Lao People's Democratic Republic: Visits & Communications
Correspondence from 2007
The record of correspondence for 2007 is excerpted from the official United Nations report, A/HRC/4/20/Add.1.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Killing of Hmong People near Vang Vieng
Violation alleged: Deaths due to attacks or killings by the security forces
Subject(s) of appeal: At least 26 persons
Character of reply: Largely satisfactory response
Observations of the Special Rapporteur
The Special Rapporteur notes the information provided by the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Letter of allegation dated 27 June 2006
I would like to bring your attention to reports I have received regarding the killing of ethnic Hmong people by governmental troops in northern Vientiane province. The deadly attack, which is alleged to have taken place some 20 kilometres northeast of the tourist town of Vang Vieng on 6 April 2006, claimed the lives of at least 26 people, reportedly mostly women and children. Another four people were wounded.
According to the information received, governmental troops launched their assault in the morning hours while the victims, reportedly unarmed, were searching for food outside of their hiding places in the jungle.
In raising my concerns with regard to the killing of civilians by military assault, I am aware of the existence of armed Hmong rebel groups that carry out attacks against governmental forces. However, I would like to bring to your attention that concerns have been expressed for the safety of the civilians that belong to Hmong groups living in hiding, some of whom are reportedly surrounded by Lao army units, struggling to find food and with no access to medical care.
Without pre-judging the accuracy of the allegations received, I would like to refer Your Excellency’s Government to Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that every individual has the right to life and security of the person.
I would also like to appeal to your Excellency’s Government to ensue that all deaths that occurred in connection with the operation of 6 April 2006 are promptly, independently and thoroughly investigated in accordance with the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. This principle was reiterated by the 61st Commission on Human Rights in Resolution 2005/34 on “Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions” (OP 4), stating that all States have “the obligation … to conduct exhaustive and impartial investigations into all suspected cases of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions”. The Commission added that this obligation includes the obligation “to identify and bring to justice those responsible, …, to grant adequate compensation within a reasonable time to the victims or their families and to adopt all necessary measures, including legal and judicial measures, in order to … prevent the recurrence of such executions”.
It is my responsibility under the mandate provided to me by the Commission on Human Rights to seek to clarify all cases brought to my attention. Since I am expected to report on this case to the Human Rights Council, I would be grateful for your cooperation and your observations on the following matters:
- Are the facts alleged above accurate? If not so, please describe the investigations carried out to ascertain that the allegations are ill-founded.
- Please provide the details, and where available the results, of any investigation, medical examinations, and judicial or other inquiries carried out in relation to the killings of civilians in northern Vientiane province.
- Please indicate whether compensation has been provided to the families of the victims.
Response of the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
With reference to your letter of 27 June 2006, I wish to inform you that the allegation of the Lao People's Army troops killing ethnic Hmongs in the vicinity of Vangvieng district, Vientiane province on 6 April 2006 is simply groundless and non.-existent. It represents just a twin of the fabricated 2004 TV footage contending that "about 30-40 LPA troops had raped and slain 5 Hmong girls".
In view of the foregoing renewed allegation, I would like to further clarify as follows:
Since the proclamation of the Lao PDR in 1975, the Government has exerted every effort in leading the country to consolidate security and stability, heal wounds of the protracted and devastating aggressive war with special emphasis on economic revival and development, thus gradually improving the living conditions of our multi-ethnic people and moving the country out of the traps of abject poverty and backwardness. Thanks to an effective resettlement programme put in place by the Government, as part of its efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development, more and more people of various ethnic groups are moving out from the rugged and isolated mountain areas to join in the development village project. Yet, it is inevitable that there would be bandits shooting and looting commercial and passenger vehicles on some occasions during the past years. At present, however, those thugs are so constrained that they are no longer in a position to carry out their banditry acts en route. There is no opposition party or anti-government force whatsoever in the Lao PDR.
Despite the incredible information and unreasonable complaint from some anonymous foreigners who could not identify the source and witness of the case, except a reference to just "it was reported as such", the Lao Government urgently formed an investigation team comprising of officials from the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Public Security to conduct inquiry into the allegation, in cooperation with the District Security and Military Commands as well as the District and Village authorities and local people and report the findings to the government. After thorough investigation, it was found that no one was aware of the incident. Nor was there any evidence or sign of an attack and civilian casualties of any kind. Moreover, there has been no communication dispatched by the local people to any concerned authorities. Had there been any such incident as claimed, what pretext could they have got for justifying their ignorance? This reality has led the Lao authorities concerned to the conclusion that the alleged incident is false, groundless and non-existent, and is proved to be merely a fabrication made up by some malevolent outfits abroad to harm the reputation of the Lao People's Army. The fabricated story was also premeditated to cause concern and fear to foreign tourists and visitors who love natural sceneries and have interest in the Lao PDR's tourism attractions, particularly in the neighbourhood of the tourist town of Vanvieng. The Lao PDR Government and people as well as inhabitants of the District reaffirm that there are no Hmong or other ethnic resistance forces in Laos. The authorities and people of the district are well aware that the so-called individuals or civilians hiding in the jungle do not exist. Although there are some population living sparsely in the rugged mountain regions who had hidden themselves from the horrible bombardments by the imperialist aggressors during the war time remaining, . . they are in no way sieged by LPA troops. Conversely they are participating increasingly in the development village or development village group projects in line with policy of the Government.
Given the lack of evidence and victims of the alleged incident reported by the investigation team, there were no requests for medical examination or individual inquiry and no casualties -whatsoever. Therefore, no compensation has been paid to any person
The Lao People's Army is highly disciplined, committed to protect the people's lives and properties as well as to assist them in earning their livings and improving their living conditions. In carrying out their duties the Lao People's Army is bound to stringently follow its military rules and regulations, staying alert of machinations of evil-minded individuals aimed at driving a wedge between the people and the Army. Up tell now, no complaint or lawsuit regarding the incident has been filed to the Lao government or its relevant agencies either at the local or the central levels. This indicates that the allegation is flawed and fictional.
We sincerely hope that the clarifications mentioned above would help the international community and various organs of the United Nations to realize this case and trust the Lao People's Army, a highly disciplined and well-trained armed force with a high moral standard, which grew up from the age-long struggle for national independence and freedom of the Lao multi-ethnic people, and is presently tasked to safeguard peace and security of the Lao people and contribute to socio-economic development of the country.
Correspondence from 2005
The record of correspondence for 2005 is excerpted from the official United Nations report, E/CN.4/2005/7/Add.1.
Country: Lao People's Democratic Republic
Type, date and summary of communication: Appel urgent envoyé avec le Rapporteur Spécial sur la promotion et la protection du droit à la liberté d’opinion et d’expression, 11 Mars 2004. Des membres de la communauté chrétienne de plusieurs villages du district de Sanamsay dans la province d’Attapeu (Sud), seraient la cible d’actes de violence et de menaces de mort de la part des autorités locales, visant semble-t-il à les contraindre à renoncer à leur foi. En effet, il semblerait que la répression anti-chrétienne se soit intensifiée dans ces villages depuis le début de l’année 2004. Selon les informations reçues, entre le 3 et le 19 février 2004, des chrétiens des villages de Ban Donthapad et de Ban Donsua auraient fait face à des menaces de mort répétées ainsi qu’à du harcèlement de la part des autorités qui essaieraient notamment de les expulser de la région. Lors d’une réunion tenue dans la matinée du 19 février à Ban Donthapad et à laquelle ont été convoqués tous les chrétiens du secteur, des responsables locaux de haut niveau auraient annoncé leur volonté « d’éradiquer totalement la chrétienté » du district de Sanamsay, en termes menaçants.
Government reply: Response dated 21 April 2004: The allegations of mistreatments of Christians believers by the Lao authorities are not new. On many occasions, we had the opportunity to provide clarification on these oft-repeated false accusations. By virtue of the Constitution of the Lao PDR, the Lao people of all ethnic groups have the right to believe or not to believe in any religion. The right is fully guaranteed and no one has the right to threaten another on account of his /her religious belief. Regarding the above-mentioned alleged threats of death by local authorities if those Christians believers do not give up their faith in Sanamsay district as mentioned in your recent letter, I would like to inform to you that, upon verification by the concerned Lao local authorities, these allegations are false and groundless. Such allegation is deliberately fabricated with the mere aim of discrediting the image of the Lao Government and misleading the Christian Community around the world about the reality of the religious situation in my country. As everyone know full well, today in the Lao PDR, 245 Churches (with more than 357 clergymen) are operative and more than 147,000 Lao Christian believers practice their faith freely, go to the Church of their choice and live in harmony with other religious communities such as Buddhist, Animist, Islam, Bahai etc... It is however also important to note that, in the Lao PDR, like in any other country in this planet , any person, regardless of his or her religious who violates the law, is punished according to the Law.
Observation of the Special Rapporteur: The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Lao for its reply.
Country: Lao People's Democratic Republic
Type, date and summary of communication: Allegation sent with the Special Rapporteur on torture, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights of indigenous people and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, 15 September 2004. Four girls, Mao Lee, aged 14, her sister Chao Lee, aged 16, Chi Her, aged 14, Pang Lor, aged 14, and her brother Tou Lor, aged 15, all ethnic-Hmong, were searching for food close to their camp when they were allegedly attacked and killed by 30 to 40 Lao soldiers in the Xaisomboune military zone on 19 May 2004. The girls were reportedly raped before being killed. Mao Lee was shot in each breast and the other bodies were mutilated by shots fired at close range. One of the girls was disembowelled.
Government reply: Response dated 19 October 2004: According to the Government, these allegations are utterly false and groundless. They are carried out by certain groups of Hmong living abroad whose objective is to set up divisive manoeuvres intended to serve those entities’ political interests. The Government informed that the Hmong is one of the Lao ethnic groups and represents 6.9 percent of the Lao population. Today, the Hmong has an important role in the country’s social and economic development. The Government is carrying out a fair and equitable policy towards all ethnic groups in Lao so that their lives have gradually improved, both materially and morally, and they have the opportunity of participating in the government of the country where they are well represented at all levels of Government.
Response dated 10 November 2004: The general staff department of the ministry of national defence has conducted an investigation into the alleged case and found no evidence or clue of any incident. Up till now, no complaint or lawsuit has been filed. This indicates that the allegations are flawed and baseless, and are proved to be merely a fabrication intended to harm the reputation of the Lao People’s Army. The Government has identified the source of the allegation as being Mr. Vajayang, who is a criminal and a fugitive who escaped his imprisonment sentence for the possession of drugs in June 2003. After careful investigation of the alleged facts by all departments of the Ministry of National Defense, solely on the basis of a video-film broadcasted through the TV and internet, it turns out that this video is merely a fabricated farce since it does not mention where the incident has taken place, nor does it contain pictures of the mutilated victims nor evidence of any rape claimed. The footage also lacked the evidence indicating that a gun was in use in the incident or any movement of those 30-40 Lao soldiers pictured therein.
Observation of the Special Rapporteur:The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Lao for its reply.
Correspondence from 1983-2002
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has been corresponding with Governments regarding alleged violations since the mandate was established over two decades ago. While the Project on Extrajudicial Executions is making efforts to provide easily browsed versions of as many years as possible, much of the earlier correspondence is available only in the PDF versions of reports from 1983 to the present.