REPORT ON PREVENTION AND ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS IN
LAO P.D.RVilavong Phomkong* and Thepphathai Phanka†

Nowadays, the Government of Lao PDR is making efforts to play an important role inprevention and anti-corruption efforts, and to direct ministries and other agencies including localgovernment. Inspection is the main of role of leaders at each level: “No inspection means noleadership”. The prevention and fight against corruption is work that needs to be integrated withevery activity, done regularly and cannot be ignored, especially in terms of the impact ofcorruption on the condition of the market economy that is led and controlled by the state.
Corruption is an issue facing all countries worldwide and international agencies, and activities toprevent and combat corruption can follow many models, methodologies and measures available inmany countries. The establishment of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, whichaims to reduce corruption step by step, can control corruption cases that happen in different areas
within countries. Because corruption is one of the insidious plagues that has a wide range ofcorrosive effects on societies, it undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to the erosion of
the quality of life and allows other threats to human security to flourish.
Sustainable development is the primary basis for socio-economic development. Although
Lao PDR is progressing in this regard, an insidious plague is being encountered, especiallycorruption that happens in other areas such as state governance, construction management, state
funds and property management, payroll, and abuse of position, power and duty to benefit oneself
at several levels. Corruption is wide ranging and cannot be easily resolved. Thus, it is importantthat the Government of Lao PDR has adopted several the principles on preventing and combating
corruption, as follows:
1. The main focus shall be on the prevention of corruption, while countering corruption
shall be regarded as important;
2. Inspection of corruption phenomena shall be conducted immediately, strictly,independently, objectively, and accurately;
3. If there is an offence, the matter should be dealt with strictly, immediately, and withjustice;
4. It must be ensured that there is no interference, obstruction, or threat from any
individual or organization;
5. Individuals and organizations to be inspected shall cooperate and create conditions thatfacilitate the inspection;
6. The State shall create conditions for citizens, social organizations, and mass media toparticipate in the prevention and countering of corruption according to regulation.
This paper will consider a decade of combating and preventing corruption in Lao PDR,
highlighting the practical developments of the State Inspection and Anti-Corruption Authority and*†Head of Internal Inspection, Department of Inspection, Office of the Supreme People’s Prosecutor, Lao PDR.
Deputy Director General, Anti-Corruption Department, State Inspection Authority, Lao PDR.

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the State Inspection Agencies at each level in the prevention and fight against corruption.
I. PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION
Prevention of corruption refers to protecting against corruption and preventing corruption
from occurring in State organizations, political organizations, and social organizations byeducation campaigns, declaration of assets, inspection, implementation of policies and so on. The
State Inspection and Anti-Corruption Authority has provided many lessons learned that can beapplied to anti-corruption cases, such as to research and detail the content of the law to be therule, principle, and measures for the prevention and countering of corruption to ensure that theproperty of the State, Society and the rights and interests of citizens are not damaged, embezzled,or swindled, to subject offenders to legal proceedings and protect those who are innocent, withthe aims of strengthening State organizations, increasing transparency and the ability to conduct
inspections at all times, and achieving political stability, a stable and progressive economy,
public security, public order, and justice. These lessons include:
1. The resolution of the Central Party Committee No. 02 to supplement monitoring,inspection of prevention and anti-corruption efforts by new conditions on Government staff at alllevels, especially the leaders shall act as role models in the strict implementation of laws andregulations, shall lead in having transparent lifestyles and shall not engage in corruption. Theirmain responsibilities are to educate the public to respect and strictly comply with the laws andregulations and to promote awareness among citizens and social organizations that corruption isan insidious plague;
2. To adopt the Decree of the President of Lao PDR on the promulgation of the Law on
Anti-Corruption of 2005. The Government of Lao PDR agreed to improve the Anti-Corruption
Law and promulgated the new text in 2013. Chapter 2, article 11 defines 12 acts that canconstitute corruption;
3. To adopt the Strategy of Anti-Corruption for the years leading up to 2020. The strategyemphasizes and divided responsibility to prevent and combat corruption to each level of the State
Inspection Authorities, such as:- To educate the public to respect and strictly comply with the laws and regulation andunderstand the evils of corruption;- Incorporate legal texts deemed necessary into the educational curriculum fromkindergarten to the high school level, technical colleges, and universities. Now we havesucceeded in implementing educational curriculum from kindergarten to the high schoollevel, and continue to the university level;- To study, improve, and create legislation for the prevention and fight against corruption;- To improve governance mechanisms to ensure that they are good, effective andtransparent;- To promote the public, mass media, and social organizations to participate in theprevention and countering of corruption according to regulation such as direct calls,
mailboxes, promoting Anti-Corruption Day by printing of AC banners, pens, t-shirts,stickers (UNODC, local business), advocate through radio programmes twice a week at
99.7 MHz, Anti- Corruption journals, etc.

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-To define and implement policies toward government staff at each level clearly and toensure proper living conditions.

4. To adopt the Decree on Declaration of Assets and Income. We also have to apply thesame rule of division of management, such as from the Central, ministerial, provincial anddistrict levels, and started for the first time in 2014. Generally, there is a two-year declaration
cycle in which officials are required to declare their assets and income before achieving aposition, when they submit an application for election, and before they retire.
5. The Resolution of the Central Party Committee No. 022 on dealing with excessive useof position, power, and duty, prevention and anti-corruption, and other methods to ensure that theGovernment staff at all levels, administrative staff, technical staff, the staff of state enterprises,
civil servants, soldiers, and police officers who have positions, power or duties in party
organizations, State organizations, the Lao Front for National Construction, mass organizations,
State-owned enterprises, State-mixed enterprises, State-partnerships, technical units,administrative units, and all forms of organization established by the state to engage in business,
including those who are officially authorized and assigned to exercise any right or duties, are notengaged in corruption.
To implement prevention and to combat corruption, the State Inspection and AntiCorruption Authority has divided responsibility to State Inspection Agencies at each level asfollows:• Central-level responsibility by the State Inspection and Anti-Corruption Authority;• Ministry-level responsibility by Inspection Departments;• Provincial-level responsibility by Provincial Inspection Departments; and• District-level responsibility by District Inspection Offices.
The main methods aforementioned are the important tools to implement prevention and tocombat corruption. The Anti-Corruption organizations at each level shall perform their dutiesobjectively, with transparency, and correctly according to its scope of rights and duties and theprocedures as stipulated in the laws, including being highly accountable for the conduct of its
responsibilities under the laws and being subject to inspection by the National Assembly. Besides
that, Party organizations, state organizations, Lao Front for National Construction, massorganizations, social organizations, mass media, and citizens all have the obligation to participate
in the prevention and countering of corruption by the timely provision of cooperation, facilitation,
information, and evidence to concerned organizations which have the rights and duties to deal
with corruption.
II. ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTSCountering corruption refers to eliminating, repressing, and suppressing all wrongful acts
constituting corruption by inspection, education, implementation of discipline, and punishment asprovided by the laws. So, the cases that result in conducting an inspection by the countercorruption organization are as follows:
1. When firm information and evidence that an act constituting corruption has beencommitted are found;－ 127 －2. When there is a notification, submission, proposal, report, or claim regarding
corruption;
3. When any government staff member, or husband, wife or child under the charge of suchgovernment staff member, appears to be unusually rich.
Inspections in the aforementioned cases must be conducted according to the following
procedure:- Examine the notification, submission, proposal, report, or claim and, if deemednecessary, collect data in the field;- Prepare and establish a plan for the actual inspection in coordination with concerned
sectors and local administrations;- Inspect all documents and assets of concerned individuals or organizations, especiallyto inspect the financial situation and accounts, revenue, and expenses, and the use ofgrants and loans;- Call and invite the representative of the organization or the individual concerned tocome to give explanations and clarification;- Summarize, evaluate, and decide on the result of the inspection.
A.

The Decision on the Result of Inspection
When the inspection procedure is completed, and firm evidence of corruption is found, theanti-corruption organization has the right to decide as follows:- Proposal to related organizations in the case of a minor offence not causing substantial
damage, as provided for in Articles 56 and 57 of the law, it shall submit the matter toconcerned organizations which have the rights and duties to educate, warn or impose
disciplinary measures on the offenders,- In the case of a serious offence as provided for in Articles 58 to 61 of the law, aninvestigation must be conducted, and- When there is firm or solid evidence, it should be summarized and sent to the publicprosecutor to consider prosecuting the offenders in court.
i. Case proceedings, after the inspection and investigation, these appear to be solid
information and evidence, the anti-corruption organization shall make a summary of
the inspection result, complete the file of the case and then send it to the publicprosecutor to consider bringing a prosecution in court.
ii. In the event that the public prosecutor fails, without reason, to prosecute the case incourt, the anti-corruption organization has the right to submit to the higher level of
public prosecutor to consider and deal with the issue.
Fighting corruption over a decade, the State Inspection and Anti-Corruption authorities at
each level make efforts to conduct monitoring and inspect any case of corruption. Any individual
who violates the anti-corruption law thereby causes damage to the interests of the State and society,and such persons are subject to education or disciplinary measures as provided by law or to penal－ 128 －

measures depending on the gravity of the offence, including having to pay compensation for thedamage caused by such person. The activities include:1) Education by Training-Anti-corruption 3 batches (46 graduates), short course 74
batches (4,157 participants), 5 batches in Viet Nam (77 participants);
2) Outreach Programme: Promoting Anti-Corruption Day by printing anti-corruption
banners, pens, t-shirts, stickers (UNODC, local business), advocating through radio
programmes twice a week at 99.7 MHz, Anti-Corruption journals, mailings, and directcalling;
3) Incorporate legal texts deemed necessary into the educational curriculum. Now wehave successfully implemented educational curriculum from kindergarten through thehigh school level, and continue to technical colleges and universities;4) Over 734 targets were inspected in the last 5 years, with some 1,800 civil servants
found to have violated regulations and laws and been sanctioned for their misconduct,logging suspension in compliance with PM Order No. 15.
B.

Protection of Witnesses and Reporting Persons
Officials who conduct counter-corruption operations, as well as those who participate insuch operations such as: reporters, information providers, injured persons, witnesses, and experts,
shall be protected from revenge, or threats to their lives, health, freedom, honour, reputation, andproperty.
C.

International Cooperation
The State conducts relations and cooperates with foreign countries and internationalorganizations on the prevention and countering of corruption, based on the laws and regulationsof Lao PDR in compliance with international conventions and agreements that the Lao PDR
has signed and is a party to. So, other fundamental tools and channels we use to fight corruption
include the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) of which Laos is a party.
We are also a State Party to the South East Asia Parties Against Corruption, or SEA-PAC, where
we have regularly engaged in annual and secretarial-level meetings in order to share bestpractices, lessons and practical experiences from one another and apply locally as appropriate.
Other than that, we have bilateral cooperation with our neighbouring countries, like Viet Nam,
China, Cambodia and Thailand in the area of combating corruption.

Before I end my report, I would like to share with you some challenges we face andpossible solutions.
-First, the dissemination of information, policies, laws and legislation related to anticorruption solutions;-Second, law enforcement against offences is not strong and decisive;-Third, lack of knowledge, experience and financial resources. Also, the cooperation
mechanism between social organizations, citizens and Government on prevention andagainst corruption good practice is not effective and efficient.

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Since there are many challenges, we believe the solutions stated below should help
strengthen our work:• Strengthening the implementation of the laws and legislation related to fighting
corruption to subject offenders to legal proceedings;• Improving the existing laws so they are more comprehensive and transparent;• Continuing to forge cooperation, exchange information, knowledge and good practices
on prevention and anti-corruption enforcement with countries in the region and theworld.
Finally, I would like to once again express deep appreciation to UNAFEI for holding thisseminar which will contribute to the enhancement and collaboration between ASEAN member
countries in their anti-corruption work.

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