{"id":30997,"date":"2026-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/reports\/general-briefing-laos-6900\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T20:45:05","slug":"general-briefing-laos-6900","status":"publish","type":"reports","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/reports\/general-briefing-laos-6900\/","title":{"rendered":"General Briefing: Laos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Legal framework<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The 2003 Lao constitution guarantees citizens\u2019 rights to \u2018believe or not to believe in religions\u2019 (Article 43) and criminalises the harassment of citizens based on their religion. In practice these rights are poorly implemented and state protection is limited to \u2018lawful activities\u2019, and \u2018all acts of creating division among religions\u2019 and among the people are prohibited (Article 9). The terms \u2018creating division\u2019 and \u2018lawful activities\u2019 lack clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2016 the government issued Decree 315 to replace the Prime Minister\u2019s Decree on Management and Protection of Religious Activities, No. 92\/PM. Like its predecessor, Decree 315 requires adherents to receive approval from the government for various religious activities, and for various aspects of the internal management of religious groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Decree 315, official approval is required for establishing religions (Article 7), appointing officials in religious organisations\u2019 governing committees (Article 7), and establishing a religious organisation (Article 8). Special approval is needed for religious activities which take place outside of recognised religious locations and buildings (Article 12). Decree 315 also retains from Decree 92 some provisions concerning international connections and visits abroad (Articles 21 and 19 respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decree also includes ambiguous language instructing religious adherents to promote \u2018the beautiful culture of the nation\u2019. There is a danger that converts to religions which are not considered part of the majority \u2018culture of the nation\u2019, particularly ethnic minorities, may be accused of undermining \u2018harmony\u2019 by converting to a different religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Article 3, \u2018members of religion\u2019 refers to \u2018people who believe in any one religion\u2019. This does not appear to be restricted to recognised religions; if this is correct, this is an important and welcome development, since it provides some form of recognition for religious adherents outside recognised religious groups. However, this is contradicted by Article 7, which states that \u2018Establishment of religion is an establishment of those who\u2026have received approval from the respective government agent.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some sources have told CSW that the decree is better than the previous version and offers further clarity to groups wishing to conduct religious affairs but note that certain local authorities still do not observe and implement the decree, while others describe the text itself as \u2018cumbersome.\u2019 Sources familiar with the decree have commented that it is bureaucratic. In particular, the decree has made it more complicated for religious groups to construct new buildings, which was already difficult. Overall, they believe that its implementation depends on the attitude of local leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall responsibility for approving or refusing permission for religious activities has moved from the Lao Front for National Construction to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA; sometimes translated as the Ministry of Interior Affairs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laos has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) under Article 18, to which it has made a reservation<\/a>: \u2018The Government of the Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic declares that Article 18 of the Covenant shall not be construed as authorizing or encouraging any activities, including economic means, by anyone which directly or indirectly, coerce or compel an individual to believe or not to believe in a religion or to convert his or her religion or belief. The Government of the Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic considers that all acts creating division and discrimination among ethnic groups and among religions are incompatible with Article 18 of the Covenant.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reservation has been criticised by the former UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB for lowering the \u2018threshold for limitations on the freedom to manifest one\u2019s religion or belief.\u2019 Ambiguous language around \u2018creating division and discrimination among ethnic groups and among religions\u2019 could be open to abuse because the terms lack clarity. There is a danger that adherents of minority religions may be accused of \u2018creating division\u2019 if they refuse to participate in majority-religion activities or encourage conversion or proselytise to people of the majority faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violations of freedom of religion or belief<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

While there have been some improvements in the protection of FoRB in Laos in recent years, these have been concentrated in urban areas and for some groups which maintain working relationships with the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judicial autonomy of rural areas and unchallenged powers of village chiefs in rural areas continues to be of concern. Each province in Laos ostensibly operates as an autonomous semi-devolved government, in part due to the lack of infrastructure connecting the country and the fact that large rural parts of the country have no official government presence. As the majority of Protestant Christians live in rural areas, these communities are especially vulnerable to discrimination with little to no accountability from the national government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is reinforced by the fact that many look to a village or tribal leader as their authority, with tribal allegiances seen as the primary lens through which Laotians identify, over and above national or political identity. Protestant Christians in rural areas continue to be subjected to arbitrary detention, forced eviction, confiscation of land and livestock, destruction of property, harassment and discrimination, with efforts by the government to promote and protect FoRB undermined by social hostility and weak rule of law at a local level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These issues result in restrictions not only on the manifestation and practice of minority religions, but also on the ability of citizens to choose and change their religion, as ethnic and religious minorities can also be arbitrarily prevented from choosing and changing their religion by local authorities. This is especially true for Protestant Christianity, which is still seen by some authorities as a foreign religion at odds with traditional culture. Protestant Christians are arrested and sometimes charged for \u2018spreading the Christian faith\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2021 UCANews reported<\/a> that Sithon Thippavong, a Protestant Christian leader from Savannakhet who was freed from jail in April 2021 after a year in prison, was forced to sign a document before his release promising that he would not resume religious activities until March 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 20 October 2022 Pastor Sy Sengmany of Khammouane Province set off on his bicycle from his small village to a nearby town but never arrived. The police discovered his body, which showed clear signs of torture, in the woods shortly after. Pastor Sy, a father of eight children, led a small village church that met in the home of one of the church members. To date, no arrests or charges have been made. The lack of progress leaves the distinct impression on some local believers that the authorities are wilfully obstructing justice as a means to silence the Christian minority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2024 a church building was destroyed in Kaleum Vangke village in Savannakhet Province on the orders of a village elder despite MOHA provisions granting the targeted Protestant group the right to gather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 22 June 2024 Protestant Pastor Mum and five church congregants were extrajudicially arrested in Tahae village in Khammouane Province by their village chief, Mr Khampune. Local advocacy groups suggest the group was arrested for hosting a small church service in the home of Pastor Mum, which was deemed \u2018illegal\u2019 as the church is not officially registered. The group were then held in Xaibouathong District prison for over a month. All six were later released on 25 July 2024 after being held without charge or being granted legal counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 23 July 2024 Protestant Pastor Thongkham Philavanh, 40, died after he was shot by gunmen wearing motorbike helmets in Oudomxay Province, northwestern Laos. The two masked assailants approached him in his garden and spoke to him before shooting him several times. Pastor Thongkham\u2019s wife drove him to the local hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was from the Khmu ethnic minority and was serving as the provincial head of the Lao Evangelical Church. As in the case of Pastor Sy Sengmany, no arrests have been made to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSW has received no reports of violations of FoRB affecting Laos\u2019 Catholic community, which is believed to number<\/a> approximately 100,000 people.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sombath Somphone<\/b><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

On 15 December 2012 community development worker Sombath Somphone disappeared after being stopped at a police post in Vientiane. More than 13 years later, Somphone\u2019s whereabouts remain unknown; his disappearance has also had a chilling effect on civil society. In February 2021 four UN Special Rapporteurs sent a letter to the government expressing concern about Sombath\u2019s disappearance and \u2018the alleged inaction\u2019 of the government to meet with Sombath\u2019s wife, Shui Meng Ng, despite her repeated requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos\u2019 human rights record at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in January 2025 the government accepted multiple recommendations<\/a> to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED), as it had done during the previous cycle in 2020. While Laos accepted a specific recommendation from Japan to \u2018continue to make efforts to address the case of the missing human rights defender, referred to in the document prepared by OHCHR\u2019 \u2013 a clear reference to Somphone who is named in the Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – it noted a specific recommendation from Canada to ‘Conduct credible investigations into all alleged cases of enforced disappearance, including that of Sombath Somphone and other human rights defenders.\u2019 during the fourth UPR. Laos has yet to ratify CED, and the government is still yet to undertake full, independent investigations into Somphone\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations<\/b><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

To the government of Laos:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n