At a meeting in Hanoi on April 27, Vice President of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation Trinh Ngoc Thai affirmed that as a victim of chemical weapons, Vietnam is aware of bad effects of destructive weapons. Vietnam is one of the first countries to sign the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapon and on their Destruction, and became a member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 1998, Mr Thai said.

He called on people worldwide to spare no efforts to prevent chemical weapons, assist Vietnamese AO victims and support their lawsuit against US chemical firms by responding to the Vietnam’s Day for Agent Orange victims (August 10).

During the 1961-1971 period, about 80 million litres of toxic chemicals were sprayed over central and southern Vietnam by US army. The chemicals have gravely damaged the living environment and the health of millions of Vietnamese.