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Do you know Laos aims to become the "battery of Asia"?
📍As part of its quest to become the battery of Asia, Laos plans to have at least 100 hydropower projects in operation by 2030.
🚨However, for years, Laos has been warned to conduct proper social & environmental impact assessments and to improve transparency in order to mitigate both the impact of large-scale hydropower projects and the risks of man-made disasters.
But Laos never listened…and in 2018, the Lao people paid the price. Following the collapse of the Attapeu dam, at least 71 people were killed and more than 7000 people were displaced.
⚖️In 2022, Manushya Foundation submitted a follow-up complaint to relevant human rights experts at the United Nations to call attention to the numerous human rights violation of the Attapeu communities. In its disappointing response, the Lao government, again, denied any responsibility for the collapse.
Worryingly, more than 4 years after the Attapeu dam collapse, specific legislation to effectively ensure the safety of hydropower projects is still cruelly lacking in Laos.
#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings
✊With extreme weather induced by climate change becoming increasingly frequent, now more than ever, Laos must adopt mandatory human rights due diligence legislation (mHRDD)!
✊It is only through meaningful mHRDD legislation that businesses can be compelled to prevent and mitigate the risks resulting from their activities and be held accountable when they cause harm!
📣It is high time Laos put #PeopleOverProfit!
While you are here…
➡️ All you need to know about Manushya Foundation’s previous work on Laos, the Attapeu dam collapse and our campaign to #FreeMuay from jail:
News Release: Responsible governments and implicated companies must ensure safety and effective access to information of communities living near the Nam Theun 1 dam in Laos, 23 August 2022
News Release: Lao Government and Implicated Companies Must Deliver Justice for Survivors of 2018 Attapeu Dam Collapse, 26 July 2022.
Follow-up UN Complaint to seek Justice for the Survivors of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam Collapse, in Attapeu Province, Laos, 28 February 2022.
#Freemuay from jail in Laos: Campaign to Free Lao woman human rights defender Ms. Houayheuang Xayabouly (Muay) and stop the human rights violations against her.
Manushya’s Foundation UPR Factsheet to inform Lao PDR’s Third UPR: Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Lao PDR - Legal Framework, Challenges, Case Studies & Community-led UPR Recommendations, January 2020.
Joint Statement: One year after Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse, civil society from Korea and the Mekong call for immediate accountability and redress, 23 July 2019;
Joint Submission with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Lao PDR Third UPR Cycle, 21 July 2019;
Manushya Foundation's Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights on the situation in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), March 2019;
Statement of the Thai Business & Human Rights Network on the Lao Dam Collapse, 20 August 2018;
News release: Laos must undertake a transparent and independent investigation to ensure effective remedies for the victims of the dam collapse – and Thailand should also bear responsibility, 20 August 2018.