affected by landmines and cluster munitions.

According to Mary Wareham, Arms Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, there could not be a better placed organization to coordinate the USCBL-CMC than LoW, as it is committed to ensuring that the US joins and adheres to the international treaties prohibiting antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions.

CEO of Roots of Peace, Heidi Kuhn, also recognized how fortunate USCBL-CMC is to have Sera as Chair, with her unique qualifications as a leader in mine action, and her family heritage in Laos as the basis of her passion. She claimed that Sera brings a renewed spirit of home to the UXO campaign.

Sera shared in her bio in LoW’s website, that she hopes to make a positive difference in the lives of the people in her father’s beloved homeland, Laos, and to create hope for future generations.