A/HRC/13/40/Add.4 I. Introduction 1. Following an invitation by the Government, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a mission to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. From 23 to 30 November 2009, the Special Rapporteur visited the capital Vientiane as well as Luang Prabang and Savannakhet provinces pursuant to her mandate to identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and to present recommendations on ways and means to overcome such obstacles. 2. The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the invitation she received in June 2009 and for the cooperation extended by the Government during her visit. In Vientiane, she had the opportunity to talk to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Chairman of the Social-Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly. She also met with the Governor and ViceGovernor of Savannakhet province, the Vice-Governor of Luang Prabang province and with district and village chiefs and a representative of the Lao Women’s Union. Since the Lao Front for National Construction is in charge of overseeing religious activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Special Rapporteur is pleased that she was able to talk with the Vice-President of the Front and with various staff members, both at the national and provincial levels.1 3. During her mission, the Special Rapporteur had unimpeded access to individuals, officials and members of religious groups that she wished to and was able to meet, though it took some negotiations with Government officials to reach this understanding. However, the Special Rapporteur regrets that her visit to Samkhe prison on 25 November 2009 was an exception, since the prison authorities adamantly refused to allow her to speak in private and freely with the prisoners. The detainees appeared to be frightened to respond to some very basic queries and were afraid to speak to the Special Rapporteur without the presence of the prison authorities. She would like to recall that the terms of reference for fact-finding missions by Special Rapporteurs and Special Representatives provide mandate holders with full freedom of inquiry, including confidential and unsupervised contact with persons deprived of their liberty.2 4. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was able to collect first-hand information and documents on the state of freedom of religion or belief in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. She met with leaders and followers of a number of religious or belief communities, including Animists, Bahá’ís, Buddhists, Evangelical Christians, Muslims, Roman Catholics and Seventh-Day Adventists. During her mission, the Special Rapporteur also interacted with citizens regarding the issues of her mandate, however some people admitted their self-censorship and hesitation in approaching the authorities in any matters of religion. 5. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur held meetings with academics, diplomats, representatives of international civil society organizations, journalists and lawyers. She also met with a number of representatives of international organizations, including from the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Special Rapporteur thanks all her 1 2 4 See CERD/C/451/Add.1, para. 20 for a description of the various tasks of the Lao Front for National Construction. E/CN.4/1998/45, appendix V and see paras. 50–53 below. GE.10-10542