Opening Remarks at the Workshop on Human Rights and Climate Change Adaptation in Lao PDR

Mr. Viengkeo Khaopaserth, Deputy Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law

Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and from Line Ministries

Colleagues and friends:

Sabaidee, and a very warm welcome to all of you.

I begin by expressing my appreciation to the Government of Lao PDR, and in particular to the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its leadership and close partnership in bringing us together today. The Department’s role in advancing Lao PDR’s international human rights commitments places it at the centre of the important conversation we are having today. I would also like to warmly acknowledge the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, whose leadership is central to the country’s climate adaptation agenda, as well as colleagues from OHCHR and the wider UN system for their collaboration in supporting this initiative.

This workshop comes at an important moment. Across Asia and the Pacific, climate change is no longer a future challenge. Its impacts are already being felt through floods, droughts, changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and increasing pressure on livelihoods, ecosystems and food systems. Lao PDR is not immune to these pressures.

At the same time, Lao PDR is taking important steps forward through its Nationally Determined Contribution, the development of its National Adaptation Plan, and broader disaster risk reduction and resilience efforts. Today’s workshop offers an opportunity to reflect together on how these efforts can be strengthened further through a human rights-based approach to climate adaptation.

Across the world, communities are reminding us of something very simple but very important: climate action must remain centred on people.

Adaptation is not only about infrastructure, technology or environmental management. It is also about protecting dignity, health, food security, water, livelihoods and culture. It is about ensuring that people, especially those most affected, are able to participate meaningfully in decisions that shape their future.

In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. Since then, international discussions have increasingly emphasized that climate action and human rights are deeply interconnected.

This understanding was further reinforced by the 2025 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on climate change, which highlighted that climate impacts affect the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health and an adequate standard of living. Importantly, the Court also underscored that adaptation measures are an essential part of States’ efforts to protect people from climate-related harm.

For Lao PDR, these discussions are highly relevant in practical terms.  They matter for farmers whose livelihoods depend on rainfall patterns that are becoming increasingly unpredictable. They matter for ethnic communities and local populations whose knowledge, livelihoods and relationship with land and natural resources are closely connected to resilience and adaptation. They matter for women, who often carry significant responsibilities in agriculture, water collection, family care and community resilience, and whose participation and leadership are essential in decision-making processes.

They matter for children and young people, who will live longest with the consequences of the choices we make today. And they matter for communities affected by floods, droughts, relocation or other climate-related pressures, who must be supported in ways that are inclusive, participatory and respectful of human dignity.

Today’s workshop is therefore not only about identifying risks or challenges. It is about identifying practical solutions. It is about asking how human rights principles, including participation, access to information, non-discrimination, accountability and inclusion, can help strengthen adaptation planning and implementation.

It is about considering how these principles can support the National Adaptation Plan, inform future NDC3 implementation, strengthen sectoral policies, and contribute to more effective and equitable climate resilience efforts. And it is about ensuring that we are able to understand not only what infrastructure is being built, but also who is benefiting, who may still be left behind, and what additional action may be needed.

As the United Nations, we come to this discussion as partners. The UN Cooperation Framework in Lao PDR is grounded in the principle of leaving no one behind. That is not simply an aspiration, it is a way of working. It means listening carefully, strengthening participation, using evidence and disaggregated data, and ensuring that policies are informed by the experiences and realities of the people most affected.

The UN Country Team is committed to putting these principles into practice. For example, our Joint Programme on Green and Climate Finance, which includes work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services, supports community-level adaptation by compensating communities where natural resources are leveraged for economic use. Next week, together with the Ministry of Finance, we begin to build a framework for integrating climate priorities across the budget cycle. All of these actions are delivered in conjunction with the Climate and Sustainable Finance Hub within the Ministry of Finance, and I encourage all partners to engage with them to promote rights-based approaches to climate adaptation.  

Ladies and gentlemen:

Over the next one and a half days, I hope this workshop will be practical and forward-looking in identifying concrete entry points for integrating human rights considerations into adaptation planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting.

Let me conclude by expressing my sincere thanks to the Government of Lao PDR for the leadership and engagement. And to colleagues across the United Nations system, including OHCHR: thank you for your continued efforts to support inclusive, sustainable and people-centred climate action in Lao PDR.

I wish all of us a productive, constructive and meaningful discussion.

Khob chai - Thank you.