The Law on Resettlement and Vocation is the main national law governing how people are resettled and how their livelihoods are rebuilt in Lao PDR. The National Assembly adopted it on 15 June 2018 and the President promulgated it on 1 August 2018. It has 12 parts and 85 articles.
Its purpose is to make sure that people living in resettlement areas have a place to live, a place to earn a living and a stable occupation, with the wider aims of ending unplanned migration and reducing poverty. "Resettlement" means arranging where displaced people live and work. "Vocation" means building their means and capacity to earn, so that they have stable income and leave poverty.
Key points
- Two categories. General resettlement covers people in remote, high-risk or special areas and is led by the State. Specific resettlement covers people affected by development projects, such as dams, mines, special economic zones and infrastructure, and is carried out with the project developer.
- Eight steps. Study and planning; compensation; building infrastructure; relocation; development of the resettlement area; livelihood rehabilitation during the transition period; handover; and closure of the project.
- Compensation at replacement value. People with legal land documents receive replacement land with title, or other compensation at replacement value if suitable land cannot be found. Customary land use, meaning open and continuous use for 20 years or more, is also recognised. People with no land documents are not compensated for land, but are compensated for buildings, trees and crops. Buildings are valued without deducting depreciation.
- Time limits. Anything built or planted after the registration date is not compensated. Values must be reassessed if the plan is not implemented within 12 months, and compensation must be completed within 24 months of the plan's approval, with one extension of up to 12 months.
- Infrastructure first, then a transition period. Necessary infrastructure must be completed before people move. During a transition period of three to five years, the developer provides food, essential goods and production inputs, with special attention to people with disabilities.
- Vocation. The process runs from data collection and assessment of alternative occupations, through training and support with technique, finance and markets, to monitoring. It ends only when the committee finds that affected people have a stable job, higher income and a better livelihood.
- Developer obligations. The developer must prepare and fully fund the compensation, resettlement and livelihood plans, is directly responsible for implementing them, and must lodge a guarantee deposit of 10 percent of the resettlement project value. The guarantee period is at least one year after handover.
- Rights of affected people. They have the right to information, to compensation and rehabilitation under the approved plan, to submit written requests, and to take part in consultation meetings. Disputes are settled by mediation, administrative resolution, the economic dispute resolution authority, or the people's court.
- Who approves and who manages. Projects moving fewer than 20 families are approved at district level, 20 to 100 at provincial level, more than 100 up to 500 by the Government, and more than 500 by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Resettlement and Vocation Committees operate at central, provincial and district level, under the lead of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.