A/HRC/61/49/Add.1 60. Many interlocutors raised the issue of unfair compensation for resettlement, and regretted the repeal, in 2023, of Decree No. 84 (2016), on compensation and resettlement management in development projects. The Government explained that those issues were currently covered by the Law on Resettlement and Vocation and the 2019 Land Law. However, under article 22 of the Law on Resettlement and Vocation, while people with land use rights documents and persons with customary land use rights as certified by local authorities are to receive full remedy, affected persons without documentation are to receive a remedy only for the loss of buildings, trees and crops. According to information received, this places at a particular disadvantage large families that lack formal land titles, especially Indigenous people living on their ancestral customary lands. It is further reported that weak provisions and poor enforcement have allowed land seizures, displacement and dispossession to occur without meaningful participation or consultation and without fair compensation or adequate resettlement. According to the Government, those who have been resettled are doing much better 10 years later. However, the Special Rapporteur is unsure about the criteria used to assess success and the procedure used to obtain the feedback of the relocated people. 61. Without proper impact assessments and guarantees, resettlement policies amount to forced and illegal land-grabbing, leading to mass displacement of communities, particularly ethnic minorities and Indigenous Peoples, in violation of their human rights, including their cultural rights. 3. Impact of education policies 62. Despite the considerable progress made in enhancing access to education in the country, significant disparities reportedly remain between groups, depending on their geographic location, ethnicity and wealth. Teaching is mostly provided in the Lao language. Many non-Lao-Tai children are first exposed to the Lao language when they start school, and do not have access to a curriculum tailored to assist them to develop confidence in speaking and understanding basic Lao before learning to read and write in Lao. 13 63. While understanding the difficulties in finding teachers with knowledge of ethnic languages, the Special Rapporteur stresses that this policy, added to the many other elements raised earlier, contributes to the assimilation of ethnic groups into the Lao-Tai group. This is further entrenched by the policy to establish dormitories across the country, hosting elementary- and secondary-level students who belong to ethnic groups and are from villages. These boarding schools are compulsory and offer education in the Lao language only. Although students are permitted to communicate in their local language, the schools do not ensure that students have access to the cultural practices and resources of their communities. The Special Rapporteur warns against implementing such a policy, stressing the statement by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education that boarding schools for Indigenous Peoples, minorities and peoples claiming their right to self-determination merit special scrutiny, bearing in mind the legacy of the residential school systems brought to light in such countries as Canada. In addition, such policies can have serious negative sociopsychological impacts on children.14 64. The Special Rapporteur regrets the Government’s argument that there is no alternative by which to ensure the right to education for people in remote areas. The Government stated that there was no intentional promotion of the assimilation of ethnic cultures, thus reducing such assimilation to a side effect of its policies. However, in accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has the obligation to respect, protect and promote both the right to education and cultural rights. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the Government to article 5 of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, stressing that all persons are entitled to quality education and training that fully respect their cultural identity, and that all persons have the right to participate in the cultural life of their choice and conduct their own cultural practices, subject to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. 13 14 12 UNICEF, Student Learning Outcomes in Primary Education in Lao PDR – Situational Analysis (2015), p. 6. A/HRC/59/41, para. 62. GE.26-01463