[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 309--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING 
                           CONDITIONS IN LAOS

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Wellstone, Mrs. 
Feinstein, and Mr. Grams) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Finance:

                              S. Res. 309

       Whereas Laos was devastated by civil war from 1955 to 1974;
       Whereas the people of Laos have lived under the 
     authoritarian, one-party government of the Lao People's 
     Revolutionary Party since the overthrow of the existing Royal 
     Lao government in 1975;
       Whereas the communist government of the Lao People's 
     Democratic Republic sharply curtails basic human rights, 
     including freedom of speech, assembly, association, and 
     religion;
       Whereas political dissent is not allowed in Laos and those 
     who express their political will are severely punished;
       Whereas the Lao constitution protects freedom of religion 
     but the Government of Laos in practice restricts this right;
       Whereas Laos is not a signatory of the Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights or the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights;
       Whereas Laos is a party to international human rights 
     treaties, including the International Convention on the 
     Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the 
     Convention on the Political Rights of Women;
       Whereas the 1999 State Department Report on Human Rights 
     Practices in Laos finds that ``societal discrimination 
     against women and minorities persist'';
       Whereas the State Department's report also finds that the 
     Lao government ``discriminates in its treatment of 
     prisoners'' and uses ``degrading treatment, solitary 
     confinement, and incommunicado detention against perceived 
     problem prisoners'';
       Whereas two American citizens, Houa Ly and Michael Vang, 
     were last seen on the border between Laos and Thailand in 
     April 1999 and may be in Laos; and
       Whereas many Americans of Hmong and Lao descent are deeply 
     troubled by the conditions in Laos: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate calls on the Government of the 
     Lao People's Democratic Republic to--
       (1) respect the basic human rights of all of its citizens, 
     including freedom of speech, assembly, association, and 
     religion;
       (2) ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 
     the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
       (3) fulfill its obligations under the international human 
     rights treaties to which it is a party, including the 
     International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
     Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Political 
     Rights of Women;
       (4) take demonstrable steps to ensure that Hmong and other 
     ethnic minorities who have been returned to Laos from 
     Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia are--
       (A) accepted into Lao society on an equal par with other 
     Lao citizens;
       (B) allowed to practice freely their ethnic and religious 
     traditions and to preserve their language and culture without 
     threat of fear or intimidation; and
       (C) afforded the same educational, economic, and 
     professional opportunities as other residents of Laos;
       (5) allow international humanitarian organizations, 
     including the International Red Cross, to gain unrestricted 
     access to areas in which Hmong and other ethnic minorities 
     have been resettled;
       (6) allow independent monitoring of prison conditions;
       (7) release from prison those who have been arbitrarily 
     arrested on the basis of their political or religious 
     beliefs; and
       (8) cooperate fully with the United States Government in 
     the ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of Houa Ly and 
     Michael Vang, two United States citizens who were last seen 
     near the border between Laos and Thailand in April 1999.

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