Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
JAKARTA — Southeast Asian lawmakers have called on Australian officials to press for improvements to the human rights situation in Laos when they meet with the Lao government for their fifth bilateral human rights dialogue tomorrow in Vientiane.
In a submission to the Australian government, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) urged members of the delegation to raise critical concerns about restrictions on civil society and fundamental freedoms with their Lao hosts, and called for further inquiry into the case of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who disappeared after being stopped at a police checkpoint in Vientiane in December 2012.
“The human rights situation in Laos continues to be abysmal. Since Sombath’s disappearance, the space for independent civil society in the country – already one of the most repressive in the region – has narrowed considerably. Meanwhile, the public as a whole remains deeply fearful of raising sensitive issues,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament, who has made multiple visits to Laos since 2012 to inquire about Sombath’s disappearance, as well as the broader situation for civil society.
“The Australian government has a chance with this dialogue to push for change, but officials need to be straight with their Lao counterparts about the harm their failure to protect rights has done and continues to do to their international image, as well as about the urgent need for tangible improvements, including an end to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and draconian restrictions on basic rights.”
In their submission, parliamentarians highlighted restrictive decrees proposed in 2014 governing local and international organizations, as well as specific statutes limiting rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, such as Articles 65 and 72 of the Penal Law, which criminalize “anti-government propaganda” and restrict organizing and participating in public gatherings. MPs also noted the decision of ASEAN civil society groups in 2016 not to hold their annual regional gathering in Laos – then serving as ASEAN Chair – citing concerns for the safety of participants.
ASEAN MPs conducted fact-finding missions to Laos in January 2013 and September 2014 to look into the case of Sombath Somphone. During meetings with government officials, they pressed for answers and provided recommendations for how to strengthen the investigation, but concluded that the Lao government was doing little to pursue leads and had erected a “brick wall of silence” around the inquiry.
“The disappearance of such a prominent and respected member of the ASEAN community was a blow to civil society across the region, and the failure to quickly investigate the case damaged the Lao government’s credibility. It is disappointing to see how little the investigation has progressed since,” said Walden Bello, an APHR Board Member and former Philippine Congressman who joined a parliamentary delegation to Laos in 2013.
“We have still not given up hope that Sombath’s case will be resolved, but in order for that to happen, the international community – including Australia – must continue to press the Lao government for answers.”
Parliamentarians urged Australia and Laos to make public the content and focus of their discussions, including any commitments by Lao authorities to specific targets for improvement.
“We commend the Australian government’s commitment to engaging with Lao officials on human rights, and the dialogue itself represents an important first step. But it’s critical that the event be a substantive discussion of important issues and an opportunity to push for real improvements in the situation, rather than a shield for the Lao government to ignore its international obligations,” Bello added.
Click here to read the full submission.
Correction: The Lao Penal Law was amended in 2005, and article numbers were changed from their placement in the previous law from 1989. The articles relating to “anti-government propaganda” and public gatherings are currently Articles 65 and 72, respectively, not Articles 59 and 66. The linked submission reflects the original content submitted to the Australian government and therefore has not been updated to reflect this correction.
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
ASEAN Meeting Should Highlight Disappeared Leader Sombath Somphone, Denial of Liberties
BANGKOK, 31 August 2016 — On the eve of the annual ASEAN leaders summit in Vientiane, human rights and advocacy groups called upon the Lao PDR Government to commit to address its widespread violations of human rights, including instances of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention. Visiting world leaders have a unique opportunity to publicly raise human rights concerns during the ASEAN summit in Vientiane from September 6-8. They should press the Lao government to cease the abuses that have consistently placed Laos at the bottom of rights and development indexes measuring rights, press freedom, democracy, religious freedom, and economic transparency.
At the press conference organized today by The Sombath Initiative at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok, the groups released a set of briefing papers on forcibly disappeared civil society leader Sombath Somphone, Laos’ restrictions on democracy and human rights, lack of freedom of expression, failure to meet human rights obligations, and impacts of foreign aid and investment.
“More than three and half years after he disappeared, the Lao government still has provided no clear answers to what happened to my husband, Sombath Somphone, who was taken away in truck at a police checkpoint in Vientiane,” said Shui Meng Ng, wife of Sombath and board member of The Sombath Initiative. “President Obama, the United Nations, and ASEAN and its dialogue partners should urge the Lao Government to urgently resolve the case of Sombath’s enforced disappearance and return him safely to me and my family. They should also demand the Lao Government end enforced disappearances, so that the ordinary people of the country can respect their government rather than fear it.”
Sombath Somphone, a national and regional leader in rural development, was forcibly disappeared on December 15, 2012, and since then, the Lao government has neither conducted a comprehensive nor effective investigation into his abduction. Laos has also failed to provide information as to his whereabouts or fate in violation of its international human rights obligations under the treaties to which it is a State Party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture. Sombath was forcibly disappeared not long after he served as co-chair of the Lao National Organizing Committee, helping the Lao PDR government and civil society groups in organizing the Asia-Europe People’s Forum in Vientiane in October 2012. Sensitive issues related to land, and human rights violations, were raised in the Forum, which are believed to have prompted dissatisfaction within parts of the government.
“The fact that the Lao PDR government’s last detailed report on the progress of the investigation was released over three years ago suggests the Lao authorities are not carrying out an effective investigation into this case as they are required to do under international law,” said Kingsley Abbott, a Senior International Legal Adviser with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). “It is not enough for the Lao government to simply keep asserting on the international stage that it is investigating this case. International law obliges Lao PDR authorities to conduct an investigation that is credible and effective, and provide regular updates on its progress including to Sombath’s wife, Shui Meng.”
Basic civil and political rights are systematically denied in Laos, and government authorities move quickly to arbitrarily arrest those expressing critical views of the government, either in day to day life or more recently online. In March 2016, police arrested three Lao migrant workers who had posted critical comments about the Lao government while they were working in Thailand, and continues to detain them arbitrarily. A Lao court also sentenced activist Bounthanh Khammavong in September 2015 to 4 years and 9 months in prison for posting critical comments on Facebook.
Laos also imposes onerous restrictions on the right to freedom of association that are incompatible with its human rights obligations. The government strictly controls the registrations of organizations such as non-profit associations (NPAs), and closely monitors the work plans and budgets of NPAs that it does approve to operate. Any person who dares to organize and operate an unsanctioned organization faces arrest and prosecution. Workers are compelled to belong to the Lao Federation of Trade Unions and organizing unions outside that framework is illegal. At the village level, mass organizations controlled by the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party are often the only organizations operating. Public protests or assemblies are strictly forbidden without government permission, and any efforts organize such events face immediate suppression by the police and security forces.
“Civil society in Laos remains under a hostile spotlight from the government, and UN rights officials have noted that there are few places in the world where they have encountered greater fear and intimidation among community organizations and NGOs,” said Walden Bello, former member of the Philippines Congress and Vice Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “Laos has now become one of the most rights repressing countries in ASEAN: leaders in the region and from around the world must stop looking the other way, and demand Vientiane end its asphyxiation of independent civil society.”
Laos is attempting to gain eligibility to graduate from Least Development Country (LDC) status by 2020, and has thrown open its doors to foreign investors to achieve rapid economic growth. However, the government’s aggressive foreign investment strategy portends huge and grave social, environmental, and economic costs to the country, and especially to those displaced by economic land concessions, dams, and other mega-projects. The strategy risks adverse human rights consequences, including to economic, social and cultural rights.
“Despite the huge amounts of foreign aid and investment capital that have poured into Laos over the past two decades, the country has little to show in the way of public services, especially education, health, water, sanitation and an effective justice system,” said Shalmali Guttal, Executive Director at Focus on the Global South. “Investment projects in Laos are destroying the environment, which is the basis of rural peoples’ livelihoods and their primary source of food. Food insecurity, corruption, inequality and distress migration are increasing, and life is becoming very hard for ordinary people.”
“Major donors such as Japan, the Asian Development Bank, and World Bank continue to provide a large number of loans and grants to Laos, apparently without due regard to their effectiveness or the negative environmental, social, and human rights impacts these projects have on ordinary Lao people,” said Toshi Doi, Senior Advisor at Mekong Watch.
For the first time since it was first organized in 2005, the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference (APF/ACSC) was forced to abandon efforts to hold a parallel meeting in the ASEAN meeting host country. The APF/ACSC is not being held in Vientiane because the Lao government failed to provide guarantees that Lao civil society participants would not face retaliation. The APF/ACSC organizers also refused the Lao government’s prohibitions on issues to be discussed at the APF/ACSC, including topics such as enforced disappearances, indigenous people’s rights, the rights of LGBTI persons, mega-projects like hydropower projects on the Mekong River and other rivers, and other potentially sensitive issues.
“If Laos’ authoritarian leaders have their way, the voices of civil society and concern for human rights won’t be heard at this ASEAN meeting — so it really falls to world leaders like President Obama to take up the slack by raising rights issues both privately and publicly in Laos,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch. “They should state very clearly that their future partnerships with Laos depend on serious rights improvements, starting with solving the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone. The government should also ensure that all foreign investment is carried out in accordance with the government’s obligations under international human rights law.”
Click here to download briefing papers about various human rights issues in Laos from The Sombath Initiative and affiliated organizations.
Click here to read this statement in Bahasa Indonesia.
Click here to read this statement in Burmese.
Click here to read this statement in Khmer.
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
From left to right: Kanya Khammoungkhoun, Deputy-Director of ASEAN Poliitcal and Security Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR; U Shwe Maung, Chair of APHR Myanmar Caucus; Mr. Phoukhong Sisoulath, Representative of Laos PDR to AICHR; Charles Santiago, Chair of APHR Malaysia Caucus
BANGKOK — The Lao government should share all information on the investigation into the abduction of Sombath Somphone with family members and independent parties, ending its deceptive game of hiding behind national sovereignty to excuse it from engaging in a sincere conversation regarding the investigation into his disappearance, Southeast Asian lawmakers said today.
“The Lao authorities have erected a brick wall of silence on this investigation, so much so that the only intelligent conclusion is that there is in fact no investigation taking place at all and that the obstinacy is part of a cover up for state officials implicated in his abduction,” said Mr. Charles Santiago, Malaysian MP and Vice-President of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
“We regard Sombath as a citizen of ASEAN, not just of Laos, and therefore have the right and duty to help find out what has happened to him. The blatant game playing, refusal of assistance and deceptive and at times belligerent answers provided by the Lao authorities when asked for information on the investigation is growing tiresome and reflects badly not just on Lao PDR, but on all of ASEAN.”
APHR MPs travelled to Lao PDR from September 15–20, in part to conduct a fact-finding mission and follow up on the investigation into the whereabouts of Sombath. During this visit the MPs met with representatives from the Lao government, National Assembly and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Mr. Phoukong Sisoulath, who also acts as the Lao Representative to the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
As well as the issue of Sombath, APHR MPs were shocked by the fear and restrictions with which the Lao state subdued and curtailed its civil society actors – in part a consequence of the enforced disappearance of Sombath in December 2012. APHR is alarmed by further restrictions planned as part of two new bills to be put before Parliament concerning the operations of local and foreign non-profit organisations in Laos. The decrees aim to restrict and monitor funding of organisations, as well as limit the issues they can work on and engage with.
During its meeting, APHR presented Mr. Phoukhong and representatives of the Lao government with legitimate and valid suggestions for breaking the apparent deadlock in the investigation into Sombath’s disappearance. These included setting up a hotline and offering a reward for information on the case, as well as sharing information with other law-enforcement agencies, conducting proper analysis of CCTV footage of his abduction and questioning of officers stationed at the police checkpoint where Sombath was abducted. All of these suggestions were dismissed offhand as incompatible with “Lao tradition”. Requests to be granted access to the case files or meet with the chief investigating officer were also denied.
While APHR is grateful to the Lao authorities for granting this meeting and wishes to convey that the discussion was undertaken in a cordial and professional manner, the answers provided remain extremely disappointing, as are the Lao authorities’ consistent efforts to silence any discussion on the issue of Sombath’s disappearance.
APHR understands that the United Nations Resident Coordinator of the Lao PDR was asked to remove any mention of Sombath’s disappearance from its Universal Periodic Review Submission. The UN Resident Coordinator did not acquiesce to the government’s request. Non-governmental workers and civil society actors are also held under a strict code of self-enforced silence, fearful of repercussions if they raise what has become one of the most sensitive issues for the Lao regime.
“The script that the Lao authorities are reading from has become progressively tighter over the past 18 months: there appears to be a concerted effort to undermine now even the most fundamental, seemingly incontestable aspects of the investigation,” Mr. Santiago said.
“Individuals requesting honest answers to very basic questions are being treated like agitators and enemies. This is an unacceptable distortion of the reality of the situation.”
If the Lao government really wants to solve this case and is as concerned as the rest of us, then why is it blocking all possible avenues for the investigation? asked APHR.
The new government line is that the person in the CCTV footage may not in fact be Sombath and it has sought to discredit other investigations into his disappearance by international rights organisations. Lao PDR representatives also suggested that nothing of any interest or suspicion can be seen taking place in the CCTV footage. The original footage has never been made available for independent scrutiny.
APHR stressed to the Lao authorities that there is widespread dissatisfaction and anger with its handling of the investigation, as well as the overall human rights situation in the country.
APHR advised the Lao government that it risks its international reputation, which among other potential repercussions, could affect its access to development loans and aspirations to sit on the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2016.
“If we are unable to solve the disappearance of Sombath Somphone by 2016, then it will cast a dark and permanent shadow over Laos’ chairmanship of ASEAN. It will be the defining factor of its chairmanship, and along with the rising repression of civil society,” said Mr. Santiago.
The Lao Government signalled its recognition of the gravity of the crime of enforced disappearance when it signed the Convention Against Enforced Disappearance on 29 September 2008. Accordingly, the Lao authorities are obliged to ensure that state officials do not act in a manner that is contrary to the object and purpose of the treaty, and must be pressed to live up to that commitment.
Currently in Laos, freedom of expression is restricted and civil society is subjugated. APHR calls for the Lao authorities to respect and protect the right of human rights defenders and other civil society actors so that they can carry out their work unimpeded. All restrictions in law and practice that are infringing upon the work of civil society organizations in Laos must be repealed and legal provisions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association must be brought in line with international human rights standards.
Several APHR members were also part of a delegation that visited the Lao PDR to follow up on the investigation into the disappearance of Sombath in January 2013. These included Philippines Congressman Walden Bello and Malaysian MP Charles Santiago. The officials they met acknowledged that the disappearance of Sombath was a blow to the reputation of the Lao PDR, but the answers to their questions were far from satisfactory, and they let this be known.
APHR remains heartened by continued efforts and support from foreign missions in Vientiane, as well as governments and parliamentarians in Europe and elsewhere who have continued to raise these and other concerns with the Lao authorities.
ENDS
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
On the second anniversary of the enforced disappearance of prominent Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned regional and international organizations, firmly condemn the Lao government’s ongoing refusal to provide any information regarding Sombath’s fate or whereabouts.
The Lao government’s deliberate silence on Sombath is part of a strategy that aims at consigning to oblivion the heinous crime of enforced disappearance. Regrettably, all other ASEAN member states have remained conspicuously silent on the issue of Sombath’s disappearance. Our organizations believe that ASEAN member states, as well as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), must break the silence on this matter.
Instead of invoking the principle of non-interference into one another’s internal affairs, ASEAN member states must act as responsible members of the international community and uphold the 10-nation bloc’s key tenets enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, which recognizes the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms among the bloc’s purposes and principles.
As a result, we, the undersigned organizations, call on ASEAN member states to raise the issue of Sombath’s disappearance with the Lao government in all bilateral and multilateral fora. We also urge AICHR to exercise its power to “obtain information from ASEAN member states on the promotion and protection of human rights” in order to shed light on the disappearance of Sombath.
Sombath was last seen on the evening of 15 December 2012 in Vientiane. Lao public surveillance CCTV footage revealed that police stopped Sombath’s car at a police post. Within minutes after being stopped, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove away. Analysis of the CCTV footage shows that Sombath was taken away in the presence of police officers who witnessed the abduction and failed to intervene – a fact that strongly suggests government complicity.
Sombath’s enforced disappearance is not an isolated incident. To this day, the whereabouts of nine people arbitrarily detained by Lao security forces in November 2009 in various locations across the country remain unknown. The nine had planned peaceful demonstrations calling for democracy and respect of human rights. The whereabouts of Somphone Khantisouk are also unknown. Somphone, the owner of an ecotourism guesthouse, was an outspoken critic of Chinese-sponsored agricultural projects that were damaging the environment in the northern province of Luang Namtha. He disappeared after uniformed men abducted him in January 2007.
Our organizations urge ASEAN member states and the AICHR to call on the Lao government to immediately conduct competent, impartial, effective, and thorough investigations into all cases of enforced disappearances, hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide reparations to the victims and their families.
Signed by:
Adventist Development and Relief Agency Lao PDR
Ain O Salish Kendra
Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
Amnesty International
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition
Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
Boat People SOS
Burma Partnership
Cambodian Civil Society Working Group on ASEAN
Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
Cambodian Volunteers for Society
Center for Human Rights and Development
China Labour Bulletin
Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia
Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
Equality Myanmar
Equitable Cambodia
FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
Finnish Asiatic Society
Focus on the Global South
Forum for Democracy in Burma
Fresh Eyes – People to People Travel, UK
Gender and Development Initiative-Myanmar
Globe International
Hawaii Center for Human Rights Research & Action
Human Rights and Development Foundation
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Human Rights Watch
Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation
Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (IMPARSIAL)
INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre
Initiatives for International Dialogue
Interfaith Youth Coalition on Aid in Myanmar
International Rivers
Judicial System Monitoring Programme
Justice and Peace Network of Myanmar
Justice for Peace Foundation
Justice for Women
Kachin Peace Network
Kachin Women Peace Network
Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association
Korean House for International Solidarity
Lao Movement for Human Rights
Law and Society Trust
League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran
LICADHO Canada
LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights)
Madaripur Legal Aid Association
MARUAH
National Commission for Justice and Peace
Network for Democracy and Development
Odhikar
Olive Branch Human Rights Initiative
People’s Empowerment Foundation
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights
People’s Watch
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates
Potahar Organization for Development Advocacy
RTCC Research and Translation Consultancy Cluster
Sehjira Foundation for Persons with Disabilities
SILAKA
Social Action for Change
STAR Kampuchea
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines
Think Centre
Transnational Institute
United Sisterhood Alliance – Cambodia
Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
Women Peace Network Arakan
World Rainforest Movement
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, DFF, Statements
BANGKOK – ASEAN Parliamentarians today praised Singapore for its consistent efforts to urge the Lao government to expedite its inquiry into the disappearance of civil society actor Sombath Somphone and urged other ASEAN nations to take a firm, united stand against the shortcomings of the Lao authorities’ investigation to date.
The Singapore government this week reiterated its concern regarding the stalled investigation into Sombath’s whereabouts after he was disappeared from a street in Vientiane in December 2012.
In written remarks to the Singapore Parliament, Singaporean Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said his government had made its misgivings known to the Lao government and that it has also offered assistance to Sombath’s wife, Dr. Ng Shui Meng, a Singaporean citizen resident in Vientiane.
“[The Singapore government has] consistently raised our concern to the Lao PDR government over Mr Sombath’s disappearance at the highest levels, including with the Lao PDR President, Prime Minister, President of the National Assembly and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs,” K Shanmugam said.
“We have urged the Lao PDR government to expedite their investigations and to resolve this case as quickly as possible.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister’s remarks were in response to questions raised by Deputy House Speaker and Vice President of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), Mr. Charles Chong.
K. Shanmugam however, said there was little more Singapore could do other than continue to monitor developments whilst urging its Lao counterparts to press ahead with their investigation.
“The matter is within the purview of Lao PDR. There is little that countries outside of Lao PDR can do. Nevertheless, our Embassy in Vientiane will continue to keep in close contact with Dr Ng and seek regular updates from the Lao PDR government on the investigations into Mr Sombath’s disappearance,” K. Shanmugam said.
APHR called on ASEAN nations to take note of the grouping’s inability to sufficiently tackle serious human rights concerns, and urged respective member states to place the development of a regional human rights mechanism and expansion of the mandate of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on the agenda of the upcoming ASEAN Forum.
“ASEAN’s inability to tackle the case of Mr. Sombath’s disappearance, as well as numerous other high profile cases, serve to highlight the region’s shortcomings in delivering basic human rights protections for our citizens,” said Eva Kusuma Sundari, Indonesian Member of Parliament and President of APHR.
APHR recognizes the great efforts being put into trying to ensure the ASEAN Economic Community is established for 2015. However, without addressing the social, environmental and other aspects of the ASEAN Community, life for the majority of Southeast Asian citizens could become more difficult, injustices will increase and rights will be violated, APHR warned.
“Beyond the personal pain suffered by Sombath’s family, his disappearance has been extremely detrimental to civil society in Laos. The limitations of ASEAN’s efforts to press Laos to follow up on this case shows that we need to seriously discuss possibilities of an effective regional human rights mechanism that can allow us to work together, as a region, to tackle such concerns,” Sundari said.
“We need to raise the bar together. If we are truly to be a ‘Community’, then the rights of citizens across the region must be protected equally. From Myanmar to the Philippines, we can’t ignore human rights violations that take place in any part of our region.”
APHR reiterated its concern about the wider impact on the climate for civil society actors in Laos. The brazen abduction of one of the countries most respected civil society activists has compounded the climate of fear under which those seeking to help the marginalized and disenfranchised operate. It is of vital importance that those working with local communities and wider environmental and human rights issues in Laos are aware that the world is watching and that those responsible for Sombath’s disappearance cannot act with impunity, APHR said.
APHR stressed that enforced disappearances and restriction of civil and political rights were not concerns particular to Laos alone; it remains a region-wide problem.
APHR believes that countries in ASEAN can work together to support Laos’ efforts to open up and become a stronger voice both regionally and internationally; but this cannot happen unless the government lives up to its international obligations on human rights and justice.
Laos is a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance under which it has a responsibility to prevent and remedy any enforced disappearance and is bound under international law to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and purpose of this treaty.
Despite positive words from the Lao authorities, efforts to engage with Vientiane appear to have had little impact on the investigation to date. Little new information has surfaced regarding Sombath’s whereabouts and the details surrounding his disappearance.
APHR supports wider calls for the Lao government to establish an independent commission with regional support or involvement to investigate the case. ASEAN member states should use their political leverage to impress upon the Lao government the urgency and seriousness of this case and to clarify the many questions that surround Sombath’s disappearance and the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, in reaction to the stalled investigation into Sombath’s disappearance, as well as raising its concerns to the Lao government, Singapore has offered assistance to Sombath’s wife, Dr Ng Shui Meng, Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said in his written statement to Parliament.
“Since Mr Sombath Somphone’s disappearance in December 2012, the Singapore Embassy in Vientiane has been in close contact with Mr Sombath’s wife, Dr Ng Shui Meng, a Singapore citizen resident in Vientiane, and providing her with consular assistance,” Mr. K Shanmugam told the Singapore Parliament.
“Our Ambassador in Vientiane facilitated a meeting between Dr Ng and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) over this issue.”
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ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) is a collective of lawmakers from Southeast Asia working to improve human rights responses and justice in the region.
