Mr. Chair,

1. Lao PDR aligns itself with the statement delivered by Indonesia on behalf of ASEAN.

2. Children under 15 account for nearly 37% of the Lao population. In this context, the Lao PDR remains fully committed to promoting and protecting the rights of children and regard them among the top priorities for advancing inclusive social, economic, and sustainable development.

3. This year marks the halfway point towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic coupled with climate change, armed conflict, social and economic downturns have continued to undermine the hard-earned development gain and threaten the well-being of children.

Mr. Chair,

4. The Lao PDR has continued to improve and enact its domestic laws and regulations with a view to ensure better protection of the rights and interests of children. In this regard, the National Assembly has recently passed the amended law on the protection of the rights and interests of children in alignment with the key principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

5. In addition, the country has deployed its utmost efforts to advance the implementation of the second Five-Year National Plan of Action on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and Children (2021-2025). Institutional framework for child’s protection and services through community-based support and the Counseling Centre for Women and Children have also been established to provide advisory support and access to justice for children, including those victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation.

6. Moreover, efforts have been made to enhance capacity at national focal points within the line Ministries and relevant sectors at the central and local level. This aims to ensure effectiveness in mainstreaming policy guidelines into programs and projects related to children. Likewise, particular importance has been given to resource mobilization, improvement of reliable data and information management system, strengthening coordination mechanism in close consultation with all stakeholders, international organizations, and development partners.

7. The Lao PDR has firmly promoted the right to education for all and the commitment to transforming education sector, improving access to digital and flexible learning approaches, the application of ICT infrastructure and internet access for schools and children in urban and rural areas. Moreover, continued efforts have been made to enhance synergies and cooperation among the government ministries, private sector, and development partners to increase access to appropriate technology in education.

8. Early this year, the Lao Women’s Union in collaboration with UNICEF and Child Fund has successfully co-organized an awareness-raising event under the theme “Investing in our future means investing in our children”, aimed at promoting the crucial role of children in addressing climate issues and fostering sustainable practices for environment and biodiversity protection.

Mr. Chair,

9. Despite significant progress made during the past years, numerous challenges remain to be addressed, particularly in narrowing development gab between rural and urban areas, poverty eradication, enhancing capacity for national focal points and mobilizing sufficient resources for the implementation of the national policy and plan of action at all levels.

10. I wish to conclude by reaffirming the Lao government’s commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of all children. We stand ready to work closely with all UN agencies, development partners and other stakeholders in our common endeavour to accelerate action in attaining the 2030 Agenda and improve the well-being of our children and leave no one behind. I Thank you, Mr. Chair.