The Lao government has always attached great importance to protecting and promoting human rights and basic rights of its population, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry issued the statement to mark the International Human Right Day, which is observed on December 10.
The political, economic, social, cultural and family rights of the people have been assured and enshrined in the constitution, laws and regulations of Laos, which coincide with Laos’ regional and international obligations and commitments on human rights.
Under the 2015-version of the constitution, in Article 34, the state recognises, respects, protects and assures human rights and basic rights of the population.
Laos has been a state party to the United Nations (UN) seven core treaties on human rights including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
In addition, a number of laws and regulations have been promulgated to protect and promote human rights of the Lao multiethnic people equally without discrimination, the ministry said.
Currently, Laos is drawing up a national action plan to implement 116 recommendations made at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States.
The Lao government has formed a national coordinated mechanism to coordinate among the state bodies from the central to the local levels on human rights affairs in order to ensure effective oversight and progression.
The Lao government has attached great importance to educating and disseminating the international conventions on human rights in order to create better understanding on human rights amongst the people. Attention has also been paid to capacity building for state officials including law enforcers so they are capable of implementing and fulfilling the regional and international obligations Laos has committed to, the ministry said.
In regional engagement, Laos has been an active player to cooperate on human rights within the frameworks of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) among others.
In the coming years, the Lao government has committed to continuing to work with the international community to promote and protect human rights based on the principle of equality, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and shared interests, the ministry said.
The government is also striving to make Laos a state ruled by law by 2020 to create conditions for the Lao multiethnic people to enjoy their basic rights in line with the constitution and laws along with pursuing regional and international obligations on human rights that Laos has committed to.
Source: Vientiane Times
