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Two-year event at PADETC

PADETC invite

2014 PADETC Fair
Remembering the 2nd Anniversary of the Disappearance of PADETC’s Founder,
Sombath Somphone
and
Celebrating the progress of PADETC’s Vision of Education for Sustainable Development
15 December 2014

PADETC Office, Vientiane, Lao PDR

15 December 2014 marks the 2nd Anniversary of the Disappearance of PADETC’s Founder, Sombath Somphone. We at PADETC continues to remember our Founder, and show through our work that, despite his disappearance, Sombath’s vision and aspiration for sustainable development with “heart” lives on. Together with PADETC’s staff and alumni, and development partners, we would like to share with you PADETC’s achievements in 2014, and how the work of each of PADETC’s Learning Center and partners contribute towards the achievement of Sombath Somphone’s vision of building a “Happy and Liveable Laos for Lao people by Lao people”. Continue reading “Two-year event at PADETC”

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Press Conference at FCCT in Thailand

  • FCCT logoDate: December 11, 2014
  • Time: 10:30 to 12:00
  •  Venue: Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCT)
  • Penthouse, Maneeya Bldg., 518/5 Phloen Chit Rd., Beside Amarin Plaza, Bangrak, Bangkok, 10500; Thailand, 10330
  • Phone: 02 652 0581

Sombath Somphone Missing for Two Years– and the Launch of the Sombath Initiative

On December 15, 2012, leading rural development practitioner, grass-roots educator, and Magsaysay award laureate Sombath Somphone was stopped at a roadblock by Vientiane police while on his way home to have dinner with his wife, Shui-Meng Ng. Video footage from a police CCTV camera showed him enter with police, and later exit and be taken away in another car. Since that day, the Lao government has consistently denied knowing where he is – despite clear indications that government officials were involved in the enforced disappearance of Sombath. Despite repeated high profile efforts by Sombath’s family and friends around the region and the world, and high level interventions by various governments with top-level Lao PDR government officials, there has been no progress in investigations to find out what happened to Sombath.

Approaching the second anniversary of his disappearance, a group of legislators, civil society leaders, and activists demanding to know “Where is Sombath?” are holding a press conference to launch The Sombath Initiative, an international campaign to intensify efforts to demand justice and accountability for Sombath. Philippines Congressman Walden Bello will be joined by Sombath’s wife, Shui-Meng, to explain this new initiative and update the latest information on efforts to find Sombath.

Sam Zarifi, the regional head of the International Commission of Jurists, will also release a report written by international investigation experts, pointing out issues and areas that need thorough investigation that the Lao authorities have failed to do, and making recommendations for next steps urgently needed in the investigation.

Speakers will be:

  • Shui-Meng Ng, wife of Sombath Somphone
  • Congressman Walden Bello, Akbayan Party Philippines; founder, Focus on the Global South
  • Sam Zarifi, Director for the Asia-Pacific, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

 

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Update on Pre-Session for UPR

LMHR-LogoThe pre-session for the Universal Periodic Review of the Lao PDR, organised by UPR-Info, was held on 03 December in Geneva. While the event was attended by 21 representatives from Geneva-based missions, just three organisations gave inputs from the floor.

Among these was the Mouvement Lao pour les Droits de l’Homme (MLDH) (Lao Movement for Human Rights, or ຂະບວນ ການ ລາວ ເພື່ອ ສິດທິ ມະນຸດ) who addressed; 1) Press freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly; 2) Enforced disappearances, and; 3) Religious freedom.

In regard to enforced disappearances, the MLDH called on states to bring pressure on the Lao PDR to:

  • Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Person from Enforced Disappearance without delay followed by a time-bound implementation.
  • Amend domestic laws to include specific provisions in line with the ICCPR, the CAT, and the ICPPED and implement them.
  • Accept ‘foreign experts’ assistance in examining evidence in the case of Sombath Somphone, including the closed circuit video taken on the night he was taken away in front of police authorities.
  • Investigate all cases of enforced disappearances in a transparent manner.

The full statement can be seen here.

 

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Pre-Session for Universal Periodic Review

LMHR-LogoA pre-session for the Universal Periodic Review of the Lao PDR (scheduled for January, 2015) was held on 03 December in Geneva. While many international human rights organisations did not attend the session, a briefing paper summarising UPR submissions from some groups was compiled.

The summary includes the following recommendations:

  • APHRImmediately undertake a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation, consistent with international standards, into the apparent enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, publicly release original images of the closed circuit television (CCTV) video of Sombath’s disappearance, and accept offers from foreign experts to assist in examining evidence, including the CCTV footage.
  • Human Rights WatchImplement the commitments made during the 2010 UPR, including by becoming a party to the ICPPED and incorporating all provisions of the various international human rights treaties to which the Lao PDR is a party.
  • Amend its Penal Law to provide for criminal liability for all acts of enforced disappearance and corresponding penalties accounting for the extreme seriousness of these acts.
  • Forum AsiaAllow Ng Shui Meng, Sombath Somphone’s wife, to have access to files and findings of the investigation and other information to which she is entitled.
  • Provide Ng Shui Meng with access to an effective remedy and reparation for the enforced disappearance of her husband.
  • Undertake a thorough, impartial, and effective investigation into all allegations of enforced disappearances, including those related to the nine activistsICJ arrested on 2 November 2009 in connection with planned peaceful demonstrations calling for democracy, justice, and respect of their land rights.
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Sombath on EIAs

The people who have the money tend to determine which consultants to hire. If they don’t report in a certain way, they get fired. The two are working together, the government and the private sector. The public is on the receiving end.

Remarks by Sombath at a panel discussion held at the FCCT in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 November 2008.

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Are promises not important?

2014 RTMThe Report of the 11th High Level Round Table Meeting, averred that: “With regard to the disappearance of Mr. Sombath Somphone, The Government of Lao PDR has concerns more than any nation,” and that it would continue the investigation and “…bring those involved into the justice.” (Emphasis added)

Yet when donors from other nations raised the lack of progress at this year’s Round Table, it was suggested that “…development partners turn their attention to Laos’ ‘more pending and important issues’ which were more pressing than the Sombath case.”

If assurances given at one Round Table are not important at the next such meeting, of what utility is the Round Table process?

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Foreign Donors Slam Laos Over Lack of Progress on Missing Civil Society Leader

Radio Free Asia: 20 November 2014

image
A 2005 photo of Sombath Somphone in the Philippines.

Donor countries to Laos have pressed the government of Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on the whereabouts of the country’s most prominent civil society leader who disappeared nearly two years ago.

European and U.S. development partners mentioned the case of Sombath Somphone at a roundtable meeting with members of the Lao government last week in the capital Vientiane, during which they discussed the country’s progress and challenges in implementing various development goals.

The civil society leader went missing on Dec. 15, 2012, when police stopped him in his vehicle at a checkpoint in the capital. He was then transferred to another vehicle, according to police surveillance video, and has not been heard from since.

“Sombath’s case has been raised by several development partners such as the European Union … [and] the United States,” said a foreign representative at the meeting, speaking to RFA’s Lao Service on condition of anonymity. Continue reading “Foreign Donors Slam Laos Over Lack of Progress on Missing Civil Society Leader”

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EU: No progress on investigation

European UnionAt last year’s RTM we raised the issue of the unexplained disappearance of Mr Sombath Somphone. We were re-assured by the government that it had taken all steps to continue the investigation and to bring the perpetrators to justice. One year later (and almost two years after the disappearance occurred), we note with grave concern that no progress has been made and Mr Sombath has still not returned to his family. Once again, we urge the government to resolve this case urgently.

From European Development Partners’ Statement at the 2014 Round Table Implementation Meeting. The statement further reads:

…we encourage the Lao government to consider shifting to a growth model that is more quality-based and in line with a sustainable management of natural resources, reducing the negative effects of climate change and ensuring food security. “Green growth” does have enormous potential in Laos if the right incentives and regularly frameworks are put in place. This would also support social inclusion including for the growing number of young people that enter the labour market.

…a more sustainable model of growth…better management of natural resources…more social inclusion, particularly for young people… Who had been advocating these things for years before being disappeared?

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International donors must press government on human rights issues

FIDH_pinar_selekInternational Federation for Human Rights/Lao Movement for Human Rights (13 November 2014)

Paris, 14 November 2014: International donors should make their future aid commitments to Laos contingent upon the government’s tangible progress in addressing key human rights issues, FIDH and its member organization, the Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR), said in a letter to foreign embassies and major aid agencies in Vientiane on 13 November.

LMHR-LogoOn 14 November, Lao government officials and international donors gather in Vientiane for the 2014 Round Table Implementation Meeting. The event is designed for participants to review implementation of the country’s 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2011-2015) as well as other issues discussed during the 11th High-Level Round Table Meeting in November 2013. Today’s meeting also provides an opportunity for the Lao government and international donors to share information and ideas regarding development policies and strategies.

In recent years, official development assistance (ODA) to Laos has steadily increased. ODA rose by 23% from US$630 million in the 2010-11 fiscal year to US$777 million in 2012-13. Regrettably, the commitment shown by foreign donors to improving the lives of the Lao people has not been matched by a similar willingness by the Lao government to promote and protect its people’s fundamental rights, FIDH and LMHR said in the letter.

“In Laos, a foreign aid bonanza has not translated into greater respect for human rights. The time has finally come for international donors to use their leverage and push the government to live up to its human rights commitments and obligations,” said FIDH President Karim Lahidji. Continue reading “International donors must press government on human rights issues”

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How would you feel?

I am serious… I really want to know… If somebody in your family disappeared, how would you feel? How would you feel if you were just living your life, somebody took a member of your family, and you didn’t know the reason? And then everybody became afraid of him, even though they didn’t know heads or tails about why?

It is almost two years since Uncle Sombath disappeared, but there is still no news or information. On top of that, nobody dares to even mention his name. Even vendors still don’t dare to say the name Sombath Somphone.

Seriously, if it were you, how would you feel? It has been almost two years. The organisations who do the same work as him…who know the most about his work…who know it the best because they make a living doing the same work, they don’t even dare to say Uncle Sombath’s name. What is happening in our society?? Where has our heart gone??

We are all living our own lives, can we be forced to deny our very selves? Will we just let someone disappear, even though we know it is not right, to just snatch someone away out of the blue? Should someone disappearing like that just be accepted as normal, with everybody just looking out for themselves? Is it only for the family to deal with? We did nothing wrong against the police. The military has not said we did anything wrong. The courts have made no charges. So why is it we are afraid to say Sombath Somphone’s name? Think about that… If this is normal, then when other people disappear it will also be normal.