[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 169 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 169

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
    democracy, free elections, and human rights in the Lao People's 
                          Democratic Republic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 1999

   Mr. Vento (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted the 
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
    democracy, free elections, and human rights in the Lao People's 
                          Democratic Republic.

Whereas in 1975, the Pathet Lao party supplanted the existing Lao government and 
        the Lao Royal Family, and established a ``people's democratic 
        republic'', in violation of the 1962 Declaration on the Neutrality of 
        Laos and its Protocol, as well as the 1973 Vientiane Agreement on Laos;
Whereas since the 1975 overthrow of the existing Lao Government, Laos has been 
        under the sole control of the Lao People's Democratic Party;
Whereas the present Lao Constitution provides for human rights protection for 
        the Lao people, and Laos is a signatory to international agreements on 
        civil and political rights;
Whereas Laos has become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 
        which calls for the creation of open societies in each of its member 
        states by the year 2020;
Whereas despite that, the State Department's ``Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices for 1998'' notes that the government has only slowly eased 
        restrictions on basic freedoms and begun codification of implementing 
        legislation for rights stipulated in the Lao Constitution, and continues 
        to significantly restrict the freedoms of speech, assembly, and 
        religion;
Whereas according to Amnesty International, serious problems persist in the 
        human rights record of the Government of Laos, including the continued 
        detention of political prisoners and the treatment of such prisoners in 
        a manner that is degrading, abusive, and inhumane;
Whereas in February 1998, one political prisoner of the Government of Laos, 
        Thongsouk Saysangkhi, died, and an unknown number of other political 
        prisoners still remain inside its prisons; and
Whereas allegations of persecution and human rights abuse of the Hmong who 
        repatriated to Laos continue, and Hmong families of detained political 
        prisoners are reported to be threatened daily under the Communist 
        Government in Laos: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the present Government of Laos should--
            (1) respect international norms of human rights and 
        democratic freedoms for the Lao people, and fully honor its 
        commitments to those norms and freedoms as embodied in its 
        constitution and international agreements, and in the 1962 
        Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and its Protocol and the 
        1973 Vientiane Agreement on Laos;
            (2) issue a public statement specifically reaffirming its 
        commitment to protecting religious freedom and other basic 
        human rights;
            (3) fully institute a process of democracy, human rights, 
        and openly contested free and fair elections in Laos, and 
        ensure specifically that the National Assembly elections--
        currently scheduled for 2002--are openly contested; and
            (4) allow access for international human rights monitors, 
        including the International Committee of the Red Cross and 
        Amnesty International, to Lao prisons, and to all regions of 
        the country to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, 
        including those against the Hmong people, when requested.
                                 <all>