A/HRC/61/49/Add.1 of satisfactory analysis and solid proof and certainty that the Luang Prabang hydropower project upstream would not further affect the attributes of the outstanding universal value relating to the natural environment of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, associated religious and cultural practices and the living conditions of local communities. The mission recommended that the Lao People’s Democratic Republic not pursue any further advancement of the Luang Prabang hydropower project or any other new hydropower, including dam structures, in the areas where there could potentially be impacts on world heritage properties.10 51. Notwithstanding the recommendations, the construction started. Since then, the dialogue between the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage has been ongoing. The latter requested that a new joint World Heritage Centre/International Council on Monuments and Sites reactive monitoring mission evaluate the progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous decisions and the relevant recommendations of the 2022 mission, and advise the State on appropriate steps to ensure that development projects were designed, evaluated and implemented in a manner that provided sustainable social and economic benefits, while ensuring that the property’s outstanding universal value was conserved. That joint mission conducted an evaluation in March 2025.11 52. The Special Rapporteur discussed these issues with the authorities, including the Luang Prabang World Heritage Office, and asked how the recommendations of UNESCO and the Mekong River Commission had been implemented. She also raised the issues of participation of the residents of the affected villages in the decision-making, and the specific far-reaching human rights implications of the dam regarding their environment, livelihoods, access to water, food and land, and cultural rights. 53. From these discussions, the Special Rapporteur learned that villages were represented in the heritage committee mechanism for managing the site, together with representatives of various departments, which seems to imply however that village residents have quite a weak voice and are outnumbered by the administration. Moreover, local authorities have no power regarding approving dams, as decisions are adopted at the national level, far away from people’s voices, and seem to have few channels for expressing concerns. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the responses from the authorities remained vague regarding measures adopted to assess impacts on cultural rights, including ways of life, and on human rights more generally, demonstrating that the overriding priority was the construction of the dam. A lack of impact assessments means that appropriate mitigating measures cannot be adopted. The concerns expressed by many stakeholders regarding the impact on thousands of communities living around the project area, as well as in other parts of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and in other countries along the Mekong River, do not seem to have been fully considered. 54. The Special Rapporteur regrets that, according to the Mekong River Commission, human rights issues are not part of the Commission’s mandate. However, the human rights implications of water management are huge, particularly around the Mekong River. While the Commission recognizes concerns regarding the impact of resettlement on livelihoods and ways of life, this does not seem to result in any strong consideration for safeguarding rights. In addition, assessment reports are prepared by companies and governments, which does not provide sufficient guarantees for an independent inquiry. The Commission conducts its own technical assessments but no human rights impact assessments, a lacuna that must be addressed. The findings should be taken into account in decision-making. 10 11 10 World Heritage Centre and International Council on Monuments and Sites, Report on the Joint World Heritage Center / ICOMOS Mission to the “Town of Luang Prabang” (Lao PDR) (2022). Available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/196239. See https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/8804. GE.26-01463