Progress for Lao women and girls celebrated at the official launch of the country’s 10th CEDAW report

27 November 2023,Vientiane Capital - The Government of Lao PDR officially launched the 10th Periodic Report as part the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The development of the report was led by the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mother and Child, with technical support from UNFPA and financial support from KOICA. The launch was attended by high-level representatives from relevant line ministries and Development Partners.

The 10th CEDAW Report recognises the positive impacts and progress the Government’s law reforms and policies have made on advancing women’s rights, including mainstreaming CEDAW principles in many policy frameworks such as the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the RMNCAH Strategy, as well as enshrining CEDAW in targeted laws and policy such as the National Plan of Action on Gender Equality. It also tracks progress of Lao PDR to afford rights to women and girls in all their diversity, address discriminatory stereotypes and gender roles, combat gender-based violence and human trafficking, and promote women’s participation in political and public life as well as equal access to education, healthcare, employment, social and economic benefits, and family life of women and girls.

At the launch event, Mr. Thongphane Savanhphet, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vice Chairman of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mother-Child stated: "The government of the Lao PDR has paid attention and importance to the protection and promotion of human rights by becoming a party of 7 international conventions related to human rights. The implementation of the CEDAW Convention has been included in the implementation of the 5 Years National Socio-Economic Development Plan in accordance with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to lead the nation away from being an underdeveloped country which encourages women to have access to information, access to laws, and recognition of their rights, empower and capacity development, basic vocational training to generate income, improve the standard of living and wellbeing of family life."

Over the course of a year, consultations were held with government departments, civil society organizations and development partners, led by technical committee members from line ministries, including MoJ, MoFA, MoLSW, MoES, MoPS, MoH, MoAF, MoICT, MoHA, MPI(LSB), Bank of Laos, People’s Supreme Court, People’s Supreme Prosecution, LWU, and the National Lao Front. The Report was submitted to the CEDAW Committee in March 2023.

Dr Bakhtiyor Kadyrov, UNFPA Representative to Lao PDR recognised the Government of Lao’s leadership to promote women’s rights as well as progress made in the years since the combined 8th and 9th report in 2018, despite the challenging COVID-19 context and ensuing economic downturn: “UNFPA has been proud to support NCAWMC and the Government of Laos to prepare the 10th periodic CEDAW report. CEDAW, ICPD and many of the SDGs, in their essence, are aimed towards promoting the duty and responsibility of countries to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. It is through this reporting process that we can chart a course towards comprehensive and lasting change.”