*EPF217 03/25/2003
Text: U.S. Attention to Laos Could Improve Religious Freedom
(Executive summary of February 2003 USCIRF report on Laos) (1330)

Laos is "at an important crossroad," and U.S. attention to Laos at this time may advance protections for religious freedom and promote U.S. interests, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The Lao government has committed "severe violations of religious freedom and related human rights," including arrests of religious leaders, prolonged detention and imprisonment of members of minority religions, forced renunciations of faith by Christians, and extensive governmental interference with and restrictions on all religious communities, USCIRF writes in the executive summary to a report on Laos prepared in February of 2003.

At the same time, "while some Lao officials have advocated Vietnam and China as models for Laos' future, others have expressed a desire to modernize the country by learning from the experiences of the United States and other developed nations in the West," the Commission continues.

"In particular, Lao officials perceive the United States to be influential in the provision of international aid for Laos' development and some have thus demonstrated a willingness to address U.S. concerns, including human rights concerns raised by this Commission, the State Department, and non-governmental organizations," USCIRF writes.

In its report, the Commission recommends that: 1) the President should designate Laos as a "country of particular concern"; 2) the U.S. government should urge the government of Laos to take "specific steps to improve respect for religious freedom"; and 3) the U.S. government should provide assistance to Laos to take "genuine steps to reform."

"The United States has a unique opportunity to engage the government and people of Laos in a process of reform that would end the suppression of religious freedom and other related human rights, and relatively small measures of attention and assistance could accomplish a great deal," USCIRF writes.

USCIRF is a Washington-based federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor religious freedom in other countries and advise the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress on how best to promote it.

The full report may be read by visiting the Commission's website at http://www.uscirf.gov.

Following is the executive summary of the February, 2003 USCIRF report on Laos:

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LAOS

Executive Summary

Since the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) assumed power in 1975, there has been extensive government interference with and restrictions on all religious communities. In more recent years, the government has focused its repression on religions that are relatively new to Laos, including Protestant Christianity. During this time period, the government of Laos has engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom as defined in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). These include the arrest, prolonged detention, and imprisonment of members of religious minorities on account of their religious activities. In addition, Lao officials have forced Christians to renounce their faith. At the same time, dozens of churches have been closed. Given the seriousness of religious freedom violations in Laos, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (Commission), in both 2000 and 2001, recommended that Laos be designated as a "country of particular concern" (CPC), pursuant to IRFA. In February 2002, the Commission sent a delegation to Laos on a fact-finding mission.

In July 2002, the Lao government promulgated a new decree on religious affairs that provides a legal basis for control of and interference with religious activities by government officials. Although some religious detainees have reportedly been released after July 2002, others remain in detention. In the light of these circumstances, in 2002, the Commission once again recommended that Laos be designated as a CPC.

Laos is a one-party, authoritarian state, which has suppressed the human rights of its citizens and foreigners alike. The inability of the government of Laos to rule effectively, in combination with a culture that resists change, has contributed to serious underdevelopment, making Laos one of the poorest and least educated societies in the world. The ineffectiveness of the current government has also compounded the difficulty of assuring religious freedom and other related human rights in Laos. For example, central government officials have limited ability to investigate alleged human rights abuses in remote parts of Laos due to poor road conditions and limited transportation equipment. Moreover, there are virtually no legal protections for human rights, as Laos has an underdeveloped legal system with only 48 laws to govern all aspects of life and there are few lawyers in the country. Finally, another challenge to advancing the protection of religious freedom in Laos is the historically close linkage between Buddhism and the Lao state, which has contributed to the government's suspicion of non- Buddhist religions that are relatively new to that country.

Since September 11, 2001, Southeast Asia has become an increasingly important arena in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. Laos' importance to U.S. interests has also increased by virtue of its status as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its support for the international counter-terrorism effort. Meanwhile, the government of Laos has continued to engage in serious violations of religious freedom and related human rights. Yet, Laos has not received much attention from U.S. foreign policymakers, including the Congress. Laos is at an important crossroad, and U.S. attention to Laos at this time may advance protections for religious freedom and promote U.S. interests. Indeed, while some Lao officials have advocated Vietnam and China as models for Laos' future, others have expressed a desire to modernize the country by learning from the experiences of the United States and other developed nations in the West. In particular, Lao officials perceive the United States to be influential in the provision of international aid for Laos' development and some have thus demonstrated a willingness to address U.S. concerns, including human rights concerns raised by this Commission, the State Department, and non-governmental organizations. This suggests that the present is a pivotal moment in the history of Laos and U.S.-Laos relations. The United States has a unique opportunity to engage the government and people of Laos in a process of reform that would end the suppression of religious freedom and other related human rights, and relatively small measures of attention and assistance could accomplish a great deal. Therefore, the Commission makes the following recommendations to the U.S. government:

1. The President should designate Laos as a CPC to make clear U.S. concerns over particularly severe violations of religious freedom in Laos, thus engaging the U.S. government in a process to promote changes that would advance legal as well as practical protections of freedom of religion and related human rights in that country.

2. The U.S. government should urge the government of Laos to take specific steps to improve respect for religious freedom, including the possible establishment of a bilateral human rights dialogue that would also address the broader range of human rights concerns such as torture and other forms of ill-treatment. In addition, the U.S. government should make clear to the government of Laos that any such dialogue or other improvement in U.S.-Laos relations must be based on the immediate cessation of practices that abuse religious freedom, including arbitrary arrest and detention, forced renunciation, and church closings.

3. The U.S. government should provide assistance to Laos to take genuine steps to reform its practices, policies, laws, and regulations that contribute to religious freedom violations. In this regard, the State Department should undertake an assessment of human rights needs in Laos in order to identify specific areas where the United States could provide support and assistance for establishing human rights protections. The assessment should address, among others, technical legal assistance, dissemination of information about human rights, human rights training programs, educational efforts targeting all Lao citizens, and exchange programs.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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