Debt-financed development and economic, social and cultural rights in Lao PDR: Report to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights – South-East Asia Regional Office (OHCHR SEARO)

This report aims to analyse the implications of limited domestic public finance, in the context of significant foreign debt repayment obligations associated with large investment projects, on the Lao government’s ability to finance inclusive and sustainable development, and more specifically how increasing debt servicing costs, conditionalities and the associated investments directly and indirectly affect budget allocations and expenditures for ESCRs. The report provides a human rights-based assessment of sovereign financing and investment in Lao PDR, a debt and fiscal analysis, and an analysis of the direct impact of debt-financed foreign direct investment with four case studies.