Mr. Chair,
1. My delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Thailand on behalf of ASEAN.
2. The Lao PDR is firmly committed to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as one of our top priorities in achieving the 2030 Agenda. We acknowledge the important role of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and other regional instruments to promote women’ rights and leave no one behind.
3. In this context, the Lao PDR has successfully submitted three specific reports on Women’s Education, Women’s Health, and Rural Women and the 10th Periodic Report (2019-2022) on implementation of the CEDAW in March 2023, consisting of the progress on national policy, legislation, measures, statistical updates on the implementation of national action plans on elimination of discrimination against women in all aspects and relevant indicatorsrelated to SDGs. On this note, we appreciate the continued support and assistance provided by UN agencies, development partners and other stakeholders in the implementation process at country level.
4. As a member of ECOSOC for the term 2023-2025, the Lao PDR is highly committed to towards attaining key targets under SDG5 (Gender Equality) and has actively participated in the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women under the auspices of ECOSOC.
5. Currently, the Lao government has been implementing the National Strategy for the Advancement of Women, Mothers, and Children (2016-2025), the 4th National Plan of Action on Gender Equality (2021-2025), the Plan of Action for advancement of Women 2010-2025, and the 2nd National Plan of Action on Preventing and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Violence against Children (2021-2025), all of which have underscored the importance of the three core areas of prevention, response and coordination aiming at enhancing effective coordination between the line ministries and relevant sectors, legislative and judiciary bodies in order to promote the fundamental and legitimate rights for all women and girls in the country.
6. Over the past years, 3 core institutional mechanisms namely the National Commission for the Advancement of Women and Mother and Child (NCAWMC), the Lao Women Union and Women Parliamentarian Caucus, have played crucial roles in empowerment for women, gender equality and prevention and combatting gender-based violence. As a result, significant progress has been recorded in promotion and protection of women’s interests in all areas including political, economic, social, cultural, and family.
Mr. Chair,
7. Like other countries, women and girls in Lao PDR have been disproportionally affected by multiple challenges caused by natural calamities, social and economic difficulties, including the lingering impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, which have hampered our progress in achieving the SDGs, especially the targets under SDG5. Nevertheless, the Lao government, with continued support by development partners, has made all efforts to address the said challenges by supporting engagement of women in disaster preparedness and early warning at all levels. Women are encouraged to actively participate in the work of Disaster Management Committees at village, district, provincial and national levels in implementing the National Strategy on Mitigation of Disaster Risks from 2021 to 2030.
8. Moreover, the Lao government also attaches great importance to promoting women’s role in all socio-economic sectors, increasing their business ownership opportunity by creating an enabling environment for women in micro, small and medium enterprises as well as assisting women’ access to digital education, skills development, access to finance and market, and capacity building for e-commerce and digital economy. In addition, the implementation of the National Rural Employment Promotion Strategy 2021-2025 has further promoted economic empowerment for women particularly in rural area and provided funding and concessional credit for agricultural production and activities in order to improve their economic and social well-being.
9. In recent years, the number of women in the National Assembly have been gradually increased. Likewise, considerable number of women are holding the important positions of ministers and deputy ministers in the Cabinet and playing increasing leadership role in the local administrations. The Lao government remains committed to creating favourable conditions and enabling environment for women advancement in the future digital and innovative economy.
10. In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm the Lao PDR’s unwavering commitment to promote gender equality and advancement of women in all aspects in accordance with the international conventions the country is a party to, including the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
I thank you Mr. Chair.
