Ritual, Relationship, and Religious Liberty in Laos
Stephen Bailey Monday, 1 March 2004
The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or Laos) has often been listed by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as a nation that should be designated a "country of particular concern" regarding religious freedom. "A ‘country of particular concern' (CPC) is defined by law as a country the government of which has either engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom, defined as violations that are ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious'." In many ways, the religious persecution endured by the small population of Christians in Laos easily meets this definition of "particularly severe." Between 1994 and 2002 the Lao government quietly called on provincial authorities to get rid of the Christian communities or to at least contain them within their areas of jurisdiction. Local authorities have confiscated church buildings, Christians have been arrested, and many have been forced to sign affidavits renouncing their faith. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, designation as a CPC is a foreign policy tool that aims to prevent abuses like these through a combination of denunciation (being named to the list of CPCs is meant to help shame countries into reform) and punishment (CPC designation triggers the imposition or continuance of economic sanctions).
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