A/HRC/61/49/Add.1 with a condescending attitude, as having “backward” practices, as needing to change their ways of life to adhere to the development movement and as having little chance of seeing their children become decision-makers or work in more prestigious professions. Ethnic minorities reportedly lag on almost all economic and social indicators vis-à-vis the Lao-Tai group. The Lao-Tai group is seen by all, except in the authorities’ official narrative, as a group that dominates others through culture, education, language, religion and political and economic power. 21. Refusal to recognize groups as ethnic minorities and Indigenous Peoples means refusing people the possibility to claim and enjoy their rights under international law, particularly their right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their own language;5 and their right to self-determination.6 These rights must be implemented in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, including in remote areas, which are inhabited primarily by ethnic minorities or Indigenous Peoples and are rich in natural resources. 22. The narrative of the State is that the 50 ethnic groups live in harmony. The authorities should assess more candidly the extent to which the living-in-harmony injunction, coupled with a restrictive understanding of the principle of non-discrimination and the refusal to recognize minorities and Indigenous Peoples, hides persistent patterns of discrimination and prejudice, particularly against the less economically and politically powerful, at the intersection between ethnicity, geographical location and class. The protection guaranteed under international law must be accorded to all ethnic groups, irrespective of whether they are seen as loyal to the State. D. Differences in approaches to understanding culture and cultural rights 23. The Special Rapporteur had many exchanges on the way culture is featured in the State’s vision for the country. She understands that the Government seeks long-term development, including cultural development. In such a vision, culture is seen as a tool for development and social cohesion, whereby people are steered into cultural practices deemed to foster development. Cultural practices based on beliefs that “are not scientifically based” or deemed to be “backwards” in terms of productivity or safety are discouraged. 24. The concepts of model cultural villages and model cultural families, which are considered to practise “good culture” in opposition to “bad culture”, are instrumental to accomplishing this State vision. The “good culture” that is promoted by the Government is a notion rooted in values promoted by the Party and encompasses, among other things, being a good citizen, being modern and productive, being free from drugs and crime, living in harmony with others and contributing to the community and the wider development of the country. The Special Rapporteur was informed, for example, that model families demonstrate that they have a secure occupation, send their children to school, respect the law and follow the regulations. The criteria are set out in a National Assembly resolution on the implementation of principles on promoting cultural activities and a decree regarding the establishment of villages. Those qualifying as “models”, in return, reportedly have a better material status. 25. Model status, therefore, is used as an incentive to promote ways of life aligned with the authorities’ expectations, which are geared towards socioeconomic development and the maintenance of a peaceful society. Whatever the good intentions, the difficulty with such an approach is that it requires inhabitants to adhere to a cultural model that is presented as “civilized” rather than “backward”, with all the prejudices and discriminations this carries. Such cultural engineering, which shapes cultural dynamics for a transformation of society in the name of development, is problematic to the extent that, in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, it does not rely on a participatory and democratic process, does not tolerate 5 6 GE.26-01463 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 27; and Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. Common article 1 of the International Covenants on Human Rights; and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 5