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Saysomphone Phomvihane
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Malaythong Kommasith
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Viengthong Siphandone
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The situation of human rights in Laos has often been, and remains, a recognized cause for serious concern. Laos is one of a handful of Marxist-Leninist governments and is ruled by a one-party communist government backed by the Lao People's Army in alliance with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Amnesty International, The Centre for Public Policy Analysis, the United League for Democracy in Laos, Human Rights Watch, the Lao Human Rights Council and other non-governmental organizations (NGO)s have raised repeated serious concerns about the ratification record of the Laos Government on human rights standards and its lack of cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms and legislative measures which impact negatively on human rights. They have also raised concerns in relation to disappeared civic activist Sombath Somphone, and jailed and tortured political and religious dissidents, military attacks on unarmed civilians, as well as the lack of freedom of expression, torture, poor prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of religions, protection of refugees and asylum-seekers, extrajudicial killing and rape by the Lao People's Army and security forces and the improper use of the death penalty.[1] Some officials and police have facilitated and profited from sex trafficking in Laos.[2][3]
The purported policy objectives of both the Lao communist government and international donors remain focused toward achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction,[4] but restrictions on freedom of expression and association are a source of concern.[5] The barring of independent human rights monitors makes an exact appraisal of the situation impossible. In particular, the situation for groups of ethnic Hmong hiding in the jungle remains grave and leads to a steady stream of people taking refuge in neighboring Thailand. The death penalty remains in force, although no executions have been reported since 1989.[6]
The U.S. State Department reports on human rights around the world declare that most Lao trials in 2003[needs update] were little more than pro forma examinations of the accused, with a verdict having already been reached. The State Department indicated that in some instances police administratively overruled court decisions, at times detaining a defendant exonerated by the court, in violation of the law. Moreover, while Lao law prohibits torture, members of the security forces reportedly subjected prisoners to torture and other abuses. A significant issue in human rights in Laos is the presence of anti-government rebels, mainly of the Hmong ethnic minority, who have reportedly been harshly treated by the Lao government. In its 2006 report[needs update] the State Department mentions that "The government's overall human rights record worsened during the year." For more details see the report (link given below under "see also").
^Amnesty International (May 2010). "Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: Eighth session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council". Archived from the original on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
^"Sex Trafficking Victims Go Unnoticed in Laos". The Diplomat. March 26, 2014. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^"Chinese marriage proposals become prostitution nightmares for some Lao girls". Radio Free Asia. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^"World Bank: Lao PDR". Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
^"Amnesty International Report 2007 • Laos". June 12, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12.
^"Document - Amnesty International". Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
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