Geneva, 30 August 2022 – The UN Expert Committee concluded the review of the situation of persons with disabilities in Lao PDR. Under the review, 18 international experts held a dialogue with key ministries on the Government’s progress in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) across sectors, including in education, health, employment, social welfare, protection from violence, and justice.

The dialogue was based on information provided in the Government Report, together with the Parallel Reports by a network of national disability organizations  and the UN in Lao PDR.

“Contributions from different stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, are the core of all country reviews by the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies. UNDP was happy to support the Government and civil society to participate in the disability review and provide the UN Expert Committee with a complete picture of the situation of persons with disabilities in Lao PDR,” Ms. Catherine Phuong, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, noted.

Under the initiative on “Strengthening Participation in the Implementation of the CRPD Convention in Lao PDR,” UNDP partnered with a CRPD Expert from Thailand, Mr. Monthian Buntan, to organize a Mock Session to prepare the Government Delegation for the dialogue with the UN Expert Committee in Geneva. UNDP also led the drafting of the UN Joint Parallel Report and empowered a network of 11 national disability organizations to develop their own Parallel Report, the first civil society-led submission to the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies from Lao PDR.

“Persons with disabilities no longer want to be seen as the recipients of charity but instead as equal members of the Lao society with a greater say in the decisions that affect our lives. This concept is central to our Report to the UN Expert Committee, which makes 77 concrete recommendations to the Government on how to improve our lives,” Mr. Samnieng Thammavong, Director of the Lao Disabled People’s Association and Chair of the Non-Governmental Delegation for the CRPD review, shared.

With support from OHCHR, Christian Blind Mission (CBM Global), International Disability Alliance, and UNDP, seven representatives of national disability organizations traveled to Geneva to present their Parallel Report to the CRPD Experts and observe the dialogue between the Government Delegation and UN Expert Committee.

Following the review, the UN Expert Committee will issue a list of recommendations to the Government to implement before the next review in four years. The Government is committed to developing a National Plan of Action, in consultation with national disability organizations, to turn the CRPD recommendations into action.

“The CRPD review helped us identify gaps in disability inclusion in Lao PDR. We will work with national disability organizations, UNDP, and other development partners to develop an inter-governmental plan to close these gaps in line with the priorities of the 9^th National Socio-Economic Plan and National Strategy and Action Plan on Persons with Disabilities,” H.E. Mr. Padeumphone Sonthany, Vice Minister of Labour and Social Welfare and Chair of the Government Delegation for the CRPD review, emphasized.

More information about the first-time review of Lao PDR, including the Government Report and Parallel Reports, are available on the OHCHR website. The dialogue between the Government Delegation and UN Expert Committee was recorded by UN Web TV  and the Facebook page of UNDP Lao PDR.

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Aksonethip Somvorachit

UNDP Communications Analyst

aksonethip.somvorachit@undp.org

Ms. Sinsavanh Sonepaseuth

UNDP Communications and Outreach Officer for Governance

sinsavanh.sonepaseuth@undp.org