UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Vice-President: Lao People's Democratic Republic

Prominent Lao activist Sombath Somphone has been missing after being disappeared by apparent plain-clothes officials in 2012.
Source: Asia Times, November 27, 2019. (Photo: Twitter)

Mission of the General Assembly:
"13. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
    a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification;
    b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." ("UN Charter")

Term of office: 2021-2022

Lao People's Democratic Republic's Record on "the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion":
"Significant human rights issues included: arbitrary detention; political prisoners; serious restrictions on free expression and the press, including censorship; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including that of workers; restrictions on political participation; and corruption... In 2019 civil society organizations and lawyers claimed some prisoners were beaten or given electric shocks. International media reported in 2019 that prisoners arrested for protesting loss of access to land were subjected to electric shocks following their arrest and suffered from malnourishment and poor health after being jailed for more than a year."
(U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2020, Lao People's Democratic Republic)

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