State of the World's Minorities 2008 - Laos
| Publisher | Minority Rights Group International |
| Publication Date | 11 March 2008 |
| Cite as | Minority Rights Group International, State of the World's Minorities 2008 - Laos , 11 March 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/48a7eae6c.html [accessed 8 June 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. |
About 60 per cent of the population of Laos is Theravada Buddhist – Buddhism being both encouraged and controlled by the state. It is estimated that there are more than 35,000 Evangelical Christians in Laos, most of them belonging to the minority Hmong, Khmu and other tribes. According to a March 2007 report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Society for Threatened Peoples, ethnic minorities in Laos face limitations of their religious freedom. For instance, Lao Christians were arrested for sharing and spreading their beliefs among families and fellow villagers.
Already under construction, the Nam Theun 2 dam, located in the central Lao provinces of Bolikhamzy and Khammuane, is one of the biggest and most controversial projects in the region, impacting a river system on which 130,000 people depend for their fishing and farming-based livelihoods.
According to the International Rivers Network, 6,200 Lao Tai villagers have already been forced to move from their ancestral lands in order to make way for the dam's reservoir, which covers an area of 450 sq km.
