Dec 15, 2021 | DFF, Statements
On the ninth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, reiterate our calls on the Lao government to determine his fate and whereabouts, and deliver justice to him and his family.
We condemn the Lao government’s ongoing failure to solve Sombath’s disappearance, and its refusal to provide any updates on his case. In previous years, the government made occasional statements to claim it was still investigating Sombath’s disappearance. However, over the past year a curtain of silence has fallen on Sombath’s case. The government’s last public remarks on Sombath’s case were made on 28 September 2020, during the UN (United Nations) Human Rights Council’s adoption of the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos. During that
review, the government did not accept all five recommendations that called for an adequate investigation into Sombath’s enforced disappearance, despite stating that it recognized that “the search for missing Lao citizens, including Sombath Somphone, is the duty of the Lao government.”
On 5 February 2021, four UN Human Rights Council’s Special Procedure mandate holders wrote to the Lao government to reiterate their concern regarding the lack of progress in the investigation into Sombath’s disappearance. In their communication, the UN human rights experts noted an “absence of evidence to indicate that efforts have been made to further the search for his [Sombath’s] fate and whereabouts.” To date, the government has not replied to this communication.
Even more troubling is the government’s ongoing failure to meet with Sombath’s wife, Shui Meng Ng, and provide her with any updates on his case since December 2017, despite her repeated requests. It is evident that the government’s protracted and deliberate silence is aimed at consigning the case of Sombath to oblivion.
Our organizations condemn the government’s inaction and silence, and remain steadfast in supporting Sombath’s family in its quest for truth and justice. Until Sombath’s fate and whereabouts are revealed, we will continue to demand the Lao government answer the question: “Where is Sombath?”
We also stand in solidarity with all the other victims of enforced disappearances in Laos, and we reiterate our demand that all cases be effectively investigated in accordance with international standards, the perpetrators of such serious crimes be identified and held accountable in fair trials, and victims be afforded an effective remedy and full reparations.
Enforced disappearance is a serious human rights violation and is unequivocally prohibited under international law. Relatives of people who are forcibly disappeared are themselves victims of enforced disappearance and have the right to an effective remedy for violations of international human rights law.
We are also extremely concerned at what appears to be a retreat by diplomats and donors in Laos from interventions to uphold and protect the rights of all people in Laos. We urge Laos’ donor and diplomatic community to continuously and publicly highlight to the Lao government the importance and urgency of meeting its human rights commitments and obligations.
Lastly, we urge the Lao government to ratify without further delay the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Laos signed in September 2008, and incorporate the Convention’s provisions into the national legal framework, implement them in practice, and recognize the Committee on Enforced Disappearance’s jurisdiction to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims or other states parties.
Background
Sombath Somphone was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of the Lao capital, Vientiane, on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a CCTV camera showed that Sombath’s vehicle was stopped at the police checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. The presence of police officers at Sombath’s abduction and their failure to
intervene strongly indicates state agents’ participation in Sombath’s enforced disappearance.
Signed by:
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
- Amnesty International
- ARTICLE 19
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
- Asian Resource Foundation (ARF)
- Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM)
- Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
- Center for Prisoners’ Rights
- Centre for Civil and Political Rights
- CETRI – Centre tricontinental
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
- Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF)
- CSW
- Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC)
- FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights, within the framework of the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders - Focus on the Global South
- Fortify Rights
- Fresh Eyes
- Hawai’i Center for Human Rights Research & Action
- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
- Human Rights Watch
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- International Rivers
- Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)
- Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF)
- Karapatan Alliance Philippines
- Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR)
- League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
- Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)
- Manushya Foundation
- MARUAH
- Mekong Watch
- Mother Nature Cambodia
- Nonviolence International
- Odhikar
- People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
- People’s Watch
- Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
- Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI)
- Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association (RPFAA)
- Stiftung Asienhaus
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
- Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)
- The William Gomes Podcast
- Transnational Institute
- Union for Civil Liberty (UCL)
- Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR)
- Women’s Peace Network (WPN)
- Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC)
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory
for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders - World Rainforest Movement (WRM)
Individuals:
Prof. Anuradha Chenoy
Dr. David JH Blake, Independent scholar, UK
Dhevy Sivaprakasam, Asia Pacific Policy Counsel, Access Now
Randy Arnst
William Nicholas Gomes
Feb 19, 2021 | DFF, Opinion Articles
On Sunday, a general election will take place in Laos, a small, secretive, land-locked country in Southeast Asia. You’re unlikely to have heard much about it, however. That’s because elections in Laos are essentially a non-event, and little more than a pretense to provide legitimacy to the ruling Laos People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), which has governed since the 1970s.
The vote on February 21 will be held to elect members of Laos’ National Assembly’s ninth legislature, as well as its second Provincial/Capital People’s Councils. It will be the country’s first nationwide vote since March 2016.
This year, according to an announcement in the state-run Vientiane Times, 224 candidates will compete for 164 seats in the National Assembly, with 789 running for the 492 seats in the People’s Councils.
Although voter turnout is typically high in Laos’ elections, the electorate is essentially granted no choice beyond the LPRP, in a political environment that tolerates no space for government criticism, and where human rights violations are routine.
Will the Election Be Free or Fair?
Not even close. Like prior elections in Laos, the upcoming vote fails to meet the standards of a competitive, free, fair, inclusive, and participatory electoral process.
Laos is a one-party state in which the ruling LPRP is the “leading nucleus” of the country’s political system, according to the constitution. As a result, the LPRP dominates all aspects of political life, while severely restricting criticism of any kind.
There is no space for opposition. In the current National Assembly, 144 of the 149 seats are held by LPRP members, with the remaining five taken by “independents.” Although these are not official party members, they are carefully vetted and need to be approved to run in the election by the Laos Front for National Development (previously the Laos Front for National Construction), an opaque government-affiliated political organization. As a result, no alternative voices are ever heard in the Lao parliament.ADVERTISEMENT
Nor is there space for dissent in the wider society. Government surveillance is prominent, and security groups and party-linked organizations routinely look for government criticism, including online. For example, in 2019, Lao citizen Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly was sentenced to five years in prison for a Facebook post that drew attention to the plight of victims of a deadly dam collapse in the country’s south in 2018, and criticized the government’s response.
A free press is also non-existent. Although freedom of the press is guaranteed in the constitution, in practice the government exercises control over all the media. A 2014 decree criminalizes the spreading of “false information” online aimed at discrediting the government, and requires users to supply their real name and address when setting up social media accounts.
What Do We Expect to Happen in the Election?
A slight change in personnel, but in reality more of the same. According to the Constitution, Laos’ President is elected by the National Assembly with two-thirds of the votes from all members who attend the session. At the Congress of the LPRP’s Central Committee in January, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith was elected as its general secretary. Last month’s conference also elected a new Central Committee and Secretariat, as well as members for the powerful 13-member Politburo.
Based on previous elections, following the February poll, all indications point to a new cabinet being approved with Thongloun as president, who will then appoint a new prime minister.
Does Laos’s National Assembly Provide Adequate Checks and Balances?
No. The assembly does have space for representatives to raise the concerns of their constituents, but these are typically related to land issues, and sometimes low-level corruption, but nothing that can be considered criticism of the party. The LPRP’s patronage system creates an understanding among members that is not in the best interests of their career trajectory to speak out.
Although legislation is passed in the Assembly, major government policies are instead formed through the party’s Politburo and Central Committee.
What About the Human Rights Situation in Laos?
Laos’ opaque political structure helps to facilitate what is one of the world’s most oppressive government regimes, part of the dire human rights situation in Southeast Asia. On top of the intolerance for dissent in Laos, enforced disappearances are known to occur.ADVERTISEMENT
The most high profile case is that of civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who disappeared from the streets of the Lao capital, Vientiane, in December 2012 after being stopped at a police checkpoint. Authorities have claimed they are investigating his disappearance, but more than eight years later have not revealed his whereabouts.
In August 2019, Od Sayavong, a Lao refugee living in Bangkok who had drawn attention to human rights abuses and corruption in Laos, disappeared and has not been heard from since. Concerns about a sinister agreement between the Thai and Lao governments for the “swapping” of dissidents have been raised since the bodies of two exiled critics of Thailand’s military and royal family were found in the Mekong River in Laos in January 2019.
Government critics also face arrest. As well as the case of Muay, who was jailed for her Facebook posts, seven activists were detained in November 2019, accused of planning to participate in a rally in Vientiane, among others.
Although there is widespread attention on the deteriorating situation of human rights and democracy elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the atrocious situation in Laos often gets a free pass, in large part due to the regime’s secretive operations. The international community must not let the Laos government’s veil of secrecy shield it from scrutiny, and the human rights violations taking place there deserve as much attention as anywhere else.
Mu Sochua is a Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and former Cambodian Member of Parliament (MP)
This article first appeared in The Diplomat
Jan 13, 2021 | DFF, Statements
On the eighth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, reiterate our calls on the government of Laos to reveal his fate and whereabouts, and to investigate all allegations of enforced disappearances in the country to bring those responsible to justice in fair trials.
The government’s ongoing failure to thoroughly, independently, and impartially investigate the cases of Sombath and other alleged victims of enforced disappearance is compounded by its total lack of commitment to address this issue.
In June 2020, during the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, the government refused to accept all five recommendations calling for an adequate investigation into Sombath’s enforced disappearance. The government also refused to accept another eight recommendations calling for investigations into all cases of alleged enforced disappearance.
Despite the government accepting that “the search for missing Lao citizens, including Sombath Somphone, is the duty of the Lao government”, it failed to demonstrate any will to effectively execute or fulfill this duty. The government stated that investigations into cases of enforced disappearances were “considered on a case by case basis,” but did not reveal how many investigations it had conducted, for which cases, or any updates on developments in the alleged investigations. It also failed to provide any information about its efforts to determine the fate and whereabouts of Sombath Somphone.
In addition, the government failed to further commit to ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance – a treaty that Laos signed in September 2008.
We renew our call for the establishment of an independent and impartial investigative body tasked with determining Sombath’s fate and whereabouts. The new body should receive international technical assistance in order to conduct a professional and effective investigation in accordance with international standards.
We also urge the Lao government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance without delay, incorporate its provisions into the country’s legal framework, implement it in practice, and recognize the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of the victims in accordance with Article 31 of the Convention.
We stand shoulder to shoulder with all victims of enforced disappearance in Laos and their families, and we will not stop demanding that all their cases be independently, impartially, and effectively investigated, and the perpetrators of such a serious crime be identified and held accountable in fair trials, regardless of their rank or status.
Sombath was disappeared, but our combined determination to seek truth, justice, and reparations for his enforced disappearance will never go away. Our commitment is as strong today as it was eight years ago. We are still asking “Where is Sombath?”
Background
Sombath was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of the Lao capital, Vientiane, on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a CCTV camera showed that Sombath’s vehicle was stopped at the police checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. The presence of police officers at Sombath’s abduction and their failure to intervene strongly indicates state agents’ participation in Sombath’s enforced disappearance.
Lao authorities have repeatedly claimed they have been investigating Sombath’s enforced disappearance but have failed to disclose any new findings to the public since 8 June 2013. They have neither met with Sombath’s wife, Shui Meng Ng, nor provided her with any updates on their investigation into his case since December 2017. Relatives of people who are forcibly disappeared are themselves victims of enforced disappearance and have the right to a remedy for violations of international human rights law. They frequently suffer harm, including mental anguish and material consequences, which may amount to torture or other ill-treatment.
Signed by:
- 11.11-Belgium
- Alliance Sud
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
- Amnesty International
- ARTICLE 19
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
- Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED)
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
- Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines
- CCFD-Terre Solidaire
- Center for Prisoners’ Rights
- Civil Rights Defenders
- CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network)
- Commonwealth human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
- Covenants Watch
- Cross Cultural Foundation
- Environics Trust
- Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF)
- Federación Latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos
- FIAN International
- FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
- Focus on the Global South
- Four Freedoms Forum
- Fortify Rights
- Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT)
- Fresh Eyes
- Fundacion Solón
- Human Rights Watch
- International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances
- International Commission of Jurists
- International Rivers
- Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)
- Justice for Iran
- Justice for Peace Foundation
- Lao Movement for Human Rights
- League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran
- MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
- Maldivian Democracy Network
- Manushya Foundation
- MARUAH
- Mekong Watch
- Odhikar
- Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee
- People’s Watch
- Project SEVANA South-East Asia
- Taiwan Association for Human Rights
- The Corner House
- Transnational Institute
- Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
- WomanHealth Philippines
- World Organisation Against Torture
- World Rainforest Movement
Individuals
Achin Vanaik
Andy Rutherford
Angkhana Neelapaijit
Anna Polony
David JH Blake
Francine Mestrum
Jesus Santiago
Katherine Bowie
Keith Barney
Larry Lohmann
Leang Bunleap
Natalia Scurrah
Nick Buxton
Nick Hildyard
Sarah Sexton
Shui Meng Ng
Soren Bo Sondergaard
Thierry Kesteloot
William Nicholas Gomes
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
On the seventh anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, urge the Lao and Thai governments to investigate enforced disappearances, and demand Vientiane finally reveal Sombath’s whereabouts and ensure justice for him and his family.
Considering the Lao police’s protracted failure to effectively investigate Sombath’s enforced disappearance, a new independent and impartial investigative body tasked with determining Sombath’s fate and whereabouts should be established without delay. The new body should have the authority to seek and receive international technical assistance in order to conduct a professional, independent, impartial, and effective investigation in accordance with international standards.
Sombath was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of the Lao capital, Vientiane, on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a CCTV camera showed that Sombath’s vehicle was stopped at the police checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. The presence of police officers at Sombath’s abduction and their failure to intervene strongly indicates state agents’ participation in Sombath’s enforced disappearance.
Lao authorities have repeatedly claimed they have been investigating Sombath’s enforced disappearance but have failed to disclose any new findings to the public since 8 June 2013. They have met with Sombath’s wife, Shui Meng Ng, only twice since January 2013 – the last time in December 2017. No substantive information about the investigation has been shared by the police with the family, indicating that, for all intents and purposes, the police investigation has been de facto suspended.
We also call on the Lao and Thai governments to resolve all cases of enforced disappearances in their countries. The most recent case is that of Od Sayavong, a Lao refugee living in Bangkok, who has been missing since 26 August 2019. Over the past several years, Od engaged publicly in drawing attention to human rights abuses and corruption in Laos, and met with the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights on 15 March 2019 in Bangkok, prior to the latter’s mission to Laos. The concerns regarding Od’s case were expressed in a joint statement that the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and three Special Rapporteurs issued on 1 October 2019.
We would also like to draw particular attention to reports that Ittiphon Sukpaen, Wuthipong Kachathamakul, Surachai Danwattananusorn, Chatcharn Buppawan, and Kraidej Luelert, five Thai critics of the monarchy and Thailand’s military government living in exile in Laos, went missing between June 2016 and December 2018. In the case of the latter three, the bodies of Chatcharn and Kraidej were found about two weeks later on the Thai side of the Mekong River, mutilated and stuffed with concrete, while a third body – possibly Surachai’s – reportedly surfaced nearby and then disappeared. DNA tests carried out in January 2019 confirmed the identity of Chatcharn and Kraidej.
We call on the Lao and Thai governments to investigate these cases in line with international legal standards with a view towards determining their fate and whereabouts.
Both the Lao and Thai governments have the legal obligation to conduct such prompt, thorough and impartial investigations and to bring all individuals suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law and gross human rights violations to justice in fair trials.
We also urge the Lao and Thai governments to promptly ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Laos and Thailand signed in September 2008 and January 2012 respectively, to incorporate the Convention’s provisions into their domestic legal frameworks, implementing it in practice, and to recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims or other states parties.
Finally, we call on the international community to use the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos to demand the Lao government promptly and effectively investigate the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone. The third UPR of Laos is scheduled to be held on 21 January 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland.
During the second UPR of Laos in January 2015, 10 United Nations member states (Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) recommended the Lao government conduct an adequate investigation into Sombath’s enforced disappearance.
Until the fate and whereabouts of those who are forcibly disappeared are revealed, the international community should not stop demanding that they be safely returned to their families. The Lao government should be under no illusion that our demands will go away, we will persist until we know the real answer to the question: “Where is Sombath?”
Signed by:
- 11.11.11
- Action from Ireland (Afri)
- Alliance Sud
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
- Alyansa Tigil Mina (Alliance to Stop Mining)
- Amnesty International
- Armanshahr / OPEN ASIA
- Article 19
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asia Europe People’s Forum
- Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Asian Resource Foundation
- Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM)
- Awaz Foundation Pakistan – Centre for Development Services
- Banglar Manabadhikar Sutaksha Mancha (MASUM)
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- CCFD-Terre Solidaire
- Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD)
- Centre for the Sustainable Use of Natural and Social Resources (CSNR)
- China Labour Bulletin (CLB)
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Civil Rights Defenders
- Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- Community Resource Centre (CRC)
- Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC)
- DIGNIDAD Coalition
- Dignity – Kadyr-kassiyet (KK)
- Equality Myanmar
- Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF)
- Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
- FIAN International
- FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
- Focus on the Global South
- Fresh Eyes – People to People Travel
- Front Line Defenders
- Global Justice Now
- Globe International
- Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
- Human Rights in China (HRIC)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)
- INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)
- Justice for Iran (JFI)
- Karapatan Alliance Philippines (Karapatan)
- Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHR)
- Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS)
- Land Watch Thai
- Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR)
- Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)
- League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
- MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
- Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)
- Manushya Foundation
- MONFEMNET National Network
- National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP)
- Nomadic Livestock Keepers’ Development Fund
- Odhikar
- People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD)
- People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF)
- People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)
- People’s Watch
- Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
- Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI)
- Psychological Responsiveness NGO
- Pusat KOMAS
- Right to Life Human Rights Centre (R2L)
- Rights Now Collective for Democracy (RN)
- South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM)
- Stiftung Asienhaus
- STOP the War Coalition – Philippines (StWC-Philippines)
- Sustainability and Participation through Education and Lifelong Learning (SPELL)
- Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
- Tanggol Kalikasan – Public Interest Environmental Law Office (TK)
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
- The Corner House
- Think Centre
- Transnational Institute
- Union for Civil Liberty (UCL)
- Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR)
- Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR)
- WomanHealth Philippines
- Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC)
- World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)
- World Rainforest Movement (WRM)
Individuals
Andy Rutherford
Anuradha Chenoy
David JH Blake
Glenn Hunt
Jeremy Ironside
Jessica diCarlo
Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Mary Aileen D. Bacalso
Miles Kenney-Lazar
Nico Bakker
Philip Hirsch
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, reiterate our calls for the Lao government to conduct an independent, impartial and effective investigation to reveal his fate and whereabouts.
Sombath was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of the Lao capital, Vientiane, on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a CCTV camera showed that Sombath’s vehicle was stopped at the police checkpoint and, within minutes, individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. The fact that police officers were present at and witnessed Sombath’s abduction and failed to intervene strongly indicates state agents’ involvement in, or acquiescence to, human rights violations committed against Sombath, which include the crime of enforced disappearance. Later that evening, witnesses reportedly saw Sombath at a police holding facility in Vientiane yet to date officials have provided no information about what he was doing there and subsequently what happened to him.
For the last six years, the Lao government has failed to provide any credible answers with regard to the disappearance of Sombath Somphone. In its most recent pronouncements, made during the review of Laos’ initial report by the Human Rights Committee (CCPR) in July 2018, the Lao government said it had been “trying very hard” to investigate Sombath’s fate and whereabouts. However, this statement has been contradicted by the government’s refusal to accept international assistance in conducting the investigation and to provide any details about the progress of its investigation. Lao authorities have failed to disclose any new findings from their investigation of Sombath’s case to the public since 8 June 2013 and have met with his wife, Shui Meng Ng, only twice since January 2013.
Despite the government’s recent claim that police had the “capacity and techniques” to reveal Sombath’s fate and whereabouts, we remain extremely concerned by the lack of progress in the investigation by Lao authorities into his case and reiterate our call for Vientiane to allow international assistance towards conducting an independent, impartial and thorough investigation according to international law and standards.
The Lao authorities have international legal obligations to conduct such investigations and to bring persons responsible for serious violations to justice under treaties to which they are party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture.
We also urge the Lao government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Laos signed in September 2008, to incorporate the Convention’s provisions into the country’s domestic legislation, and implement it in practice.
Until Sombath Somphone’s fate and whereabouts are revealed, we will not stop demanding that Sombath be safely returned to his family and we will continue to ask the Lao government: “Where is Sombath?”
- 11.11 Belgium
- Action from Ireland (Afri)
- Addison Road Community Centre Organisation (ARCCO)
- All India women Hawker Federation
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
- Amnesty International
- Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asia Pacific Movement for Debt and Development (APMDD)
- Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia)
- Attac France
- Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED)
- Bank Information Center
- Borneo Dayak Forum International
- Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino – BMP (Workers Solidarity Philippines)
- Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
- CCFD-Terre Solidaire
- Centre for Environmental Justice
- China Labour Bulletin
- Christian Development Alternative (CDA)
- CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network)
- CNCD-11.11.11
- Coalition against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific
- Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- Community Action Network (CAN)
- Community Resource Centre Foundation (CRC)
- Corner House
- EarthRights International
- Ecologistas en Acción
- Environics Trust
- Equitable Cambodia
- Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF)
- Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
- FIAN International
- FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
- Finnish Asiatic Society
- Focus on the Global South
- Fresh Eyes — People to People Travel CIC
- Function 8
- Fundacion Solón
- Global Justice Now
- Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP)
- Human Rights in China (HRIC)
- Human Rights Watch
- Indian Social Action Forum – INSAF
- International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- International Peace Bureau
- International Rivers
- Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)
- Jagaran Nepal
- KATARUNGAN (Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan)
- Kesatuan Nelayan Traditional (KNT)
- Keshav Gore Smarak Trust
- KRuHA – People’s Coalition for The Right To Water
- Labour Education Foundation
- Land Watch Thai
- League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
- Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center–Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth
- LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights)
- Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET)
- Maldivian Democracy Network
- Manushya Foundation
- MARUAH
- Migrant Forum in Asia
- National Hawker Federation
- Network for Transformative Social Protection
- New Trade Union Initiative
- NGO Forum on ADB
- Nomadic Livestock Keepers’ Development Public Fund (NLKDF)
- Nouveaux Cahiers du Socialism
- Odhikar
- Pakistan Bhatta Mazdoor Union
- Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee
- Participatory Research Action Network- PRAN
- Peace Union of Finland
- People’s Health Movement
- People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD)
- People’s Watch
- Progressive Labour Federation
- Progressive Voice
- Project SEVANA South-East Asia
- Project X
- Resonant Strategic
- Rural Poor Institute for Land and Human Rights Services, Inc. (RIGHTS, Inc.)
- Solidarité des Jeunes Lao
- South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
- Stiftung Asienhauses
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
- Sustainability and Participation through Education and Lifelong Learning (SPELL)
- Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
- Tameer Nau Women Workers Association
- Thilak Kariyawasam, Sri Lanka Nature Group
- Think Centre
- Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis
- Transnational Institute
- Ulu Foundation
- Union Syndicale Solidaires
- Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR)
- Woman Health Philippines
- Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB)
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
- World Rainforest Movement
- York Psychotherapy Centre
Individuals
- Ajaya Kumar Singh, India
- Ame Trandem, The Netherlands
- Andrew Nette, Australia
- Anne-Sophie Gindroz, Switzerland.
- Anuradha Chenoy, India
- Chansophearet, Cambodia
- Charlie Thame, Thailand
- Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Thailand
- Christophe Aguiton, France
- Colin Archer
- Corazon Valdez Fabros, Philippines
- Cristina Machado, Portugal
- David Bruer, ICanada
- Edeliza P. Hernandez, Philippines.
- Elenita Daño, Philippines
- Glenn Hunt, Australia
- Jenina Joy Chavez, Philippines.
- Kamal Chenoy, India
- Kirsten Han, Singapore
- Maria Elena Grace D. Katigbak, Philippines
- Mary Ann Manahan, Philippines
- Mika Levesque
- Miriam Lang, Ecuador
- Mu Sochua, Cambodia
- Murray Hiebert, U.S.
- Nicolaas Bakker, Portugal
- Paul-Emile Dupret, Belgium
- Radhika Balakrishnan, USA
- Raffy Simbol, Philippines
- Rajeev Patel, USA.
- Randall Arnst, USA
- Rosanna Barbero, Australia
- Saturnino M. Borras Jr., The Netherlands
- Soren Sondergaard, Denmark
- Tony Salvador, Philippines
- Walden Bello, USA
- William H. Dangers, USA
