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Schools Build Network to Promote Children’s Right to Education

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A network was founded this year to strengthen primary schools’ capacity to protect and promote children’s right to education.

Teachers from 13 primary schools met yesterday to discuss the creation of the protective network in Vientiane.

During the meeting, participants reported on their experiences of protecting and promoting children’s rights in their local communities.

The focus of the talks included the issues that many children face in accessing this right. As children are often among the most vulnerable to the forces of society, it is especially important for educators to take responsibility for safeguarding young students’ rights.

Economic and social antagonisms often result in children not realising their right to an education. Many instances of children being forced to work to support poor families or succumbing to drug abuse were raised at the meeting as common examples of the infringement of children’s right to education.

Participants exchanged information, experiences and best practices on the current application of rights-focused activities in Vientiane through after school activities in the 13 target primary schools.

The schools included in the initial founding of the network are in Dongsavath, Nahay, Udomphon, Nongbuathongtai, Danxang, Nongneua, Chommanytai, Xangleua, Sinak, Ilay, Piavath, Nakha and Khosivilay villages.

Deputy Head of the Vientiane Education and Sports Office, Mr. Southany Xayasane, spoke at the meeting about the importance of this network.

I think it’s essential that we as educators forge a network aimed at increasing our understanding of how to protect the right of each child to an education. This initiative must include members of the local community if it is to be successful, he said.

He added that the network’s goal is to escalate the role of each teacher in providing information to the parents of children because indicators have demonstrated the vital role parents play in ensuring their children attend classes and extracurricular activities.

There is a common misconception that these issues only exist in rural areas and that by focusing on improving policy in urban areas, the government can take these lessons and apply them on a country wide level, Mr. Southany said.

Poor and marginalised children in Vientiane face a multitude of problems from a lack of education. While the network’s primary goal is to focus on policies that are oriented towards children already enrolled in school, they hope to expand in the future to help drop-outs re-enter the education system.

Head of the Dongsavath Children and Youth Development Association, Mr. Phonexay Inthaleuxay, said the network will expand to include more members at the local community level, including civil society organisations and other key actors.

The network will continue to provide practical training to its members to strengthen the capacity of educators on children’s rights.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Oversight of Banana Farms Weak: National Assembly

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While the expansion of banana farms from the north to other parts of the country continues, their management by the state is lax.

National Assembly (NA) members at the ongoing debate session shared this view with the NA’s Standing Committee regarding the impact of banana farms on the environment and local populations due to the use of hazardous chemicals.

The northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Phongsaly mainly grow bananas for export to China, with most investors in these operations being Chinese.

NA member for Attapeu province, Mr. Maniso Xamounty, suggested there were now hundreds of hectares of bananas growing in Vientiane province and the capital.

In Oudomxay province, where he was assigned to work by the NA recently, he noted that many people had been taken advantage of by sweet smelling’ banana plantation investors, he said.

Investors sometimes did not pay land concession fees to owners on time and labourers were also employed under poor conditions.

Furthermore, investors didn’t always pay taxes to the government because they contracted directly with local people without permits from the relevant authorities.

There are 23 companies growing bananas in Oudomxay, but three have been suspended.

Of the remaining 20, 10 companies have registered their investment in line with the regulations while the other 10 companies have not registered even though they are already operational. The authorities have yet to advise them on the regulations and ensure they carry out their business legally.

Mr. Maniso told the Standing Committee he hoped the government would enforce the regulations as these were clearly explained in Article 17 of the Law on Investment.

He also suggested that the NA reexamine projects that are thought to be causing harm to the environment and local populations, in line with Article 76.

NA member for Luang Namtha province, Mr. Kongphet Keobuapha, commented that some provinces were using too many insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers, but said this matter did not feature in reports submitted to the Assembly.

He added that some people became ill and some had allegedly died after spraying pesticide on farms, but did not say where this had occurred.

According to Vientiane officials, in September a group of five men and women working on a banana farm in Pakngum district were taken to hospital after feeling intoxicated, nauseous and developing headaches, because of the misuse of pesticides.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

CLMV Consult on Cyber Security Policy

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Four ASEAN members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam began a meeting yesterday in Vientiane to reach consensus on cyber security norms, strengthen operational linkages, and build capabilities.

The two-day Workshop on International Cyber Security Policy and Diplomacy for CLMV Countries was launched yesterday with support from the ICT for Peace Foundation of Switzerland.

Cyber security cooperation will help ASEAN member states to protect critical information infrastructure like the optical fibre cable backbone and the global interbank payments network. It will also support the growth of the ASEAN community.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Dr Thansamay Kommasith and President of the ICT for Peace Foundation Dr Daniel Stauffacher are chairing the workshop.

At the opening yesterday Dr Thansamay said information and communications technology (ICT) was very significant for Laos because the government is committed to developing and improving the living standards of its people by transforming the country from a landlocked to land linked nation.

Authorities will utilise ICT to create a favourable business and investment environment where businesses can grow leveraging ICT. We will make ICT work to support our development and empowerment, he said.

While ICT brings many new opportunities, it also opens up new vulnerabilities. Globally, cyber threats and attacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, with more severe consequences.

Dr Thansamay said Laos was committed to fulfilling its international obligations in order to address these global challenges.

We are also willing to contribute to the global cyber security dialogue with our experience and expertise and create new norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence building measures in cyberspace. We are committed to building a safe and secure ICT infrastructure and services in Laos, he added.

The government has recently upgraded the Lao Computer Emergency Response Team (Lao CERT) to department level, to coordinate national efforts in cyber security and the government recognises Lao CERT’s significant role in combating the cyber threat.

Lao CERT is improving its capacity building, for building a national cyber security policy and strategy, which we hope to launch next year, Dr Thansamay said.

Lao CERT engages with its counterparts regionally and globally including Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and the Asia Pacific CERT.

The key concerns for Laos remain human resource development, resilient infrastructure, general awareness, and efficient collaboration. Laos is working with the governments of other countries to block attacks, shut down networks, and to learn good practices from advanced nations.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Cambodian Deputy PM Observes Fish Passage Improvements at Don Sahong Dam

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A high-ranking delegation from Cambodia led by Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Hor Namhong visited the Don Sahong hydropower project in Champassak province on Saturday to observe progress of the project, especially fish passage improvements.

Mr. Hor Namhong and his delegation are visiting Laos from October 28 to November 1 in response to an invitation from the Lao government.

During their visit to the project site the visiting delegation was received by Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Intharath.

The ministry’s Office Permanent Secretary Dr Daovong Phonekeo said the objective of the visit was to provide accurate information to the Cambodian delegation so they would be able to explain the project’s measures to mitigate environmental impacts, especially on fish, to their people.

After the visit, Mr. Hor Namhong and his delegation were briefed on technical aspects of the project and gained an understanding of how the developer was implementing measures to mitigate environmental impacts which may affect neighbouring countries.

Dr Daovong said many groups of people had expressed concern about the project as they thought such a large dam on the Mekong River would impact the passage of fish and reduce fish populations.

The Lao government has invited all interested groups to visit the site so they can receive accurate information and understand more about the project.

Many people who previously visited the site came to understand the hydropower scheme because the dam blocked only one channel of the Mekong River, he said. A day earlier, European Union Ambassador to Cambodia Mr. George Edgar also visited the Don Sahong site.

Ambassador Edgar said he was very impressed with the work the Don Sahong staff had done in the fisheries monitoring and management programmes.

The primary purpose of his visit was to learn about potential impacts on downstream communities in Cambodia, he said. Ambassador Edgar’s visit coincided with a daylong inspection tour conducted by a team of researchers from the Washington-based Stimson Centre and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Director of Stimson’s Southeast Asia Programme, Mr. Brian Eyler, returned to Don Sahong one year after an earlier visit, to get an update on the progress of the fisheries research and actual construction.

We are most interested in visiting Don Sahong to learn how fishing mitigation efforts are paying off through the two excavated channels adjacent to the Sahong channel, said Mr. Eyler. Another purpose of the team’s visit was to gain a better understanding of southern Laos’ regional connection to Vietnam and Thailand, emerging energy investment opportunities, and energy use in the south, he added.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Minister Vows Action against Out-of-date, Contaminated Foods

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Action has been and will continue to be taken to prevent the sale of out-of-date and contaminated foods as well as the provision of unfair services that continue to surface, a minister told the National Assembly (NA) recently.

Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ms Khemmani Pholsena, warned those involved that they would face penalties in line with the relevant laws as she detailed measures to address the issues that continue to be reported.

Expired food items worth more than 324.2 million kip were confiscated and destroyed in the provinces of Luang Namtha, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, Vientiane and Saravan in the 2015-16 fiscal year, the minister told the Assembly’s ongoing ordinary session.

She was responding to questions raised by members of the NA, who expressed concerns over reports suggesting that expired and contaminated foods were still being sold in markets throughout the country along with fake goods.

In the 2014-15 fiscal year, out-of-date food items with a sale value of as much as 2.4 billion kip was confiscated and destroyed. Officials also seized a number of imitation silk skirts (sinh) imported from China, the minister said.

Ms Khemmani said her officials, in collaboration with officials from the health, agriculture and forestry sectors, regularly carry out inspections in markets, shops and shopping malls to prevent contaminated, expired or fake foods from being sold.

They also inspect medical and beauty salons and other services to ensure the safety of services offered to members of the public, while also preventing exaggerated advertisements.

At the end of 2015, the ministry issued a decision instructing traders and sellers to attach Lao language stickers to all products sold in Laos to provide information such as nutrition facts, the origin of the product, date of production, and expiry date.

To enable members of the public to participate in the fight against such issues, the ministry set up telephone hotline number 1510 on June 7, 2016, which is now operational and allows consumers to speak out about the issues they are facing.

At least 62 calls have been made through the hotline so far. There were complaints about out-of-date food that was still on sale, as well as unreasonably high electricity, public transport, telephone and internet charges, Ms Khemmani said.

Some petitions have been addressed, while solutions are being sought concerning the other requests, she added.

The minister warned traders selling items that do not carry Lao language informational stickers that they will be fined and their goods confiscated.

She promised to continue to work closely with the relevant sectors to carry out regular inspections at markets and other service venues to address the issues.

The ministry, Ms Khemmani said, will push for the establishment of a consumer protection association to help the ministry keep a close watch on issues such as contaminated or expired goods and other matters that affect consumer s.

She pledged to work more closely with the relevant sectors to set up a joint coordinating mechanism to protect all consumers and address their petitions as well as disputes between consumers and traders or service providers.

It is anticipated that the joint coordinating mechanism would assist in arriving at more effective and long term solutions for all concerned.

Ms Khemmani touched on the need to formulate additional regulations to fully translate the Law on Consumer Protection into detail to better protect consumers.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Round Table Meeting to Boost Development in Laos

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Senior government officials and their development partners will discuss ways to extend cooperation and mobilise aid to finance cooperative programmes in Laos.

The upcoming round table meeting that will be held in Vientiane province from November 24-25 will provide a platform to further strengthen cooperation between the government and development partners and promote their partnerships for effective development results.

Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Souphanh Keomixay made the observation at a meeting yesterday.

The theme of the upcoming meeting will be enhanced Partnership for Effective Implementation of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (8th NSEDP)  Achieving the Least Developed Country graduation criteria by 2020.

The meeting will be held at a critical juncture in the transition to the new development agenda, both globally and in our country, as the 8th NSEDP that runs from 2016 to 2020 has now been finalised. The plan is vital to ensuring Laos graduates from least developed country status by 2020, Dr Souphanh said .

He stated that the meeting will provide an important opportunity for the government and its development partners to discuss ways and means for the implementation of the 8th NSEDP, particularly the need to enhance the partnership for effective development cooperation.

Participants will discuss the achievements and lessons of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2015-2016), Laos’s progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals and the vision and direction of the 8th NSEDP to run from 2016 to 2020. More specifically, Dr Souphanh highlighted that the meeting will cover the government’s strategic development policies in promoting economic growth, stability and inclusion, boosting human development through improved food security and nutrition, health and education, and ensuring development is sustainable and helps mitigate climate change.

United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Laos, Ms Kaarina Immonen will give a keynote speech at the meeting, which will also consider the new Sustainable Development Goals.

The meeting will also provide an opportunity to mobilise aid from donors, formally known as Official Development Assistance (ODA), to finance development initiatives, according to the ministry. In recent years Laos has received more ODA from development partners, despite the global economic slowdown.

Statistics showed that ODA provided to Laos in the 2012-2013 fiscal year reached US$777.10 million, an increase from the US$704.83 million given the year before.

The Vientiane Declaration on the Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation will be launched during the upcoming round table meeting.

The declaration updates an existing document from 2006, expanding the concept of aid effectiveness to effective development cooperation, which places a greater emphasis on new sources of development finance alongside Official Development Assistance.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

NA Members Want Tougher Oversight on Chemical Use

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National Assembly (NA) members have proposed that the government impose tougher measures in managing the distribution and use of dangerous chemicals so they can be brought under control.

NA members expressed their wish yesterday when debating the NA’s Standing Committee oversight of social and environmental impacts caused by the use of dangerous chemicals in industry and farming by both companies and individuals.

It was recognised at the ongoing NA session that despite the government having enacted seven laws and some secondary legislative tools for managing business and industrial activities, many industries and plants did not follow the procedures on business authorisation, and carelessly released waste water and spent chemicals into the environment.

Alongside these issues, unregulated imports and distribution of substandard food products, drugs, beverages, and fake cosmetic items have been found to be proliferating throughout the country.

At the debate, NA member for Luang Prabang province, Mr. Thongchanh Manixay, raised his concerns about chemicals discharged by the Phu Bia mining project into a lake which allegedly contained millions of cubic metres of chemicals mixed water.

Mr. Thongchanh said he doubted whether mining companies in general did what they had promised in their written business proposals regarding the addressing of waste issues arising from their business activities.

They have provided detailed plans on addressing waste but they may want to avoid actually doing so because large amounts of money are required for waste treatment, he explained.

Mr. Thongchanh said that in the past Laos did not have much expertise in this field for inspecting every step of construction so problems had arisen after operations had begun and the impacts were already large in scale.

NA member for Khammuan province, Mr. Bounpan Duanglaty, said he observed that inspections of business activities were casual, saying inspection teams from the government mainly visited and met with project officials in meeting rooms and at steering panels but not in the places or communities that the projects were affecting.

In meeting rooms, project officials introduce teams only to the good features of their project, he said.

Mr. Bounpan told the session of his concerns about the impacts of mining projects in Khammuan, especially three big companies operating in potassium extraction, which he said took place over almost the whole of Nongbok district, which provides the major farming and food sources in the province.

He suggested that the sector responsible coordinate with other sectors of the government and the National Assembly.

Information about the benefits and impacts that certain projects will offer or cause should be explained to communities before the projects begin, Mr. Bounpan added.

He also suggested that some small activities be piloted before granting permission for large-scale operations as a means of better assessing their potential impacts.

NA member for Attapeu province, Mr. Maniso Xamounty, raised his concerns about the failures in investment management, saying investors were allowed to make deals on land concessions with communities directly, which he said caused economic, social, and environmental impacts.

Investors did not pay tax to the government or concession fees to communities on time, taking advantage of local residents with regard to employment, he said.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Chinese Group Backs Poverty Eradication Efforts

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The International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) will provide US$5 million this year to assist in eradicating poverty in two villages in Vientiane and Luang Prabang province.

The money will be used to alleviate poverty in Xam village of Sangthong district, Vientiane and in Xienglome village of Luang Prabang district, Luang Prabang province.

At the end of this month a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony will be held in the capital between representatives of the National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (NRDPE) of Laos and the Coo peration Division of IPRCC.

At the same time, the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China will meet with representatives of Myanmar and Cambodia to sign agreements to assist in their respective poverty eradication efforts.

A Lao-Chinese Seminar on Poverty Reduction was held at the NRDPE on Monday, and was attended by Vice Chair of NRDPE Mr. Thongvanh Vilayheuang, Chief of Cooperation Division, IPRCC Ms Li Shaojun, and senior officials from various organisations.

The seminar’s aim was to share lessons learned by Lao officials from training programmes in China, to discuss the roles and functions of the Chinese delegations visiting Laos and perspectives of NRDPE tasks, while also targeting capacity building in rural development and poverty eradication for Lao government staff from different sectors.

Mr. Thongvanh said the seminar was very important for assisting poverty eradication and strengthening the traditional and longstanding good relationship between Laos and China.

Laos has been collaborating with the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China, engaging in seven types of training programmes and high level visits to focus on sharing experiences and upgrading methodologies based on China’s extensive efforts to alleviate poverty.

We are exchanging experiences with each other to try to eradicate poverty. Laos has good land, electricity and water so the country has a good environment with its small population. Laos is in a better condition than China with its very large population and about 50 million people around the country still living in poverty, Ms Li said. Cooperation with neighbouring countries was crucial to exchange lessons learned and to facilitate poverty eradication efforts, she added.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

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