Laos
A combined view of Laos's UN General Assembly speeches, treaty commitments, and voting record.
The narrative paragraphs below are AI-generated syntheses of the data shown — the tables and figures themselves come directly from the underlying records, not from the AI.
Compare with another country →Speech history
Laos's General Assembly rhetoric has remained consistently measured and multilateral throughout the period, with multilateralism scores hovering between 68–88, reflecting sustained emphasis on cooperative solutions and UN-centered approaches. While emotional intensity has remained low and stable (28–42 range), there has been a notable tightening of focus: earlier speeches (2007–2014) blended development and disarmament themes with concrete national data on cluster munitions, whereas recent years (2022–2024) have shifted toward stronger advocacy for UN reform and climate commitments alongside broader international appeals. Self-accountability measures show a general decline from the mid-2000s (58) to recent years (41–52), suggesting that Laos has increasingly framed its participation as support-seeking rather than self-directed commitment.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2009 | Very High | Low | High | Medium |
| 2010 | High | Medium | High | Medium |
| 2011 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2013 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2014 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2019 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2021 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2022 | Very High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2023 | Very High | Low | High | Medium |
| 2024 | Very High | Low | Medium | Medium |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Laos demonstrates strong commitment to environmental and human rights frameworks, having ratified 21 of 24 tracked treaties with notably robust engagement across climate and biodiversity treaties (Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal Protocol, and others) and core human rights instruments (CEDAW, Convention on Rights of the Child, CAT, ICCPR, and Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities). The three treaties without action are concentrated in arms control (Arms Trade Treaty, Anti-Personnel Mines Convention) and international justice (Rome Statute), suggesting reticence toward binding enforcement mechanisms on weapons regulation and criminal accountability, though Laos did ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyNo action
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyRatified
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionNo action
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsRatified
Environment & climate
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their DisposalRatified
- Convention on Biological DiversityRatified
- Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
- Minamata Convention on MercuryRatified
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Paris AgreementRatified
- Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International TradeRatified
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsRatified
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaRatified
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
Human rights
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentRatified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenRatified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsRatified
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtNo action
Trade & governance
- United Nations Convention against CorruptionRatified
- United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeRatified
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaRatified
Voting record
Full voting record →Laos votes with the General Assembly consensus in the vast majority of cases (84% yes votes out of 5544 ballots), but its five recorded notable dissents reveal a principled and consistent pattern: all dissents oppose resolutions critical of Myanmar's human rights situation, voting against four Myanmar-related human rights resolutions (2017–2020) despite 92–94% supermajorities in favor, and one 1980 disarmament resolution. This pattern reflects Laos's regional alignment with Myanmar and Southeast Asian diplomatic norms prioritizing non-interference, even when isolated from broader UN sentiment on human rights matters.
Notable dissents from consensus
Situation of human rights in Myanmar : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-12-22 · voted N · 94% voted yes
Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2019-12-27 · voted N · 94% voted yes
Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2020-12-31 · voted N · 94% voted yes
Situation of human rights in Myanmar : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2017-12-24 · voted N · 92% voted yes
Prohibition of the production of fissionable material for weapons purposes : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1980-12-12 · voted N · 92% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.617 (Medium), ranked #147 globally in 2023.
Combines life expectancy, education, and income into one comparable score, 0 to 1. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 — deterministic figures, not AI-generated.
1990–2023