Is Maina Kiai welcome in Laos?
Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association is visiting Cambodia. Will he be welcomed in Laos?
Open letter on repeal of decree on associations No. 238
International Commission of Jurists: 13 December 2017 H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Office, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic H.E. Mr. Bounnhang Vorachith, President President’s Office, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic H.E. Mr. Xaysi Santivong, Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic\ 13 December 2017 Dear H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith, H.E. Mr. …
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What is…Civil Society in Laos?
Briefing paper prepared by the Sombath Initiative Historically, the Lao PDR is a country of remarkable ethnic, linguistic and geographic diversity. Until recently, most communities, particularly in rural areas, were largely self- sustaining and locally-governed. A strong, traditional civil society still exists. Substantially supported through development aid, state-building is quickly replacing these traditional codes and …
UN Special Rapporteur Slams Laos
Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, is sharply critical of the situation facing civil society in the Lao PDR in a forward to the book Au Laos, la Répression Silencieuse by Anne-Sophie Gindroz. Excerpts include: Laos is something of a void on the human rights map …
Laos: UN experts appeal for help to probe two-year-old disappearance of rights defender
International law makes clear that the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has the duty to carry out an independent, thorough, credible and effective investigation. UN News Centre: 23 December 2014 International support is now needed to investigate the enforced disappearance of leading Laotian human rights defender Sombath Somphone, who was last seen in …
Missing Sombath Still Dogging Laos
The Diplomat: 17 December 2013 Scrutiny from human rights groups and charges from the ICC likely if officials don’t come clean. Just over a year ago, community development worker Sombath Somphone was plucked from the streets of Vientiane by police. He has not been heard of since, despite overwhelming evidence linking his disappearance to the …
UN OHCHR renews calls for investigation
A year on, the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone continues with impunity in Lao PDR GENEVA (16 December 2013) – A group of United Nations human rights experts today urged the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) to increase its efforts in the investigations into the enforced disappearance on 15 December 2012, …
Lonely Vigil for Missing Laotian Activist
The Sentinel: 02 October 2013 Government suspected of complicity in development expert’s disappearance For Ng Shui-Meng, the past 10 months have been lonely, frustrating and frightening. She has been engaged in a vain struggle to discover what happened to her husband, Sombath Somphone, who almost certainly was kidnapped and murdered, possibly with the complicity of …
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Sounding the Alarm: emerging threats to civil society
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 …
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