[{"bbox": [95, 151, 1133, 285], "category": "Text", "text": "atmosphere of self-censorship. A Cyber Law and a Decree on Information Management on the Internet (2015) prohibits citizens from 'disseminating or circulating untrue information for negative purposes. Civil society organizations (CSO) cannot efficiently exercise their role to promote pluralism, oversight and accountability. Their operations are strictly controlled and limited to service delivery projects, which follow a very long approval process. Yet, it is gradually improving; CSOs' role was recognised in the final version of 9th NSEDP."}, {"bbox": [95, 309, 1133, 471], "category": "Text", "text": "Since 2018, the EU-CH-DE CEGGA project, complemented by policy dialogue together with European Partners, and other projects implemented by NGOs in partnership with local authorities and Provincial People's Assemblies (PPA), are gradually bearing fruits. The National Assembly sessions have seen a continuation of the trend of more lively debate and engagement. The valuable contribution of NGOs in Laos' socio-economic development is increasingly being recognised, not least by local authorities and PPAs given their value-added in provided services and capacity building in marginalised populations and remote areas."}, {"bbox": [95, 501, 486, 528], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Conflict sensitivity, peace and resilience"}, {"bbox": [95, 528, 1133, 821], "category": "Text", "text": "Overall, the internal situation is firmly under control. The risk of a violent conflict with neighbouring countries or due to international or domestic terrorism in the next 12-24 months seems minimal. A series of potential sources of tensions might generate some conflict in the medium to long term. However, none of them is currently expected to lead to open or violent conflict or create a risk in a foreseeable near future. Most importantly, this concerns growing inequalities which often manifest themselves around land and/or resettlement issues, as well as more recently – in relation to the economic difficulties due to Covid-19 restrictions. The Government is aware of this source of tension and tries to address it through a (partial) moratorium on large land concessions and increased efforts to put in place adequate compensation schemes and mechanisms. Endemic corruption is another possible cause of prospective frictions. The National Land Policy has been revised, with great concern from the civil society as some articles related to expropriation for business/private purposes (forced land acquisition) undermine the farmer's rights."}, {"bbox": [95, 851, 335, 876], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Disaster Risk Reduction"}, {"bbox": [95, 877, 1133, 1061], "category": "Text", "text": "The Lao PDR is being increasingly exposed to the impact of climate change and climate variability which, amongst others, puts agriculture productivity and food security at severe risk. All these challenges have shown that, in order to support sustainable growth in Lao PDR, there is a need to invest in resilient infrastructure and effectively manage the environmental and social impacts of these investments, as well as to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk reduction. The programme will contribute to this objective by increasing revenue which can help the Government to face unexpected disasters and by strengthening procurement processes in relation to building resilient infrastructure."}, {"bbox": [85, 1103, 423, 1132], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 3.4 Risks and Lessons Learnt"}, {"bbox": [82, 1147, 1167, 1620], "category": "Table", "text": "<table><thead><tr><td>Category</td><td>Risks</td><td>Likelihood (High/ Medium/ Low)</td><td>Impact (High/ Medium/ Low)</td><td>Mitigating measures</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Risks related to the external environment</td><td>Political and governance: The GoL's commitment to public sector reforms and collaboration with the traditional (western) donors has been volatile in the past 15 years. However, Lao PDR provides an overall stable political context and, currently, there is high-level government commitment to the PFM reforms. Personnel changes in the</td><td>Medium</td><td>Medium</td><td>Regular dialogue with the GoL will be crucial to ensure continued Government's commitment and priorities in the PFM and civil service policies.<br/>EU's provision of budget support encourages the Government to continue implementing PFM reforms.</td></tr></tbody></table>"}, {"bbox": [1026, 1679, 1142, 1704], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 12 of 25"}]