A/HRC/41/39/Add.2 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights visited the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from 18 to 28 March 2019. The purpose of the visit was to report to the Human Rights Council on the extent to which the Government’s policies and programmes relating to extreme poverty were consistent with its human rights obligations and to offer constructive recommendations to the Government and other stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government for inviting him and facilitating his visit and for its continuing engagement. The report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 35/19.1 2. The Special Rapporteur held consultations with people living in poverty, representatives of civil society and United Nations and humanitarian agencies and diplomats. In addition to Vientiane Prefecture, he travelled to Champasack to visit a village whose residents had been resettled to make way for dam reservoirs, to Attapeu to visit three temporary camps for survivors of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam collapse (Hadyao, Tamayord and Dong Ban) and a village devastated by the collapse (Mai Village) and to Houaphanh, where he visited Huameuang district and Phanang, Pahkatai and Mon villages. He visited schools, health centres, a hospital and an unexploded ordnance clearance site and met with village leaders, educators, health workers and representatives of the Lao Women’s Union, as well as government officials at the district, provincial and national levels. 3. At the conclusion of his visit, the Special Rapporteur presented his preliminary findings to representatives of various ministries, who stressed their interest in productive dialogue and in constructive recommendations. The present report contains recommendations intended to support efforts to realize the human rights of people in poverty and to promote sustainable development. It should be read in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur’s end of mission statement,2 given that many of the recommendations herein rely upon the detailed findings and supporting evidence contained in that statement, which are not reproduced here owing to word limits. 4. In poverty reduction terms, there is much to commend. The country has done an impressive job of reducing the number of people living below the international poverty line. The percentage of those living on less than $1.90 per day fell from 52.4 per cent in 1997 to 22.7 per cent in 2012, which reflects the most recent data available. 3 Net secondary school enrolment has increased from 27 per cent in 2002 to 50 per cent in 2012. 4 The rate of women dying of pregnancy-related causes fell by half between 2005 and 2015, 5 and, although a troubling 33 per cent of children under 5 years of age are stunted, that percentage is down from 44 per cent in 2012.6 The Government has established the Poverty 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the excellent research and analysis undertaken by Bassam Khawaja, Rebecca Riddell and staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24417&LangID=E. World Bank, “Poverty and equity data portal: Lao People’s Democratic Republic”. Available from http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/country/LAO. World Bank, “Lao PDR Poverty Policy Notes: Drivers of Poverty Reduction in Lao PDR”, October 2015, p. 9. Available from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/590861467722637341/ pdf/101567-REPLACENENT-PUBLIC-Lao-PDR-Poverty-Policy-Notes-Drivers-of-PovertyReduction-in-Lao-PDR.pdf. Jonna P. Estudillo (East-West Center), “Government Programs Have Begun to Reduce Maternal Deaths in Lao PDR: Now What Comes Next?”, 30 March 2018. Available from www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/government-programs-have-begun-reduce-maternal-deaths-inlao-pdr-now-what-comes-next. Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Statistics Bureau, “Lao Social Indicator Survey II: Survey Findings Report”, 2018, pp. 17 and 36. Available from www.unicef.org/eap/sites/unicef.org.eap/files/201806/Summary%20Survey%20Findings%20Report%20an%20statistical%20snapshots%20of%20Lao% 20Social%20Indicator%20Survey%20II.pdf. 3