Statement by Mr. Sackpaseuth Sisouk,
Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
to the United Nations at the Sixth Committee of the 75th Session
of the United Nations General Assembly
on Agenda item 86:
“Rule of Law at the National and International Levels”
New York, 20 October 2020
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Mr. Chairperson,
I wish to begin by extending our sincere congratulations to you, Mr. Chairperson, and the other Bureau members of the Sixth Committee on your election. My delegation expresses its appreciation for the report of the Secretary-General for this agenda item.
My delegation associates itself with the statements delivered by the distinguished representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Cambodia on behalf of Non-Aligned Movement and ASEAN, respectively.
Mr. Chairperson,
My delegation is of the view that it is crucial for the international community to ensure universal adherence to and implementation of the rule of law at both the national and international levels. It is also our belief that during this challenging time, the rule of law from the international dimension should be given greater attention to, so as to maintain an international order and peaceful environment for peaceful coexistence and cooperation among Member States, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Therefore, the international community should further strengthen the rule of law to support the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, peaceful settlement of disputes and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
Mr. Chairperson,
With regards to the sub-topic of discussion on “Measures to prevent and combat corruption,” my delegation shares the view that corruption is a complex problem, which undermines socio-economic development while posing negative impact on the effective functioning of various institutions. The Lao PDR ratified the UN Convention against Corruption in September 2009 and has been implementing the Anti-Corruption Strategy Towards 2020, which was adopted in 2012, to counter corruption, bureaucracy and extravagance. It is underpinned by the Prime Minister’s Decree on the Adoption and Implementation of Anti-Corruption Strategy No. 511/PM and has been translated into various laws and policy documents, including programmes and action plans for 2016–2020. Presently, the national legal framework for preventing and combating corruption includes the Anti-Corruption Law, the Law on State Inspection, the Law on State Audit, the Law on Civil Servants, the Law on the Handling of Petitions, the Law on Anti-Money-Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, the Penal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.
Mr. Chairperson,
While we have made considerable progress in the implementation of the Legal Sector Master Plan, the Anti-Corruption Strategy and 5-year Action Plans, there remains much more work to be done in order to further enhance our capacity, standard of legislative framework, improve legal institutions and system, promote public awareness of legal rights and obligations, and public participation in the legal system as well as increasing the effectiveness of the implementation of the international instruments to which the Lao PDR is a party to.
Let me conclude, Mr. Chairperson, by stressing the need for the international community to further strengthen international cooperation and support measures to the least developed countries so that they can effectively promote the rule of law while fighting against corruption at both national and international levels. On this note, we look forward to the productive Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Corruption to be held in June 2021.
Thank you.
