UN review of Laos human rights record spurs international concern News
Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UN review of Laos human rights record spurs international concern

Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that the fourth UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos showed little progress over the past five years, and condemned the country’s attacks on dissidents and activists. 

HRW criticized the country for not meeting rights obligations in ceasing arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and partial investigations. Containing 271 recommendations from several countries, the UPR reiterated the reviews of the previous cycles, pointing out the government’s failure to address the longstanding human rights violations. 

The UPR recommendations urged the country to investigate the disappearance of activists and critics, ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and guarantee the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. The review, which was published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and dated April 29, is a summary of input compiled from treaty bodies and other UN mechanisms. The UPR reiterated the calls to create an independent national human rights institution, adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, and abolish the death penalty as a form of punishment. 

In its National Report 2025, Laos emphasized the connection between national development and the realization of human rights, citing progress in areas such as health, education and gender equality. The country, however, has shown limited progress since its last UPR in 2020. In its last cycle, Laos has accepted 160 out of 226 recommendations from 89 UN member states. Several major issues, however, remain unsolved, including the disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone in 2012. The detention of activist Savang Phaleuth and the attempted assassination of Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom, both of which occurred in 2023, also remain unanswered.

The Lao government has requested time until the next Human Rights Council Session in September 2025 to outline its next steps after the recommendations.

The Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism established by the Human Rights Council in 2006 that calls on each UN member state to conduct a peer review of its human rights every four-and-a-half years. The UPR provides every state an opportunity to report improvements undertaken to improve human rights and receive recommendations from other UN states.

 

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