Governance and Citizen Participation

SDC Laos

Villager voted to represent the community's small scale infastructure planning commitee.
Villager voted to represent the community's small scale infastructure planning commitee. © Adrian Gnägi

Switzerland contributes to outputs and outcomes of the 8th Lao Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) 2016-2020 in the areas of improving district public service delivery and poverty reduction. It will also continue to promote citizen participation; strengthen the representation and oversight role of the National Assembly and the newly-established Provincial People’s Assemblies, both considered to have a potential as drivers of change. It will stay engaged in advocacy for a strengthened role of (national) NGOs as partners in the development process and an enabling environment. Finally, Switzerland continues to facilitate more open-access socio-economic information and to create spaces to trigger debates, policy dialogue and decision-making based on evidence.

SDC worldwide

A young woman places a folded ballot paper in the ballot box.
The objectives of the SDC include supporting fair and transparent elections, for example in Tunisia. © SDC

The objective of governance is to create an environment that strengthens rule of law and human rights, gender equality, appropriate distribution of power and macro-economic stability. Governance is a strategic objective of SDC development cooperation.

The SDC's worldwide engagement