"[Press Release] Lao dam disaster: NGOs decry lack of effective remedy for survivors five years on," 23 July 2023

On July 23, 2018, the auxiliary dam (Saddle D) of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project in Laos collapsed, killing 71 people, displacing thousands, and flooding homes and villages. Five years after this tragic incident, the survivors have still not received adequate compensation or remedy and continue to suffer from the impacts of the disaster.

[...] PNPC, the official operator of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam in Laos, stated in a letter submitted to UN human rights experts on August 30, 2022, that it had provided a total of $91.2 million for compensation. However, NGOs stress that according to PNPC’s internal records, the majority of the compensation ($64.87 million, or about 71% of the total) was paid to the Lao government, not to the affected people.

[...] Meanwhile, there is no public information on how the Lao government spent the money it received from PNPC nor the specifics of the “Master Plan”.

According to PNPC, it has paid some monetary compensation to affected villagers for loss of life and property damage. However, as of June this year, PNPC stated in an email to KTNC Watch [...] that compensation for valuables and other items of emotional value, which were washed away by the flood but not included in the property damage evaluation, is yet to be complete. We also confirm that there has been no compensation for the psychological damage caused by the tragedy, nor any support for trauma recovery.

According to KTNC Watch’s interviews with the survivors, the survivors were relocated to unfamiliar lands and are not provided with sustainable livelihoods.

[...] As the displaced survivors have lost their traditional livelihood, the Lao government has given them plots of cleared forest. But it turned out that the land is not suitable for rice cultivation.

[...]

[CSOs' statement to UN CESCR included as attachment]