United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – UNHCR

Branch Office in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Agency Mission Statement
Reintegration Assistance Programmes in the Lao PDR
Key documents and publications
Link to existing project website
Agency address and contact numbers
Links to HQ main website

Agency Mission Statement

“UNHCR, the United Nations refugee organisation, is mandated by the United Nations to lead and co-ordinate international action for the world-wide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems. UNHCR’s primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, and to return home voluntarily. By assisting refugees to return to their own country or to settle in another country, UNHCR also seeks lasting solutions to their plight.”
http://www.unhcr.ch/un&ref/mission/ms1.htm

UNHCR’s main role in the Lao PDR is to ensure that repatriated returnees are settled and reintegrated in conditions of safety and dignity. Since UNHCR established a presence in Vientiane in October 1974 it has assisted the repatriation and reintegration of close to 30.000 returnees, the last 1.162 of which returned during the last quarter of 1999. Having recently received the last group of returnees, UNHCR is in the process of phasing down and is planning to completely phase out it’s presence in the Lao PDR by the end of December 2001.

The overall objective of UNHCR in the Lao PDR is thus to ensure a smooth phase-out in which remaining activities are handed-over and followed-up in a way that assures that all returnee groups live in safety and dignity and are either self-sufficient or are included in other initiatives that are expected to lead to their self-sufficiency.

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Reintegration Assistance Programmes in the Lao PDR

UNHCR has assisted returnees in settling in more than 40 sites in the provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, Sayabouri, Luang Prabang, Houaphan, Xieng Khouang, Vientiane, Vientiane Municipality, Bolikhamxay, Khammouane, Savannakhet, Saravanh and Champassak. The programme assistance for these sites includes:

·     Provision of repatriation assistance-packages containing both cash and in-kind assistance covering the first two years of reintegration for all returnees;

·         Construction of dispensaries and/or provision of medical equipment and supplies for returnee- and neighbouring communities;

·         Construction of schools for returnee- and neighbouring communities;

·         Provision of materials for construction of latrines;

·         Construction of access-roads to returnee sites;

·         Clearing of cultivation land and home-plots for returnees;

·         Provision of irrigation for cultivation land;

·         Provision of materials for GFS and/or wells;

·         Provision of vocational training for both returnees and local authorities at all levels;

Concurrently, all returnees have been, and are being monitored to ensure that they enjoy their full constitutional civil rights as Laotian citizens. Incidents, signs of discrimination, and cases of detention are taken up with the Lao authorities.

Since the return of the last group of returnees in 1999, the primary focus of UNHCR has been on their reintegration, with some attention on a few additional returnee villages established in previous years that have been unable to achieve self-sufficiency. Furthermore, UNHCR continues to seek the active involvement of the government and other agencies in monitoring and assistance to returnees, and seek to make sure that they do not become a forgotten group after our departure. This will partially be sought achieved through promotion and support of capacity building activities at central and provincial level in order to enhance inclusion of returnees in national development plans.

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Key documents and publications

http://www.unhcr.ch/refworld/welcome.htm

Or, see list of recent UNHCR publications:

http://www.unhcr.ch/pubs/pubs.htm

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http://www.unhcr.ch/world/asia/laos.htm

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Agency address and contact numbers

UNHCR Vientiane
P.O. Box 760
Phone Kheng Road
Ban Sibounhuang
Vientiane

Tel:             856 21 212038
                  856 21 212039

Fax:           856 21 213385

Mobile:        020-514920 (Rep.’s direct line)
                   020-514950 (Adm./Programme)

E-mail:   laovi@unhcr.ch

Links to HQ main website

www.unhcr.ch

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