Laos’ human rights failings under UN spotlight as global concerns mount
The fourth United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos revealed no development over the previous five years, according to Human Rights Watch, which also denounced the nation’s assaults on activists and dissidents.
The nation was chastised by HRW for failing to uphold its rights by stopping enforced disappearances, extrajudicial murders, arbitrary arrests, and incomplete investigations. The UPR, which emphasized the government’s inability to resolve the long-standing human rights breaches, restated the reviews of the previous cycles and included 271 suggestions from other nations.
Human rights abuses in Laos are pervasive and have been documented by various international bodies, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Genocide Watch. The Lao government has systematically failed to protect basic human rights, with reports continuing on a wide range of abuses.
The UPR recommendations called for the nation to probe the activists’ and critics’ disappearance, ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and ensure the freedom of expression, assembly, and association. The April 29 review, released by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is a digest of input gathered from treaty bodies and other UN mechanisms.
The UPR reaffirmed the recommendations to establish an independent national human rights institution, pass comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, and eliminate the death penalty as a punishment. In its National Report 2025, Laos highlighted the interlink between national development and the attainment of human rights, referencing improvement in health, education and gender equality. The nation, however, has recorded modest progress since its previous UPR in 2020
Laos has complied with 160 of the 226 recommendations made by 89 UN members in its most recent cycle. However, there are still a number of significant problems, such as the 2012 disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone. Unanswered questions also surround the 2023 imprisonment of activist Savang Phaleuth and the attempted murder of Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom.
In order to discuss its next course of action following the recommendations, the Lao government has asked for until the next Human Rights Council Session in September 2025.
The Human Rights Council created the Universal Periodic evaluation in 2006, which requires every UN member state to carry out a peer evaluation of its human rights every four and a half years. Every state has the chance to report on advancements made in advancing human rights through the UPR, and other UN nations can provide suggestions.
