UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
On the Ground in Lao PDR
UNDP Country Office in the Lao PDR offers support to the Lao PDR Government within the context of both the common UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the Government's National Socio-economic Development Plan (NSEDP). UNDP is committed to support the Government of Lao PDR to achieve the overarching national goal of lifting the country from the ranks of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by 2020. The country's performance as measured through UNDP's Global Human Development Index (HDI) has shown consistent improvement since 1993. Lao PDR is currently ranked 130th out of 177 countries, classified in the "Medium Human Development" category.
News
Updates on Pandemic H1N1 2009 at UN Lao PDR Website here.
22 June 2009 - UNDP – supporting access to justice
As Mr. Dirk Wagener, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative and Head of Governance Unit emphasized in his opening remarks to the Access to Justice Survey Workshop in Vientiane on 22 June, “ Access to Justice is a basic human right as well as an indispensable means to combat poverty and to prevent or resolve conflicts. It is the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy for their grievances through formal or informal institutions and mechanisms of justice. It is also about ensuring that judicial outcomes are just and equitable.” With strong linkages between democratic governance, poverty reduction and access to justice, UNDP support to access to justice is at the centre of its global mandate to eradicate poverty and to advance human development. Current UNDP support in Lao PDR to the “Lao Bar Association Access to Justice Project” has seen public legal education and legal aid services dispensed to people across the country. The aim of this new survey, along with the Customary Law survey taking place later this year, is to build on such initiatives. Read More.
5 June 2009 - In order to raise public awareness about climate change and other environment problems which happening both in Lao PDR and globally, and to increase people's participation in environmental conservation activities in their own communities, UNDP Lao PDR was a partner with the Water Resource and Environment Administration (WREA) in staging activities for communities and young people for World Environment Day: UNite to Combat Climate Change. Read More.
The Global Photography Campaign launched on 1 June 2009 aims to promote and showcase examples of people winning the battle against poverty, social exclusion and marginalization, bringing answers to the questions above. Read More.
21 May2009 - Launch of the National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change (NAPA) and the National Capacity Needs Self Assessment (NCSA) for Global Environment Management
On May 21 2009, the Water Resource and Environment Administration (WREA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change (NAPA) and the National Capacity Needs Self Assessment (NCSA) for Global Environment Management. These two projects have been implemented by WREA, supported by UNDP, and have received funding from the Global Environment Facility and the Least Developed Country Fund. They have enabled Government to, firstly, identify key priorities for adapting to climate change in the Lao PDR and, secondly, prioritize capacity needs to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Read more.
19 May2009 - UNDP and WREA celebrate 4 years of progress towards Strengthened Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Lao PDR is party to ten global multilateral environmental agreements, providing a framework for the country to cooperate with the international community in the protection of the global environment. Through issues including climate change, biological diversity, world cultural and natural heritage, the Kyoto Protocol and the international trade in endangered species, this global participation is an opportunity for the nation to seek financial and technical assistance to support the environmental protection activities required to ensure sustainable development.
On 19 May 2009, at an event to close the UNDP project “Coordinating the Implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Lao PDR”, Water Resource and Environment Administration (WREA) and UNDP participants highlighted the achievements of the 4-year project, which has contributed significantly to improving national capacity to negotiate and implement global environment commitments.
Read more.
15 May2009 - To further support the implementation of the Vientiane Declaration, DIC and UNDP enter new partnership to build and develop national capacities for management of development programmes
On Friday 15 May 2009, the Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Planningand UNDP signed a new 3-year agreement at a ceremony in Vientiane. The Capacity Development for National Implementation 2009 – 2011 agreement was signed by Mr Somchit Inthamith, Director General of DIC/MPI, and Ms Sonam Yangchen Rana, UNDP Resident Representative in the Lao PDR. The ceremony marked the beginning of a new initiative, to which UNDP will allocate USD 1.5 million over three years. Read more.
12 May2009- UNDP support for Decree enabling local not-for-profit
associations
The UNDP Resident Representative in the Lao PDR, Ms Sonam Yangchen Rana, congratulated the Government on its significant new Decree on Associations, which for the first time will allow local not-for-profit associations to register and operate independently. UNDP has supported PACSA in the decree drafting process since 2006, and has also provided complementary support in increasing understanding of civil society within government, exposure to international examples, and raising awareness in the provinces and community. The Decree, signed on 29 April 2009 by the Prime Minister H. E. Bouasone Bouphavanh, becomes effective in November. Read more.
11 April 2009 - United Nations Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon made an official visit to the Lao PDR on April 10th and 11th, the first by any Secretary-General in nearly a quarter of a century.
Speaking at the newly-completed UN House in Vientiane where the UNDP Country Office now works, Mr Ban Ki-moon said that he is optimistic that the Lao PDR will meet its national development goals - to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by its target date of 2020. Mr Ban Ki-moon said the government was to be congratulated for its commitment to achieving the MDGs, and the steady progress it had made in improving health, education and living standards. However he also stressed the scale of the challenges still to be addressed. Read more.
Photos from the visit of the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon. Click for the full-size picture.
Lao PDR
On Friday 15 May 2009, the Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Planningand UNDP signed a new 3-year agreement at a ceremony in Vientiane. The Capacity Development for National Implementation 2009 – 2011 agreement was signed by Mr Somchit Inthamith, Director General of DIC/MPI, and Ms Sonam Yangchen Rana, UNDP Resident Representative in the Lao PDR. The ceremony marked the beginning of a new initiative, to which UNDP will allocate USD 1.5 million over three years. 
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