The Ministry of Public Security (

Lao language Lao, sometimes referred to as Laotian (, 'Lao' or , 'Lao language'), is a Kra–Dai language of the Lao people. It is spoken in Laos, where it is the official language for around 7 million people, as well as in northeast Thailand, where i ...

: ກະຊວງປ້ອງກັນຄວາມສະຫງົບ) is the

ministry of the interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

of Laos.

Structure and organization

The Ministry of Public Security comprizes several "branches of service", which include the local police, traffic police, immigration police, security police (including border police), and other armed police units. The current minister is

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Vilay Lakhamfong.

List of Ministers of Public Security

*Gen. Vilay LAKHAMFONG *Lt. Gen. Kongthong PHONGVICHITH *Maj. Gen. Thonglek MANGNORMEX

International cooperation

In order to increase its capacity to address issues such as the illegal drugs trade and human trafficking, the Ministry of Public Security has established working relations with a number of foreign government agencies and international organisations, including

UNODC The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

and

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

Human rights issues

The security forces subjected to the ministry have occasionally been accused of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

violations. Their

persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of ...

in Laos is among the heaviest in the world.Open Doors USA
/ref> Particularly, members of the

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

ethnic group have been subject to violence by security forces.

Ranks

;Officers ;Enlisted

References

External links

Country data Laos – National Police and Paramilitary forces

humansecuritygateway.info

List of current Lao government's ministers, including Public Security.

{{Authority control Ministries of the Government of Laos Law enforcement in Laos National Central Bureaus of Interpol Military of Laos 1976 establishments in Laos