Case study 8: Evaluation of the National University of Laos Seminars on Disability Rights and UN Treaty Body Engagement This activity involved providing two seminars to students and lecturers from the National University of Laos School of Law and Political Science (45 participants in total) on disability rights and UN treaty body engagement. The seminars took place in Vientiane over 2 weeks in August 2020. Evaluation conducted at the end of both seminars found that: • the majority of respondents felt that the workshops were well organised, informative, and that they were interested in learning more about the subject matter • in this context, subject knowledge increased by an average 55% among lecturers and by over 61% among the student respondents • 100% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they benefited from participating in the seminar. The annual seminar series is now in its third year and engagement with the National University of Laos is a strategic priority of the HRTCP. The Commission views one of the long-term benefits of this engagement to be the increased awareness of UN human rights treaties and processes by students and lecturers who have an increased likelihood of engaging with these issues in a professional capacity due to the nature of their qualifications. Case study 9: Evaluation of the Universal Periodic Review Implementation Workshop The UPR Implementation Workshop took place in Vang Vieng in December 2020. The two-day, interactive discussion brought together key Lao Government personnel to review and reflect on previous UPR cycles and consider methods for the implementation, and monitoring of accepted UPR recommendations made in the third cycle. The objective of the Workshop was to support the development of a practical implementation and monitoring plan. The activity had direct and immediate positive effects on the participants’ knowledge of UPR best practice, the Lao PDR’s UPR approach, and their own role within the process. The evaluation survey completed by participants at the end of the workshop found that: • while there was moderate prior awareness about the UPR in the room, respondents still reported that their subject knowledge had increased by between 42–49% • 100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the information provided at the workshop was likely to be useful in their professional work and that they were likely to share what they had learned with colleagues • 100% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the workshop had broadened their professional network. Feedback provided to the Commission after the activity, included: AHRC and UNDP’s contributions in sharing experience and best practices on the UPR process in the workshop were very helpful, and increased knowledge and understanding of the participants on this topic. — The Government of Laos Annual Report 2020–2021 Australian Human Rights Commission 71