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.
[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.
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.
[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 policy objectives of both the Lao government and international donors remain focused toward achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
The Lao government in Vientiane has been frequently condemned by the US Congress,[12] United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination,[13] and European Parliament[14] especially in light of the imprisonment of pro-democracy Lao student leaders in October 1999, the persecution of Hmong refugees and asylum seekers and the recent abduction and disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone.
For example, two former high-ranking government officials whose imprisonment for expressing dissident political views had been much publicized by international human rights groups were released in October 2004.
[17] In October 1999, 30 young people were arrested for attempting to display posters calling for peaceful economic, political and social change in Laos.
[21] Laos and Vietnamese troops were reported to have raped and killed four Christian Hmong women in Xieng Khouang province in 2011, according to US NGO The Centre for Public Policy Analysis.
[26] In 1993, Vue Mai, a former Hmong soldier who had been recruited by the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok to return to Laos as proof of the repatriation program's success, disappeared in Vientiane.
Following the Vue Mai incident, debate over the Hmong's planned repatriation to Laos intensified greatly, especially in the U.S., where it drew strong opposition from many American conservatives and some human rights advocates.
In an effort to halt the planned repatriation, the Republican-led U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives both appropriated funds for the remaining Thailand-based Hmong to be immediately resettled in the U.S.; Clinton, however, responded by promising a veto of the legislation.
In their opposition of the repatriation plans, Republicans also challenged the Clinton administration's position that the Laotian government was not systematically violating Hmong human rights.
[36][37][38][39] The Thai foreign ministry has said that it will halt deportation of Hmong refugees held in Detention Centers Nong Khai, while talks are underway to resettle them in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States.
Médecins Sans Frontières has refused to assist the Hmong refugees because of what they have called "increasingly restrictive measures" taken by the Thai military.
[43] In 2023, the country was scored 1 out of 4 for religious freedom;[45] it was noted that the Lao People's Revolutionary Party controls clergy training and supervision of Buddhist temples.