Statements and appeals, etc. in English
European partners regard the unexplained disappearance of Mr Sombath Somphone as a very serious matter. We express our grave concern regarding his safety and wellbeing. European partners regard the statements made by the Government of Lao PDR on this case as neither sufficient nor convincing. We call on the Government of Lao PDR to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation of this case…
From European Development Partners Statement at Lao PDR’s Round Table Meeting. 19 November 2013
Imagine a man thinking and discussing about development in his country — many people know him, a regular person like you and me.
Imagine he organises civil society meetings which are transparent and non-controversial, open to everyone – including his own government.
Imagine that he is stopped one night ten months ago at a police post and never reappears.
Imagine that the last images of him getting out of his car are caught on closed circuit TV and shown to his family – but that this original footage is never released for analysis.
Imagine European parliamentarians and others in the EU openly and repeatedly calling for this man’s return—but receiving no answer.
Imagine how other human rights activists in his country feel when they see this happening.
And imagine that this country will apply for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council in the near future.
The country is Laos, and the man is Sombath Somphone.
Katharine Derderian, Amnesty International EU Foreign Policy Officer. The full statement can be seen here.
Le Temps: (29 Octobre 2013)
Anne-Sophie Gindroz
Anne-Sophie Gindroz, ancienne directrice d’Helvetas au Laos, décrit le climat effrayant qui règne dans ce pays qui brade ses ressources aux compagnies étrangères et fait taire toute contestation.
En décembre 2012, Sombath Somphone suivait sa femme au volant de sa voiture pour rentrer chez eux à Vientiane, la capitale du Laos. Sur l’avenue de Thadeua, il fut tiré hors de son véhicule par des agents de police. Ni sa femme ni aucun de ses proches ne revit Sombath après cet épisode.
De nombreux gouvernements, des personnalités internationales, des parlementaires et organisations de la société civile ont cherché en vain à savoir où il se trouvait. Et la cause du droit à la terre des populations rurales au Laos, que Sombath s’efforçait de faire reconnaître, reste toujours largement ignorée
Des compagnies multinationales se ruent sur le Laos et d’autres pays dits «sous-développés» pour y acheter des terres ou les droits sur les ressources que leurs sous-sols recèlent auprès de gouvernements locaux, régionaux et nationaux. Dans de nombreux pays, les terres ont un immense potentiel pour des opérations minières, agricoles et forestières. Du bois d’arbres plusieurs fois centenaires est pratiquement bradé par des gouvernements de pays pauvres au nom du développement économique. Continue reading “Ce que cache la disparition d’un militant des droits de l’homme au Laos”
Asian Parliamentarians for Human Rights: 28 October 2013
BANGKOK (October 28) — ASEAN Parliamentarians today called on a European Parliament delegation to Vientiane to persevere with collective efforts to secure the safe return of Lao civil society activist Sombath Somphone, the victim of an enforced disappearance last year.
CCTV footage shows Sombath was last seen with local police in the Lao capital Vientiane on December 15, 2012. He has not been seen since and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has expressed both publicly and privately over the past 10 months the perceived failure of the Lao authorities in their sincerity to properly investigate his disappearance.
A delegation from the EU Parliament travelled to Vientiane on October 28. Continue reading “ASEAN MPs support European delegation in efforts to secure safe return of Lao civil society leader”
A number of international groups have called on European parliamentarians visiting Laos to maintain pressure to secure the release of Sombath Somphone. In part, the letter reads:
In line with the EU’s commitments to promote human rights through all its external actions, we call on you during your upcoming EP delegation visit to urge the Lao government to:
Until Sombath Somphone is back safely with his family, his case will not be forgotten and calls for his return will persist.
The full letter can be read here.
Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, included Sombath in his presentation at the High Level Event on Supporting Civil Society at the United Nations in New York on 23 September. The video clip is below. The entire video can be seen here, and the transcript of the speech here.
[wpvideo wcCbCoJh]
รายงานองค์การแอมเนสตี้อินเตอร์เนชั่นแนล “จับผิดจากกล้อง: การบังคับบุคคลให้สูญหาย กรณีสมบัด สมพอน” มีเป็นภาษาไทยดว้ย. กรุณาคลิกที่ภาพ.
The Amnesty International Report, “Caught on Camera: The Enforced Disappearance of Sombath Somphone” is now available in Thai Language. Please click the picture.
Today (August 30) is the International Day of the Disappeared. Shui Meng has shared the following letter with friends and colleagues to call attention to this terrible practice.
A number of groups and media organisations are doing research on the number and nature of Enforced Disappearances in Laos. If you have any verifiable, documented evidence, please share it.
Dear All,
August 30 marks the International Day of the Disappeared. In many Asian countries, there are activities marking the day to show solidarity with the victims of Enforced Disappearances.
Although Laos is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Enforced Disappearances, and many other human rights conventions and protocols, and despite receiving substantial assistance from development partners for awareness and capacity building on HR issues, there is little awareness or even recognition that Enforced Disappearance is an HR issue in Laos.
In fact, in HR terms Enforced Disappearance is considered the “Mother of HR Violations” because a disappeared person is a “non-person,” and until the person’s whereabouts and proof of life or otherwise are known, the family is left in limbo; left waiting without any possibility of “closure”; left hanging between hope and despair. Nobody, except those who have experienced such violations, can even describe the agony and trauma they face every minute of the day, and outsiders can never understand those feelings and emotions.
I write this not because I am venting my feelings, but to urge you all, as development practitioners and HR advocates, to do more about raising awareness of the issue of disappearances in the HR context of Laos.
There are many cases of disappearances in Laos, more than are admitted, because the family members of the victims are too afraid to speak or reach out for help. Recently, I wanted to reach out regarding one case which was reported to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, but was told that the family wants it to remain confidential. Such is the scale of fear, and that is why the perpetrators in Laos can continue to act with impunity and know that they will face little or no consequences.
I have spent my entire working life working on development in Laos and elsewhere to improve the lives and rights of the poor and disenfranchised, and I have been very proud of our mission. So, I urge you all, my development colleagues, to take a firmer and more forthright stand on the issue of disappearances with your Lao partners at the national and at the local levels. I at least have a voice, please be the voice and conscience of those Lao people who are voiceless and afraid.
Yours sincerely, Shui Meng
Politiken: 30 August 2013
FN-dagen for ofrene for påtvungne forsvindinger må bruges til at intensivere arbejdet for Sombath Somphone i Laos.
Dagen i dag – den 30. august – har FN udpeget til årlig mindedag for ofrene for påtvungne forsvindinger. Selvom der de senere år er sket store fremskridt i Latinamerika, så kan dette fænomen desværre ikke tilskrives historien.
Tværtimod sker det fortsat mange steder i verden, at personer som led i interne konflikter bortføres uden af de efterladte får noget at vide om, hvad der er sket. Mod politiske modstandere, fagligt aktive m.v. bruges ufrivillige forsvindinger som et redskab til at sprede frygt og terror. Det rammer ikke alene den nære familie og venner, men påvirker dermed samfundet som helhed.
I den forløbne uge har jeg været i Laos for at søge nyt i en konkret bortførelsessag vedrørende Sombath Somphone.
Sombath er en kendt og respekteret civilsamfundsleder, ikke bare i Laos men i hele Sydøstasien. I 2005 modtog han bl.a. “Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership”, som kan sammenlignes med en regional Nobel-pris. Så sent som i efteråret 2012 var han en af hovedkræfterne bag det meget vellykkede “Asia Europe People’s Forum” (AEPF), som fandt sted i Laos’ hovedstad Vientiane forud for det officielle euro-asiatiske topmøde, ASEM9. Continue reading “Sandheden om Sombath må frem”
29 August 2013
Laos: Return Sombath Somphone
Ahead of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August, Amnesty International calls once more on the Lao government to ensure the safe return of Sombath Somphone. The human rights group calls also on other countries to do more to demand that the civil society leader, a victim of enforced disappearance, is found and returned safely to his family.
Sombath’s disappearance is examined in detail in Amnesty International’s report “Caught on Camera”. He was taken away on the evening of 15 December 2012 in the presence of security personnel at a police post in the Lao capital Vientiane, and has not been heard from since. His disappearance was recorded on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that his family was able to copy. The Lao authorities’ likely involvement in Sombath’s disappearance has been compounded by the police’s failure to conduct thorough investigations, which suggests a cover-up. Other countries’ offers of external assistance, including to analyze the original CCTV footage, have been rejected.
Amnesty International has made a series of recommendations to help ensure Sombath’s safe return. But over two months since the human rights group issued its report on his case, it appears that no progress has been made in achieving a positive resolution. Continue reading “Amnesty International Public Statement”
