The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has issued its concluding observations on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Committee’s findings follow its review of Lao’s compliance with the Covenant and take into account the information submitted by the UNPO in August 2025, detailing the ongoing violations of the rights of the Hmong people.
UNPO’s report highlighted the systemic restrictions on the Hmong’s fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination, non-discrimination, gender equality, just working conditions, social protection, family protection, an adequate standard of living, health, education, and participation in cultural life.
UNPO’s submission drew attention to how the denial of Indigenous status and self-determination for the Hmong has prevented them from accessing legal protections and undermined their cultural identity and weakened their connection to ancestral lands. This systemic discrimination has exacerbated the persecution of the Hmong, including land confiscation, forced relocations, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and lack of access to social protection, work, education, health and cultural life.
In its concluding observations, the CECSR expressed concerns over the limited integration of the Covenant’s provisions into domestic law and the absence of adequate legal remedies for violations of economic, social, and cultural rights. Additionally, the Committee highlighted the adverse effects of Lao’s non-recognition Indigenous and Tribal Peoples who are instead classified as “ethnic groups” under Lao’s Constitution. The Committee draws attention to how this non-recognition has impacted Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, including the Hmong through their forced displacement and relocation without adequate consultation to secure free, prior, and informed consent, or without proper compensation.
The Committee further emphasised the absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination legal framework, specifically noting the discrimination faced by the Hmong people and the lack of effective remedies to protect them. In response to UNPO’s reports of the Hmong facing significant barriers in accessing social security due to the denial of identification documents and limited access to healthcare, education and basic services, the CESCR recommended that Lao “take all necessary measures to ensure that members of ethnic minority groups and Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, in particular the Hmong people, are able to obtain identification documents to have access to basic social services, including social protection schemes”.
The Committee further called on Lao to ensure that minority and Indigenous languages are systemically taught in schools populated by ethnic minority and Indigenous students, promoting inclusion and cultural preservation.
UNPO welcomes the Committee’s recognition of the Hmong peoples and the damaging effects of their forced relocation, land grabbing, discrimination and denial of the right to self-determination. The UNPO urges the Lao PDR to fulfil the recommendations of the CESCR and to formally recognise the Indigenous status of the Hmong to ensure their effective protection under international mechanisms.
