rsbtws, Author at Sombath Somphone | ສົມບັດ ສົມພອນ

April 13, 2016

Is Sombath Being Forgotten?

As Laos celebrates its traditional new year, a few points to ponder:

While the Lao government claims it is continuing to investigate Sombath’s disappearance, no results have been released in nearly three years. But is anybody still asking?
Within days of his disappearance, Sombath’s family filed an appeal with the Supreme People’s Prosecutor. Authorities later claimed the document had been lost. But were attempts made to replace it?
Sombath co-chaired the Asia-Europe People’s Forum in 2012, and was abducted soon thereafter. Will AEPF be raising Sombath’s case at their meeting in Mongolia this July?
Will Sombath, other human rights issues, or the challenges facing Lao civil society be addressed at this year’s Lao Studies Conference in July?
Lao NPAs (and/or the Lao government) declined to host the Asia People’s Forum in Laos this year, in part because of issues surrounding Sombath. Will his plight be discussed at the ACSC/APF in East Timor?
The EU and other donors are providing significant support for INGOs and NPAs to follow-up on the Universal Periodic Review, which includes ten recommendations to more seriously investigate Sombath’s disappearance. Is Sombath’s name mentioned in any of this work?
Will world leaders attending this year’s ASEAN summit speak of Sombath or the worsening human rights situation in Laos, or will wider geopolitical issues prevail?
Will donors accept even more restriction, non-transparency and self-censorship at this year’s High-Level Donor Roundtable meeting?

March 13, 2016May 26, 2016

BertelsmannStiftung Foundation’s 2016 Report

BertelsmannStiftung Foundation: 2016

Party leaders furthermore urged tighter control over civil society organizations in the face of alleged but unsubstantiated efforts to undermine the party. In the wake of community leader Sombath Somphone’s unexplained disappearance in late 2012, the deplorable investigation of which attracted condemnation from around the world, increased pressure on civil society organizations produced levels of fear and self-censorship reminiscent of a more oppressive past. In this context, leaders’ ongoing claims to be strengthening the rule of law – another rhetorical theme in Laos – continued to fall flat.

From the 2016 BertelsmannStiflung Foundation’s Laos Country Report. On its Political Transformation Index, the foundation ranked the Lao PDR 120th out of 127 countries. Only North Korea ranked lower among Asian nations.

February 25, 2016

Amnesty’s new report on Laos

Amnesty International

Sombath Somphone, a prominent civil society member who was abducted outside a police post in the capital, Vientiane, in December 2012, remained disappeared with no progress in his case. In March, a former military general heading a non-profit organization – widely believed to be a government proxy – made a failed attempt to have Sombath Somphone’s name removed from the agenda of the ASEAN People’s Forum event. No progress was made in the case of Sompawn Khantisouk, an entrepreneur who was active on conservation issues. He remained disappeared since being abducted by men believed to be police in 2007.

From Amnesty International’s 2015/2016 report. The full report, which also raises concerns about the freedoms of expression and association, is available here.

February 22, 2016

What is…Enforced Disappearance?

Definition

Enforced disappearance is when a person is secretly taken by the government, or by others with the knowledge and support of state authorities. The government then denies any role in the abduction, as well as knowledge about what happened, or where the person might be. The result is that the person is denied all legal rights and protection.

Enforced disappearance is often considered one of the most serious and brutal crimes for several reasons:

The family and colleagues of the victim often have very few legal options. There is usually little evidence, or the authorities refuse to investigate or seek evidence, because they do not acknowledge that a crime was committed.
Not only does the victim’s family have no knowledge of what happened to their loved one, they are often afraid to speak out or pursue the case because they fear it may have further negative effects. Because of this, the family is also a victim of the crime.
Enforced disappearance also creates significant fear among friends, colleagues and peer groups. Because they usually do not know the specific reason the person was abducted, they become afraid to act. In this way, enforced disappearance can also be a means of repression against wider society.
At the same time, enforced disappearance can result in both complicity and complacency among the broader population. Because there is little evidence and no legal case, others can pretend the crime did not occur and that the situation is normal.

Continue reading “What is…Enforced Disappearance?”

February 21, 2016May 26, 2016

What are—a state’s key obligations under the CPED?

“The phenomenon of enforced disappearances […] is the worst of all violations of human rights. It is certainly a challenge to the very concept of human rights, denial of the right for humans to have an existence, an identity. Enforced disappearance transforms humans into non-beings. It is the ultimate corruption, abuse of power that allows those responsible to transform law and order into something ridiculous and to commit heinous crimes.”

Niall MacDermot, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists (1970-1990)

Introduction

“Enforced disappearance” is one of the worst violations of human rights. A “disappeared” person is entirely at the mercy of his or her captors, with no access to legal protection.

The family and friends of a disappeared person endure tremendous suffering not knowing whether the disappeared person is alive or deceased, or whether they will ever know their fate or whereabouts.

Usually victims are apprehended at home or ‘grabbed’ from the street, sometimes in broad daylight, and taken to an unknown location. They are frequently tortured and face the constant fear of being killed. Continue reading “What are—a state’s key obligations under the CPED?”

February 17, 2016

Interview: Lao People Fighting for Change ‘Deserve Better than Silence’

Radio Free Asia: 16 March 2016

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, a former Swiss humanitarian worker in Laos, observed forced displacement and evictions of rural populations to make way for dams and other controversial infrastructure and plantation projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country. Gindroz, who was the country director for Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, was expelled in 2012 for criticizing Laos in a letter to donors that said the country’s one-party regime stifles debate and creates a hostile environment for aid groups. She spoke to Ounkeo Souksavanh of RFA’s Lao Service about her new book, “Laos, The Silent Repression.”

RFA: Why did you write this book?

Gindroz: It is a testimony. After I was expelled, and especially after (civil society activist) Sombath Somphone was abducted (in 2012), it became urgent for me to share my experience in Laos, to tell about the repression and suppression of dissent. It is also a way to pay tribute to Sombath and the many wonderful people I had the privilege to work with in Laos. Continue reading “Interview: Lao People Fighting for Change ‘Deserve Better than Silence’”

February 12, 2016February 13, 2016

What is…the AICHR?

Introduction

In 2007, Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the ASEAN Charter. Article 14 of the Charter provided that ASEAN shall establish a “human rights body”.

In July 2009, the ASEAN Foreign Minister Meeting adopted the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). During the 15^th ASEAN Summit in Thailand, in October 2009, ten AICHR Representatives were appointed, one from each Member State. The AICHR was then formally inaugurated.

The AICHR is the body that has an overall responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights in the ASEAN. As the overarching human rights body in the region, it is required to coordinate and cooperate closely with all other ASEAN sectoral bodies that deal with human rights. It is characterized as a “consultative inter-governmental body”. Continue reading “What is…the AICHR?”

February 8, 2016

Humanity & Nature: Traditional, Cultural & Alternative Perspectives

Public Forum

February 17, 2016, 9.30 am–12.30 pm

Ruan Chula Narumit, Chulalongkorn University

This public forum will share the key lessons and conclusions from the Sombath Symposium, a three day event which aims to exchange and explore various traditional, cultural and alternative perspectives on how humans value and interact with nature.

Participants of symposium will come from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, and India, and represent a wide range of ethnic, cultural, religious and vocational backgrounds and perspectives.

The forum will also be joined by local community and activists from Thailand to contribute to the discussion on their struggles to protect the nature and livelihood.

Organised by Focus on the Global South and the Sombath Initiative, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation

English-Thai-English translation will be provided

Lunch will be served at 12:30 at SASA International House

For more information about this event and to confirm attendance please contact Hamdee Tohming at [email protected] or 089-004-4117.

February 7, 2016December 16, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur Slams Laos

Maina Kai 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 these days… A casual observer might take this to mean that things are all well.

But that is a horribly misguided assessment, of course, for Laos is like few countries I know.

I first began to understand few years back, when I had my first encounter with members of Laos’ civil society at an international conference. My overriding impression from these individuals was the profound and all-encompassing fear that engulfed them. Their lack of trust was palpable. They did not want to talk to me with others present. They did not even want to be seen with me.

I have never seen anything quite like it. These individuals were like islands– operating in apparent isolation, prevented from exercising their fundamental human right to connect with others who shared their concerns.

…And Sombath’s case seems to have only created more trepidation, which is a tragic irony. He dared to affirm his convictions, and his courage and dedication should be an inspiration. Instead, it is viewed as a warning. The culture of fear is that deep.

This culture, of course, is toxic to a thriving civil society movement. Activism is based on connections, relationships, discourse, and open discussion. None of this is possible when fear crushes people’s very ability to talk to one other.

The full text is available here. The book will be available from Asieinfo Publications on February 15, or can be ordered at [email protected]

February 4, 2016February 11, 2016

What is…the Role of the ASEAN Chair?

Introduction

The ASEAN Charter provides that all Member States shall take turns in acting as Chair of the ASEAN. The chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.

There were instances in the past, however, when Member States switched turns or did not take a turn in the rotation. For instance, Myanmar did not take a turn as ASEAN Chair from 2006 to 2014. It was reported that Myanmar feared Western countries could boycott meetings held there and cause the country to gain bad publicity. In 2011, Indonesia switched places with Brunei because it did not want to be swamped with organizing too many meetings in 2013 as they were scheduled to also host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in the same year.

In 1976, Indonesia became the first Chair of the ASEAN. Malaysia was the previous chair, and Lao PDR took this role in 2016. Continue reading “What is…the Role of the ASEAN Chair?”