[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 402 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 402

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
     urgent need for freedom, democratic reform, and international 
monitoring of elections, human rights, and religious liberty in the Lao 
                     People's Democratic Republic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 16, 2003

Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. Nunes, 
 Mr. Chabot, Mr. Shays, Mr. Hall, Mr. Petri, Mr. Kind, Mr. Herger, Ms. 
 Schakowsky, and Mr. Rohrabacher) submitted the following resolution; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
     urgent need for freedom, democratic reform, and international 
monitoring of elections, human rights, and religious liberty in the Lao 
                     People's Democratic Republic.

Whereas, in 1975, the Kingdom of Laos, a constitutional monarchy and important 
        ally of the United States during the Vietnam War, was overthrown by the 
        Marxist Lao People's Revolutionary Party with the assistance of the 
        People's Army of North Vietnam;
Whereas the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established as a one-party 
        regime in 1975 following the communist takeover;
Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong people, a prominent highland 
        minority group, were killed or died at the hands of communist forces 
        while attempting to flee the Lao communist regime, and many others 
        perished in reeducation and labor camps;
Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong became refugees, eventually 
        resettling in the United States where they now reside as American 
        citizens and lead constructive lives as members of their communities;
Whereas the only political party allowed by law in Laos is the communist Lao 
        People's Revolutionary Party;
Whereas, in 1989, Laos held its first elections since the establishment of the 
        Lao People's Democratic Republic, but only candidates who were approved 
        by the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party were allowed to seek 
        public office;
Whereas, in 1991, Laos adopted its first constitution which purports to 
        guarantee the people of Laos a wide range of freedoms, including the 
        freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion;
Whereas the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Congress meets every five years and 
        controls or influences the organs of the state in Laos, including the 
        armed forces, the security services, and the National Assembly;
Whereas the Lao People's Revolutionary Party promulgates the five-year state 
        plans that control the economy and do not need to receive the approval 
        of the National Assembly;
Whereas, in 1999, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations held by Laotian students 
        in the capital of Vientiane calling for political and economic reforms 
        were suppressed by force by the Lao government, which arrested many of 
        the students;
Whereas Amnesty International reports that many Laotian student leaders from the 
        1999 pro-democracy demonstrations continue to be held by the Lao 
        government and languish in the Lao prison system or remain unaccounted 
        for;
Whereas, in 2001, Olivier Dupuis, a Member of the European Parliament, was 
        arrested and jailed in Laos along with a group of pro-democracy 
        activists after peacefully protesting for the release of the Lao 
        students and for democratic and human rights reforms in Laos;
Whereas international election monitors are currently not permitted to enter 
        Laos to monitor elections;
Whereas Laos remains a one-party communist state that continues to prohibit the 
        organizing of opposition political parties to the Lao People's 
        Revolutionary Party;
Whereas, in 2002, elections for the Lao People's Democratic National Assembly 
        were held nearly a year earlier than scheduled and excluded all 
        candidates from political parties other than the Lao People's 
        Revolutionary Party, as well as all overseas Laotians;
Whereas Amnesty International and other independent human rights organizations 
        are not permitted to enter Laos to monitor or investigate the human 
        rights situation or reports of alleged human rights violations;
Whereas, in 2003, the United States Commission on International Religious 
        Freedom issued a country report on religious persecution in Laos, 
        recommending that the President designate Laos as a ``country of 
        particular concern'';
Whereas the Department of State reported in its most recent Country Report on 
        Human Rights Practices in Laos that Laos restricts its citizens from 
        enjoying the freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and from 
        undertaking activities to change their government;
Whereas, in 2003, the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial 
        Discrimination stated that the Lao government had failed to honor its 
        obligations, and the Committee expressed its grave concerns at the 
        information it had received of serious and repeated human rights 
        violations in Laos;
Whereas, in October 2003, Amnesty International issued a statement detailing its 
        concern about the use of starvation by the Lao government as a weapon of 
        war against civilians in Laos and the deteriorating situation facing 
        thousands of family members of ethnic minority groups, predominantly the 
        Hmong;
Whereas, in 2003, Amnesty International's International Secretariat, in a 
        statement further detailing its concerns about Laos, condemned in the 
        strongest terms the use of starvation as a weapon of war against 
        civilians and cited it as a clear and serious violation of the Geneva 
        Conventions that Laos has ratified;
Whereas because many Laotians and Hmong, including those in the overseas 
        communities, are not members of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, 
        they do not meet with its approval as political candidates, but they are 
        nevertheless successful businessmen, technocrats, and community and 
        religious leaders with democratic aspirations and concern for the people 
        of Laos; and
Whereas the United States has a vital interest in the worldwide promotion of 
        democratic principles and respect for human rights, and supports 
        democratic reforms in Laos: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives strongly supports the 
following points and urges the Government of the Lao People's 
Democratic Republic, the United Nations, the European Union, and the 
Association of South East Asian Nations--
            (1) to work to provide unrestricted access to Laos by 
        international election monitors for upcoming presidential and 
        National Assembly elections;
            (2) to work to provide unrestricted access to Laos, 
        including special closed military zones and closed provinces, 
        by international human rights organizations, the United 
        Nations, the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom, and humanitarian aid organizations;
            (3) to work to ensure that opposition political parties and 
        their candidates are allowed to run for public office in multi-
        party elections without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, 
        religion, economic standing, or political affiliation, and that 
        all adult citizens of Laos, including overseas Laotian 
        citizens, are permitted to vote and run for public office;
            (4) to allow the citizens of Laos to assemble and 
        peacefully protest against the Government of Laos, the Lao 
        People's Revolutionary Party, and individual public officials, 
        and to freely organize opposition groups and independent 
        political parties;
            (5) to heed the call by the United Nations Committee on 
        Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the Lao People's 
        Revolutionary Party to halt immediately all acts of violence 
        against the Hmong population and provide them with humanitarian 
        assistance;
            (6) to work to gain the immediate release of those students 
        and their family members arrested and jailed in connection with 
        the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations, as well as all other 
        political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and those jailed 
        for their religious beliefs or ethnicity; and
            (7) to work to implement the recommendations of the United 
        States Commission on International Religious Freedom with 
        respect to promoting religious freedom in Laos.
                                 <all>