Category: Politics

The National Commission for the Advancement of Mothers and Children (NCAWMC),in partnership with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and financially supported by the Government of Australia, convened the endorsement and dissemination meeting for the ‘‘Standard Operating Procedures for Coordination, Governance of Coordination and Referral Pathways for Women and Girls Subject to Violence”.

This meeting gathered stakeholders from sectors: health, social, justice and police as well as relevant line ministries and development partners working on the response to gender-based violence.

The Coordination SOP is the result of intensive technical consultations amongst all sectors under the leadership of the NCAWMC. It is aligned with the internationally recognized Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (the ESP). It is also a significant step forward for Lao PDR, ensuring that all sectors are responding to violence against women in a coordinated and collaborative way.

Similar to the global average, the 2014 National Survey on Violence Against Women in Laos, showed that 1 in 3 women experienced at least one (physical, sexual and/or emotional) type of violence in their lifetime. Yet, only around 10% of survivors reported or sought services from authorities such as health centres, women’s organisations, or police.

In Laos, responding to violence against women is not yet systematic and institutional. Fragmented approaches using good intentions and ad hoc measures because no standardized mechanism was in place to assure quality services and response.

Establishing SOPs for all relevant sectors, particularly the coordination SOP, is critical to strengthen systems and create a framework for sectors to work vertically, as well as horizontally. Meaning, there is no “wrong door” for survivors to walk through if they are seeking help – be it a hospital, a district Lao Women Union (LWU) office, a shelter, by calling LWU helpline or going to the closest police station. The coordination SOP once rolled out will enable all service providers to provide care based on their role and be trained to refer to other services and sectors.

“The coordination SOP will guide our professional and skilled GBV service providers all around the country. It is important that when a woman or girl subject to violence contacts a service provider, she feels safe, respected, and is given agency and choice regarding the care and services she needs,” said Dr Inlavanh Keobounphanh, Vice Standing Chairperson of NCAWMC and President of LWU.

The government of the Lao PDR has recognized the importance of eliminating violence against women and girls through the Law on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Children (2014), and the Five-Year National Plan of Action on the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children (2021-2025) as well as commitments made to the International Conference on Population and Development “ICPD25”, to CEDAW and to Beijing Platform for Action.

“The SOP guides the national coordination of a high-level steering committee of key ministries that respond to GBV. It also sets up a Referral Pathway for GBV survivors – a pathway that helps service providers guide survivors of VAW/GBV, on what services are available and where including-medical, psycho-social support, police assistance and legal/justice support,” said Ms Mariam Khan, UNFPA Representative to the Lao PDR.

Following this endorsement, the SOPs will be implemented in target provinces, before progressively scaled up nationwide.

Source: Lao News Agency

The recent incident related to asylum seekers being pushed from Turkey into Greece, in the Evros region, is yet another attempt by Turkey to instrumentalize the migration-refugee issue and, possibly, to create a border issue at the same time.

In the face of this new attempt against our national interests, prudence and responsibility are required of all political forces in our country, rather than an attempt by part of the opposition to turn the issue into a field of partisan confrontation.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic

The Lao Embassy and Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing, China have jointly organized an exchange event and sport competitions to celebrate the Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2022 which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two neighbours (Sep 5, 1962-2022) and the 45th anniversary of Laos-Vietnam Treaty for Amity and Cooperation (Jul 18, 1977-2022).

The events were participated by Lao Ambassador to China Khamphao Eunthavanh, her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Sao Mai, staff of the two embassies and journalists of the two countries.

Delivering remarks at the exchange event, held at the Vietnamese embassy on Sunday, Lao Ambassador Khamphao Eunthavanh and her Vietnamese counterpart highlighted the longstanding solidarity and mutual assistance between Laos and Vietnam, especially during their struggle against imperialists and feudalist administrations.

Under the clear-sighted leadership of then Indochina Communist Party, the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Lao and Vietnamese people fought side by side in prolonged wars against common enemy and feudalist administrations to seize independence and sovereignty for their beloved motherlands.

Both ambassadors noted that after the two countries were fully liberated, the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam founded by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane and President Souphanouvong have been nurtured and protected with blood and sweat of warriors and people of the two countries from one generation to the next, and have been deepened in all areas.

Ambassador Khamphao Eunthavanh expressed her appreciation on the socio-economic development achievements Vietnam has recorded over the past two years despite of challenges including Covid-19 pandemic, and Vietnam’s successful hosting of the 31st SEA Games in May 2022.

She also spoke highly of the priceless mutual assistance between the two countries both during the national liberation cause and the current time of national development as well as over the past two years of fight against Covid-19.

Source: Lao News Agency

Chinese state media has stopped promoting a short film that depicted the everyday struggles of a disabled man in rural China and drew tens of millions of views before prompting widespread online criticism of Beijing’s poor disability rights record.

Following the online criticism from Chinese people with and without disabilities, top Chinese video streaming website BiliBili removed the film from its recommended list as official promotion ceased.

The 11-and-a-half-minute film, titled How Erjiu Cured My Mental Friction after Being Back in the Village for Three Days, centers on a man identified as “Erjiu,” or second-eldest uncle. Erjiu’s relative, Tang Hao, shot the film after he visited his home at an undisclosed location in rural China. Tang said he would not release Erjiu’s name or location for privacy reasons. Erjiu himself does not speak in the film.

Released near the end of July, the film follows the 66-year-old man, who has a disability in his left leg. Institutional barriers prevented him from all but a limited education, so he turned to carpentry.

After years working as a skilled carpenter, Erjiu now takes care of his 88-year-old mother and works as a handyman for their village. The film emphasizes that Erjiu doesn’t complain or feel sorry for himself.

The narrative seems inspiring — but that’s part of the problem, according to Shixin Huang, a scholar who focuses on disability studies in China. In her field, disability is viewed as a social and political construction, which is far from how it is often considered in China, she said.

“This film perpetuates the stigma attached to disability as a form of personal tragedy instead of a societal problem,” Huang told VOA Mandarin in an interview. “It’s a form of personal tragedy that lies on the individual himself. This kind of perception of disability actually then justifies all the suffering and barriers that Erjiu encounters in his life.”

This view of disability essentially absolves the government of any responsibility to do more to help people with disabilities, according to Huang, who said that was one of the main critiques online. She pointed to Erjiu’s limited education and limited career opportunities as examples of real barriers that people with disabilities face in China.

In 2006, the China National Sample Survey on Disability found the country’s disabled population stood at just under 83 million, or 6.34% of the total 1.3 billion. The World Health Organization says 15% of the world’s population is disabled.

Zhang Jianping, an independent legal worker in Jiangsu province who has paraplegia, or paralysis in lower parts of the body, agrees with Huang. After state media outlets including the People’s Daily and Xinhua began promoting the film as a positive depiction of one man triumphing over adversity, viewers started to think more critically about what they were watching, he said.

Viewers grew frustrated that the government “seemed to have no responsibility for people with disabilities,” Zhang told VOA Mandarin in an interview. “State media originally wanted to promote it as positive, but then the film lost its value. It seemed like public opinion was changing, so they quickly removed it.”

This film is an example of a “supercrip” narrative, according to University of California, Santa Barbara professor Hangping Xu, referring to stereotypical stories about people who miraculously overcome their disability and succeed. These narratives are often intended to inspire able-bodied people, he added.

“In this film, suffering is fetishized and justified,” Xu told VOA Mandarin in an interview. “The story seems to suggest that with enough stamina and fortitude, suffering can lead to greater wisdom.”

China’s disability rights record parallels its broader human rights record — both of which are poor. In a July submission to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern about the Chinese government’s noncompliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which China ratified in 2008. Progress has been slow since.

The Chinese government still shackles people with psychosocial disabilities, according to HRW, and people with disabilities continue to face barriers to education. Over 40% of people with disabilities in China are illiterate, according to a 2013 HRW report.

“China attaches great importance to ensuring the basic livelihood of persons with disabilities, improving their quality of life and promoting their all-round development,” Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, told VOA Mandarin in an email.

“A special welfare system has been established at the national level, covering tens of millions of disabled people, including living allowances, nursing subsidies, and rehabilitation assistance for children,” he continued.

Pengyu also told VOA that the enrollment rate of disabled children and adolescents in compulsory education exceeded 95%. In 2013, HRW reported that about 28% of children with disabilities were not receiving compulsory basic education. The report is the most recently available research.

About 15 million people with disabilities live on less than $1 per day in the Chinese countryside, according to HRW.

In China, “it’s difficult for people with disabilities to survive,” said Zhang, who has paraplegia due to a traffic accident many years ago. To the government, “people with disabilities are nothing at all.”

Huang wasn’t surprised that the film prompted so much backlash online.

Central to the film is the concept of self-reliance, something Beijing values. The depiction of that theme appears to have struck a chord among Chinese viewers, Huang said.

“There’s a lot of social dissatisfaction,” Huang said, pointing to China’s economic downturn, rising unemployment rate and extreme COVID-19 restrictions as some recent factors. “So this film might be triggering people’s dissatisfaction about those social problems.”

Zhang, the legal worker, told VOA Mandarin that he thought state media initially hyped the film in an attempt to distract people from the country’s current economic troubles. Lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as part of the official “Zero COVID” policy hobbled factories and exports and reduced consumer spending.

“State media had to use this seemingly positive story to make people feel hopeful. But state media did not expect people to reflect further,” Zhang said.

“It is normal for people from all walks of life to have their own comments and opinions on videos,” Pengyu of the Chinese embassy told VOA.

Despite the weight the Chinese government places on self-reliance, Huang said, Beijing also benefits from presenting itself as the protector of China’s people. Since this film threatens that narrative, Huang wasn’t surprised that state media worked to suppress it.

“The life story of Erjiu definitely does not fit into that state narrative of how well it protects the vulnerable portion of its population,” Huang said. “It damages the moral legitimacy of the paternalistic state.”

Source: Voice of America

UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto, paid a courtesy visit to Secretary General of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR Pingkham Lasasimma to discuss how UNICEF can further engage with the National Assembly to further advance the rights and well-being of children and women in the Lao PDR.

The meeting is especially notable as it was organised during the commencement year of the UNICEF-Government of the Lao PDR Country Programme 2022-2026, which provides a framework of cooperation between the two parties for the next five years.

During the meeting, Dr. Rebello Britto expressed appreciation on the successful completion of the 3th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly (Ninth Legislature). They then discussed UNICEF’s support and contribution to the social development agendas, including the COVID 19 responses, education, health and nutrition. Furthermore, both parties discussed how data and evidence generated through the support from UNICEF could further strengthen the National Assembly’s capacity to monitor and oversee the legislative and policy implementation and track the progress of the 9th NSEDP.

The two female leaders further exchanged information on the situation of Lao children and explored areas where the National Assembly and UNICEF could partner together to deliver solutions.

Ms.Lasasimma also thanked UNICEF for supporting the National Assembly’s technological infrastructure by providing laptops and equipment for Social Cultural Affairs Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Planning, Finance and Audit Committee and the Justice Committee of the National Assembly.

“I would like to express my thanks to UNICEF for its continued support to the National Assembly and commitment to promoting the well-being of children and women of our country. The National Assembly looks forward to strengthening our cooperation and partnership with UNICEF in the years to come,” said Ms. Pingkham Lasasimma.

“UNICEF remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting the Government of the Lao PDR in the achievement of the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as strengthening the education and skills of our children and youths who are key to the Lao PDR’s graduation from least-developed country (LDC) status. We look forward with great interest and enthusiasm to strengthening our work with the Government of the Lao PDR under the Country Programme 2022-2026,” said Dr. Pia Rebello Britto.

Source: Lao News Agency

Ukraine’s top cyber official addressed a room full of security experts at a hackers convention following a two-day trip from Kyiv to a casino in Las Vegas.

During his unannounced visit, Victor Zhora, deputy head of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service, told the so-called Black Hat convention Wednesday that the number of cyber incidents that have hit Ukraine tripled in the months following Russia’s invasion of his country in late February.

“This is perhaps the biggest challenge since World War II for the world, and it continues to be completely new in cyberspace,” Zhora told an audience at the annual conference.

Ukraine faced a number of “huge incidents” in cyberspace from the end of March to the beginning of April, Zhora said, including the discovery of the “Industroyer2” malware that could manipulate equipment in electrical utilities to control the flow of power.

Russian hackers also hit Ukraine at the onset of the war though a cyberattack that took down regional satellite internet service.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine had detected over 1,600 “major cyber incidents,” Zhora said.

Zhora told Reuters in an interview that Microsoft, Amazon and Google had offered pro bono cloud computing services to the Ukrainian government as it moves its data out of the country, away from the destruction wreaked by Russian bombs and missiles.

Some of Ukraine’s data archives are being held within data centers across “multiple [European] countries,” he added, without elaborating.

Zhora said his trip to Las Vegas took two days. He traveled to neighboring Poland to stay a night before flying to the United States.

Zhora said he would not waste time on the slot machines at the sprawling Mandalay Bay casino, where the Black Hat conference is being held: “It would be inappropriate for me to gamble here while Ukrainian soldiers are defending our land.”

Source: Voice of America