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Government officials, development partners and other involved sectors gathered on 17 September 2014 for a workshop titled "Multi-stakeholder Workshop on Revised Water and Water Resources Law". The Workshop was conducted to present the latest draft of the Water and Water Resources Law ("Law") and obtain comments from the stakeholders who are interested in working on water-related issues in Laos. The draft Law is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval in December this year, according to a joint statement from the World Bank and International Finance Cooperation.
The Law recognises that water is a single resource and seeks to regulate both surface and ground water. It also aims to control activities that could have important impact on water resources and river flows, such as the extraction of sand and gravel. The Law contains a number of important positive elements in terms of international practice. For example, the importance of rivers, in terms of water resources management, is clearly recognised. The scope of the Law is broad as it applies both to the use of water as well as the discharge of waste water.
The Water and Water Resources Law was adopted in October 1996 and entered into force in March 1997. It comprises 49 articles set out in 10 chapters. Following its enactment, an implementing decree was adopted by the Prime Minister in October 2001.
Lao and Thai authorities held talks in the week of 5 September 2014 in a move to regulate Lao migrant workers in Thailand.
Thailand's Department of Employment has registered more than 150,000 Lao workers who did not have the required legal documents. It was also reported that many more workers have yet to be registered with the Department.
Lao authorities are expected to travel to Thailand to work with their Thai counterparts to set up a one-stop service, where illegal migrant workers can obtain legal documents.
The Lao Government recently set up temporary service centres at border checkpoints. They remained open until 24 August 2014 for the purpose of registering Lao workers who were expected to return from Thailand, after the Thai authorities took tough action to regulate foreign workers in the country.
The registration process, which compiles information on the returnees, aims to help returning workers to seek other employment opportunities.
Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only
intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice.
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Anou Village,
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