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March 5, 2014July 28, 2015

ASEAN human rights talks face major challenges

Jakarta Post: 04 March 2014

Emerlynne Gil, Bangkok

When the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) meets in Jakarta this week, its urgent priority must be improving how it communicates and engages with civil society in Southeast Asia and responds to human rights issues.

ASEAN civil society, representing more than 500 million people from the region, has signaled its eagerness to harness the potential of the AICHR. But the Commission has been widely criticized as being “toothless” and lacking a clear mandate since its creation in 2009.

Human rights issues among its member states need to be prioritized and addressed.

While some member states, including Indonesia and the Philippines have shown a degree of willingness to address them, others have not been so forthcoming. Continue reading “ASEAN human rights talks face major challenges”

February 27, 2014July 28, 2015

Disappeared Lao Civil Society Leader’s Mother ‘Still Waiting for Him to Return'

Radio Free Asia: 27 February 2014

Ng Shui Meng at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok, Dec. 11, 2023. RFA

A year and two months since prominent Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone went missing in Vientiane, his family is still puzzled over why he disappeared and his ailing mother is still waiting for him to come home, his wife said Thursday.

“His mother is now 86 years old and ill,” Sombath’s wife Ng Shui Meng told RFA’s Lao Service Wednesday in Australia, where she spoke to students at the University of Sydney about his case.

“She is crying and waiting for her son return,” she said.

“I am asking Lao government and whoever is merciful to bring him home safely; that is my hope.”

The 61-year-old NGO leader has been missing since Dec. 15, 2012, when he was stopped in his vehicle at a police checkpoint in Vientiane. He was then transferred into another vehicle, according to police surveillance video, and no one has seen him since.

Lao officials say they are investigating the case but have offered little information on his whereabouts, prompting human rights groups to suspect that he may have been abducted by government-linked groups. Continue reading “Disappeared Lao Civil Society Leader’s Mother ‘Still Waiting for Him to Return'”

February 20, 2014July 28, 2015

Censure, sequestri e abusi: Vientiane è il regime “più repressivo” del Sud-est asiatico

Asia News: 20 February 2014

Attivisti denunciano: “nel Paese vi è un governo dittatoriale e repressivo in tema di libertà individuali e diritti civili”. La sparizione di Sombath Somphone un monito per tutti gli attivisti e oppositori al regime. Un laotiano conferma: non si può discutere di politica o criticare il partito comunista al potere. Anche la religione sotto lo stretto controllo dello Stato.

Vientiane (AsiaNews) – Il partito unico comunista al potere a Vientiane perpetra “gravi” violazioni ai diritti umani, che il più delle volte passano sotto silenzio a causa del controllo strettissimo del governo sulla stampa e le associazioni attiviste. È quanto denunciano gruppi pro-diritti umani all’indomani della pubblicazione di un rapporto secondo cui il Laos è “lo Stato più repressivo” di tutta la regione del Sud-est asiatico. Fin dalla scomparsa dell’attivista e figura di primo piano della società civile Sombath Somphone, fermato il 15 dicembre 2012 a un check-point della polizia, il Paese è finito nel mirino dei movimenti internazionali che si battono per i diritti umani. Una sparizione dietro la quale vi sarebbero agenzie governative o membri legati ai poteri dello Stato.

In un’intervista a Radio Free Asia (Rfa) Phil Robertson, vice-direttore per l’Asia di Human Rights Watch (Hrw), sottolinea che “la situazione in Laos è molto seria”, perché il governo di Vientiane “usa il suo potere […] per controllare le posizioni politiche nel Paese, in un modo che viola chiaramente diversi trattati internazionali sui diritti umani”. Egli parla di esecutivo “dittatoriale” e “repressivo” in tema di libertà individuali e civili. Continue reading “Censure, sequestri e abusi: Vientiane è il regime “più repressivo” del Sud-est asiatico”

February 19, 2014July 28, 2015

Laos Human Rights Abuses 'Serious,' But Mostly Hidden From View

Radio Free Asia: 19 February 2014

Rice farmers blocking a bulldozer from entering their land in a screen grab from an RFA video, Jan. 17, 2014. RFA

The one-party Communist government of Laos is committing “serious” human rights abuses which go largely unreported due to tight political controls, rights groups say, following a report that the country has become the most repressive state in the region.

Laos has been under sharper focus by rights groups since popular civil society leader Sombath Somphone vanished after being stopped in his vehicle at a police checkpoint in the capital Vientiane on Dec. 15, 2012.

The rights groups say there have been many abuses apart from the case of Sombath, who they suspect may have been abducted by government-linked organizations

“The situation in Laos is very serious,” Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of New York-based Human Rights Watch, told RFA’s Lao Service.

“The Lao government uses its power as a one-party state to effectively control political expression in the country in a way that clearly violates various international human rights treaties.”

“It is still a very dictatorial, rights-repressing government,” Robertson said. Continue reading “Laos Human Rights Abuses 'Serious,' But Mostly Hidden From View”

February 12, 2014July 28, 2015

Silence over missing activist in Laos

Asia Times: 12 February 2014

By Shui Meng Ng

Thirteen months after the forced disappearance of civil society activist Sombath Somphone, the European Parliament issued a second resolution calling on the Lao government to “clarify the state of the investigation”, “to answer the many outstanding questions around [his] disappearance”, and “to seek and accept assistance from foreign forensic and law enforcement experts”.

The European Parliament reiterated its concern that ”the lack of reaction by the Lao government raises suspicions that the authorities could be involved in his abduction”. This second resolution was preceded by countless other private and public appeals from governments and their representatives around world.

Statements from international organizations, development agencies, civil society groups, and academics have also urged Lao authorities to find Sombath and return him safely to his family. Scores of reports and editorials by major international and regional news networks have added to the global chorus calling for accountability.

These myriad efforts, however, have so far failed to yield results. There is still no information of Sombath’s whereabouts, or any substantive details on the progress of the official investigation into his disappearance. Continue reading “Silence over missing activist in Laos”

January 31, 2014July 28, 2015

Enlèvement de Sombath Somphone: Vientiane reste muet

Le Temps: 31 Janvier 2014

Shui Meng Ng

Epouse d’un militant des droits de l’homme disparu il y a un an, Shui Meng Ng appelle le régime à faire preuve de bonne volonté

Treize mois après la disparition forcée de Sombath Somphone, le 15 décembre 2012, le Parlement européen a voté une seconde résolution appelant le gouvernement laotien à «clarifier les progrès de l’enquête sur le lieu où se trouve Sombath Somphone pour répondre aux nombreuses questions autour de sa disparition, et à requérir et accepter l’assistance des experts étrangers dans le domaine de la médecine légale et de l’enquête policière». L’UE a réitéré que le «manque de réaction de la part du gouvernement laotien suscitait des soupçons de ce que les autorités pourraient être impliquées dans son enlèvement».

Cette seconde résolution de l’UE a été précédée par d’innombrables appels privés et publics des gouvernements et de leurs représentants dans la région et à travers la planète, ainsi que de communiqués d’organisations internationales, d’organisations pour le développement, de groupements de la société civile et d’universitaires pressant les autorités laotiennes de s’efforcer de retrouver Sombath et le rendre sain et sauf à sa famille. Il y a eu aussi nombre d’articles et d’éditoriaux dans les médias régionaux et internationaux sur le cas de Sombath.

Mais au jour d’aujourd’hui, cette myriade d’efforts n’a abouti à aucun résultat. Il n’y a encore aucune information sur le lieu où se trouve Sombath ni aucun détail substantiel sur les progrès de l’enquête. Continue reading “Enlèvement de Sombath Somphone: Vientiane reste muet”

January 30, 2014July 28, 2015

Bangkok Post Editorial, 29 Jan 2014

Based on recent reports from Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, this is what the Bangkok Post had to say about Laos today:

Laos has replaced Myanmar as the most repressive in the region. As a prime example, the government has not even bothered to address the disappearance of development aid worker Sombath Somphone. The internationally known NGO leader was last seen on CCTV footage being abducted and forced into what apparently was a government vehicle. His disappearance is an obvious warning to anyone who might think of challenging the Vientiane regime.

January 17, 2014July 28, 2015

European Parliament Demands Clarification

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday, January 16th “…demanding clarifications on the investigation into the Sombath Somphone case in Laos.”

“MEPs demand a clarification of the state of the investigation into the Sombath Somphone case, considering that ‘the lack of reaction from the Lao Government raises suspicions that the authorities could be involved in his abduction’. MEPs also stress that ‘enforced disappearances remain a major impediment to Laos joining the UN Human Rights Council’.”

The press release is available in English and French. The full resolution can be found here. Video of interventions by parliamentarians can be seen here.

January 3, 2014July 28, 2015

Laos widerspricht Vereinten Nationen

Neues Deutschland: 03 January 2014

Vientiane. Die laotische Regierung hat einen Bericht der Vereinten Nationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der unter mysteriösen Umständen verschwundene Aktivist Sombath Somphone in der Gewalt der Sicherheitskräfte gesehen worden sein soll. Vor Weihnachten hatte eine Gruppe von UN-Experten berichtet, Sombath (61) sei nach seinem Verschwinden im Dezember 2012 in Militärgewahrsam gesehen worden. Dies sei falsch, schrieb der laotische UN-Botschafter Thongphane Savanphet. Sombath hatte kurz vor seinem Verschwinden ein Bürgerforum organisiert, bei dem es unter anderem um die Rechte von Bauern ging, die sich gegen die Konfiszierung ihres Landes für Großprojekte wehren. dpa/nd

December 18, 2013July 28, 2015

UN จี้ลาวเร่งสืบคดีอุ้ม'สมบัด สมพอน'

ไทยโพสต์: 18 ธันวาคม 2013

คณะผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านสิทธิมนุษยชนขององค์การสหประชาชาติ (ยูเอ็น) เร่งเร้ารัฐบาลลาวคลี่คลายคดี “สมบัด สมพอน” นักเคลื่อนไหวคนดังที่หายตัวไปเมื่อ 1 ปีก่อน เตือนคดีอุ้มหายสร้างความหวาดหวั่นแก่นักปกป้องสิทธิมนุษยชนในลาว

ข่าวเอเอฟพีรายงานเมื่อวันอังคารว่า นักเคลื่อนไหวชาวลาววัย 62 ปี หายตัวไปเมื่อวันที่ 15 ธ.ค.2555 โดยเขาถูกพบเห็นครั้งสุดท้ายที่ด่านตรวจของตำรวจในกรุงเวียงจันทน์ และภาพซีซีทีวีเผยให้เห็นว่าเขาถูกชาย 2 คนพาตัวไป

“เราห่วงกังวลอย่างยิ่งต่อความปลอดภัยและสวัสดิภาพของเขา” คณะทำงานด้านการหายตัวไปโดนถูกบังคับหรือไม่สมัครใจของยูเอ็นกล่าวใน แถลงการณ์ พร้อมกับเรียกร้องรัฐบาลลาว “พยายามถึงที่สุดเพื่อหาตัวนายสมบัด เพื่อเปิดเผยชะตากรรมและที่อยู่ของเขา และนำตัวผู้กระทำผิดมาดำเนินคดี”

คณะผู้เชี่ยวชาญกล่าวด้วยว่า พวกตนต้องให้รัฐบาลลาวอนุญาตให้องค์กรอิสระวิเคราะห์ภาพจากกล้องวงจรปิด เพื่อวินิจฉัยว่าเกิดอะไรขึ้นกับนักเคลื่อนไหวผู้นี้ โดยข้อมูลล่าสุดชี้ด้วยว่า มีคนเห็นเขาอยู่ในศูนย์คุมขังของตำรวจราว 2 วันหลังการหายตัว แล้วสองวันต่อมามีรายงานว่าเขาถูกย้ายไปค่ายทหารนอกกรุงเวียงจันทน์ จากนั้นก็ถูกย้ายไปยังสถานที่ลับอีกแห่ง

มาร์กาเร็ต เซคักเกีย ผู้เชี่ยวชาญของยูเอ็น เตือนว่าการหายตัวไปของสมบัดอาจสร้างความหวาดหวั่นแก่นักเคลื่อนไหวในลาว ทำให้ไม่กล้าทำงานปกป้องสิทธิมนุษยชนซึ่งมีความสำคัญมากนี้.