Drawing attention to the plight of Hmong refugees and policies of discrimination, the World Hmong People’s Congress called on the UN and European Parliament to discuss and address the plight of Hmong peoples in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Below is a Member Resolution as presented and adopted before the IX UNPO General Assembly held during 16-17 May 2008 in Brussels, Belgium:

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IX UNPO General Assembly

16 - 17 May 2008, Brussels Belgium

Member Resolution

introduced by:

Hmong Chaofa

DISTURBED by the annexation, colonial occupation and heavy militarization of Lao troops and Vietnamese mercenaries, and of gross violations of international law;  

ALARMED by the growing systematic repression, arbitrary arrests, detention and imprisonment of Hmong Chaofa Indigenous surrenders; by suspicious feeding of Hmong Chaofa in the jungle; by the total absence of freedom of association, opinion, expression; and by the constant extra-judicial executions of innocent Hmong in the last thirty-three years (1975-2008); 

DISTURBED by the rapid increase of Hmong refugees in Thailand since March 2005 when the 66th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination meeting in Geneva produced a report on the humanitarian situation in Laos which urged the Laos government to find a peaceful humanitarian solution to the Hmong situation; 

MINDFUL of Lao regime President Chongmaly Xayasone´s race policy which reiterated in February 2008 a shoot to kill procedure, a 600 hundred dollar reward and a promotion to central committee member (Former Lao President Kaysone Phomvihane called for “war over Hmong Chaofa Indigenous Peoples” on 8 May 1975 and the Khan San Pathetlao, the only Lao newspaper wrote “we must eradicate the Hmong ChaoFa completely”);  

NOTING that in spite of the growing number of deliberate acts of provocation, such as frequent arbitrary arrests, executions, sex slaves, rape, looting, and other acts of intimidation, intolerance and impunity systematically carried out by the occupation forces against the Hmong Chaofa Indigenous Peoples in the Hmong Chaofa Federated States has remained faithful to its ideology of non-violence; 

TAKING JUDICIOUS NOTE of the ASEAN Human Rights Body, the 14th Annual Workshop of the Framework on Regional Cooperation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region, in the form of Bali Action Points adopted on 12 July 2007, consisting mainly of requests of governments to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) to undertake the following: 

1.  Summarize the recommendations of the regional workshops since the 1991 workshop in Manila;

2.  Compile a directory of resource material and resource persons that support the activities agreed upon in the workshops;

3. Compile the outcome documents of the four sub-regional workshops for judges and lawyers on justifiability of economic, social and cultural rights;

4. Engage in consultations, civil society and other stakeholders on follow up to activities under the regional framework;

5. Hold follow up consultations and dialogue with other United Nations and multilateral development  agencies to harness their resources in support of these activities;

UNDERLINING that the UN has declared annexation and alien domination a crime against humanity as well as the use of mercenaries, which are treated as a threat to peace and which violate principles of international law, such as those of sovereign equality, political independence, territorial integrity of states and self-determination; 

REITERATE UNPO´s firm commitment to the right of national self-determination of all peoples, democracy, and conflict prevention as the logical instrument of building enduring peace, justice, and international cooperation amongst peoples and nations, large and small.  Therefore, we, the UNPO General Assembly: 

UNEQUIVOCALLY DECLARE solidarity with the Lao Government and Hmong Chaofa Indigenous Nations in their state to restore statehood and sovereignty, build a democratic society and be masters of their own destiny; 

SOLEMNLY CALL,  as a matter of urgency, on the European Parliament to debate the gross ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by Lao troops and Vietnamese mercenaries for the thirty-three years from 1975 to 2008; which has caused thousands of Hmong refugees to flood all over the world, including 8000 thousand Hmong people in Thailand; 

CALL UPON the UN to take full responsibility for supporting Hmong Chaofa Indigenous human rights violations at the UN Human Rights Council and call a special session on the topic thereof.   

Submitted by: World Hmong People’s Congress

Note:

To download the Member Resolution, please click here. (PDF format, 135kb)