On January 2008, Congress has released a report for Laos and U.S. Relations.
Here is the Table of Contents for the Report.
U.S. Interests and Bilateral Cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
U.S. Assistance Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Policy Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Developments of the Past Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Hmong-American Leader Vang Pao Arrested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Congressional Act Removes Terrorist Label on Hmong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Political and Economic Situation in Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Foreign Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Economic Conditions, Trade, and Foreign Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Laos-U.S. Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Foreign Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Human Rights Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Religious Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Hmong Minority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hmong Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Laos: Background and U.S. Relations
The United States and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) cooperate in important areas despite disagreements regarding human rights policies in Laos and the LPDR’s strong ties with China and Vietnam. Areas of U.S.-Laos cooperation include: the recovery of Americans missing in action (MIAs), counter-narcotics efforts, the removal of land mines, and avian flu.
The United States provides relatively little foreign assistance to Laos. Total U.S. assistance to Laos in FY2007 was estimated to be $4.8 million compared to $4.3 million in 2006. Most U.S. aid has focused on counter-narcotics and de-mining efforts. Funding for de-mining efforts declined in 2007 and is likely to decrease further in 2008. New aid program areas include public health, economic development, judicial reform, and civil society. The United States government remains concerned about the plight of former and remaining Hmong insurgents and their families, with ties to the U.S.-backed Hmong guerilla army of the Vietnam War period, who now number some 2,000-3,000 persons. Some Hmong-American and international human rights groups claim that the “mountain Hmong” are virtually defenseless and continue to be subject to Lao army campaigns and political persecution.
Approximately 8,000 Hmong wishing to emigrate to the United States currently reside in a camp in Thailand’s Phetchaboun province. The United States has urged the Thai government not to deport the Hmong unless they are interviewed for refugee status, and has encouraged the Lao government to allow international monitoring and
humanitarian access to resettlement efforts. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161, Section 691(b)) provides that, for the purposes of Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Hmong and certain other groups shall not be considered to be terrorist organizations and thus barred from entry into the United States.
Social and economic conditions in Laos reportedly have improved in some areas.
The country was upgraded to Tier 2 on the U.S. State Department’s trafficking in persons list (2007) for making significant efforts to curtail trafficking, although significant problems remain. Religious freedom reportedly has improved,
particularly in urban areas. Opium production and use have dropped dramatically since 1998. The country reportedly has made progress in deepening economic reforms as it prepares to apply for membership in the World Trade Organization
(WTO). This report will be updated as warranted.