Laos

The Asia Foundation’s current program operatesinnovative projects across the following sectors:

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Since the national constitution was adopted inLaos in 1991, many laws and regulations havebeen enacted. However, the majority of citizens,particularly in remote areas face difficulty inaccessing legal information and services. The AsiaFoundation is working together with the Ministryof Justice, Lao Bar Association (LBA), LawCommittee of the National Assembly, and othergovernment and community-based organizationsin an effort to accelerate development of the legal sector and improve access to justice for all Lao citizens.

The Foundation’s support is helping the LBA tobuild the skills of its members, with a focus onencouraging public interest law. A key achieve-ment of this partnership has been the establish-ment of the nation’s first legal aid clinics whichprovide legal aid to poor and vulnerable people,especially women, children, and minority popula-tions. To further facilitate citizens to access justice,The Asia Foundation supports the Ministry ofJustice to strengthen Village Mediation Units,including the capacity of their mediators.

The Asia Foundation also supports the LawCommittee of the National Assembly to conductlaw consultation and law dissemination meetingsto keep legal professionals updated on new oramended laws, as well to obtain their feedback on proposed laws.

PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS

OF WOMEN

For over two decades, The Asia Foundation hasworked with local partners in Laos to ensurewomen’s ability to access their legal rights,increase their presence in leadership roles, andprovide greater opportunities for women and girls to improve their lives through educationaland professional opportunities.

The Asia Foundation is providing full scholar-ships for 50 young women from poor and low-income families to pursue a four-year university degree at the National University ofLaos in Vientiane. These students are majoring in a range of disciplines including social sciences,hard sciences, and foreign languages. In additionto tuition, the scholarship covers other vitalexpenses, such as books, lodging, and uniforms.

The Asia Foundationoperated an office inLaos from 1958-1975,and began its currentprograms in 1989.

The Asia Foundation has a long history in Laos. It established its first office in 1958, then managed programs in Laos out of its Thailand office for two decades starting in 1989, and re-established its office in Laos in 2009. The Foundation’s office in Vientiane fosters effective and responsive governanceand legal systems; facilitates community-level engagement in natural resource management in order to reduce the negative impacts of development on society and the environment; expands access to information; and empowers women to access rights and socio-economic opportunities.

The Asia Foundation

strengthens legal

capacity, promotes

and protects

the rights of

women, expands

access to information,

helps communities

to safeguard natural

resources, fosters

constructive interna-

tional engagement

LAOS

HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) 392-8863info@asiafound.org

WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) 588-9409info@dc.asiafound.org

LAO PDR23 Singha RoadHouse No. 069, Unit 4Phonxay VillageXaysettha DistrictP.O. Box 8032Vientiane, Lao PDRTel: 856 (21) 454-300 taflaos@asiafound.org

www.asiafoundation.org

In 2011, The Asia Foundation and the LaoWomen’s Union conducted a survey to identifyhigh-risk factors (e.g., industries, demographicprofiles) for trafficking-in-persons in Vientiane.Survey results indicated that girls and womenwith low levels of education and vocational skillsare more vulnerable to trafficking. Furthermore,there is general lack of awareness and understand-ing of human trafficking in Laos. The AsiaFoundation is supporting the Lao Women’sUnion and the National Committee on Anti-Human Trafficking to address these issues byhelping to raise awareness for at-risk populations,as well as increase efforts to improve preventionand reintegration services for victims.

To address the challenge of gender biases relatedto decision-making and leadership, The AsiaFoundation promotes women’s participation insocial, civic, and economic processes. The AsiaFoundation supports the Gender DevelopmentAssociation to train a broad cross-section of society, from national and local governmentauthorities to villagers and women civil societyleaders, to build the prevalence and capacity ofwomen in leadership roles.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO INFORMATION

The Asia Foundation assists the Central Libraryat the National University of Laos, the NationalLibrary, the National Assembly Library, thePeople’s Supreme Court library, and many otherschool and public libraries across the country toimprove their collections and expertise. Librarianswith limited foreign acquisition budgets can

select books from the Foundation’s Books for Asia program, which donates nearly one millionEnglish-language books across Asia each year.

Among other projects, the Foundation supportedthe Coalition for Lao Information, Communication& Knowledge to increase its digital library withLao-language articles on critical issues such as law, gender, and the environment. The aim is toencourage Lao citizens who are just beginning touse the Internet to utilize it as a vital source ofinformation and research.

HELPING COMMUNITIES TO SAFEGUARD

ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES

Laos is a countryrich in naturalresources, includ-ing timber, metals, gems,minerals, fertileland, and water.This diverse land-scape is increas-ingly threatenedby unsustainableeconomic devel-opment. The AsiaFoundation supports community-driven projectsthat enable Laos citizens to both benefit from andprotect these natural resources which are criticalto their livelihoods.

In collaboration with the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment, The AsiaFoundation is spearheading a groundbreakingcommunity-based approach to monitoring andmanaging water resources in Laos. The projecteducates villagers about the importance of pro-tecting water resources, and engages them to usesimple methods to regularly monitor water quality.The water quality data generated is then used asthe basis for multi-stakeholder (e.g., government,mass organizations, industry, villagers) dialogue toprevent, minimize, or even reverse environmentalproblems.

07/2014

The Asia Foundation

is a nonprofit international

development organization

committed to improving

lives across a dynamic

and developing Asia.

Headquartered in San

Francisco, The Asia

Foundation works through

a network of offices in

18 Asian countries and in

Washington, DC. Working

with public and private

partners, the Foundation

receives funding from

a diverse group of

bilateral and multilateral

development agencies,

foundations, corporations,

and individuals.

The Asia Foundation’s programs are funded by contributions from corporations, foundations, individuals, and governmental organizations in the U.S., Europe,Canada, Australia, and Asia.