U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2004 - Laos
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Author | Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism |
| Publication Date | 27 April 2005 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2004 - Laos, 27 April 2005, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/468107e85.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Laos has continued to support the global war on terrorism, but lacks specific counterterrorism laws. The Office of the Prosecutor General is drafting amendments to existing criminal law, under which acts of terrorism fall, to make more explicit the descriptions of and punishments for terrorism-related crimes. Efforts to implement the counterterrorism provisions of multilateral agreements are hampered by weak enforcement procedures and inefficiency of security organizations. The Government cooperated bilaterally on counterterrorism issues with the United States and other nations, and multilaterally with the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Laos suffered a handful of incidents of domestic terrorism in 2004, carried out by groups opposed to the Lao Government. A group calling itself the Free Democratic People's Government of Laos claimed credit for several small bombings, which resulted in one death and a number of injuries. This group also claimed responsibility for several explosions in Vientiane designed to disrupt the ASEAN Summit in late November 2004.
