Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 - Laos

Since 2002, the Government of Laos has consistently denounced international terrorism and expressed a willingness to cooperate with the international community on counterterrorism. While domestic opposition elements have in the past employed terrorist tactics, such as ambushing civilian buses as recently as 2003 and bombing civilian targets as recently as 2004, Lao officials at many levels saw international terrorism as an issue of only marginal relevance to Laos. They believed that Laos, as a small and neutral country, would not be targeted or exploited by international terrorists.

Laos does not have a separate counterterrorism law, but the Lao judicial system was equipped to prosecute acts of terrorism as crimes under the Lao criminal code, and Laotian officials have amended the criminal code to strengthen counterterrorism sanctions. Still, a 2006 UN-sponsored counterterrorism workshop illustrated shortcomings and vagaries in the theoretical application of the Lao criminal code to deal with terrorism-related crimes, so successful prosecution under these laws is not assured. These shortcomings remained unresolved.

Laos' border security was weak; border officials could not effectively control access to the country at any of the country's border checkpoints. Border crossing along the Mekong River into Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia could be accomplished easily and without detection. Border delineation remained poor in more remote sections of the country, especially along its land borders with Vietnam and China; it was likely that unmonitored border crossings by locals occurred on a daily basis. Since September 11, 2001, Lao authorities have strengthened airport security, and airport security forces have participated in U.S.-supported security seminars to raise their standards, but security procedures at land immigration points remained lax compared with those of most other countries in the region. In addition, official Lao identity documents, including passports and ID cards, were easy to obtain.

In accordance with its obligations under UNSCR 1373, the Bank of Laos vetted government and commercial bank holdings for possible terrorist assets, as identified by U.S.-provided lists of terrorist organizations and individuals, and issued freeze orders for assets of organizations and individuals named on these lists. However, the Bank has yet to require the freezing of assets of individuals and entities included on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee consolidated list.

Lao authorities issued orders limiting the amount of cash that could be withdrawn from local banks or carried into or out of the country and strengthened reporting requirements of state and privately owned commercial banks. Banking regulation remained extremely weak, however, and the banking system was vulnerable to money laundering and other illegal transactions.