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Don’t forget Sombath, says Shui Meng Ng, wife of disappeared Laotian activist

SEA-Globe:  21 September 2018

The unsolved case of disappeared Laotian development worker Sombath Somphone is brought to light in a documentary that is screening at this year’s FreedomFilmFest in Malaysia

Sombath Somphone and wife Shui Meng Ng

Sombath Somphone was an internationally renowned development worker who disappeared nearly six years ago on the streets of Vientiane, Laos. CCTV footage suggests that the police snatched him. The case is still unsolved and the Lao police and government have continued to maintain their innocence in the matter.

The 2017 documentary film The Enforced Disappearance of Sombath Somphone, directed by Rann Penn, will be screened at this year’s FreedomFilmFest, taking place in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

In the run up to the festival, which takes place between 29 September and 6 October, Southeast Asia Globe speaks with Shui Meng Ng, Sombath’s wife, to find out more about the man, the film and her quest for truth. Continue reading “Don’t forget Sombath, says Shui Meng Ng, wife of disappeared Laotian activist”

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The Enforced Disappearance of Sombath Somphone

Filmvorführung und Podiumsdiskussion

Englisch mit deutschen Untertiteln, Filmvorführung (50’) mit anschliessender Podiumsdiskussion; Apéro

  • Dienstag, 2. Oktober
  • 19:00 bis 21:00
  • Uhr Volkshaus Zürich, Blauer Saal
  • Eintritt 10.– CHF

Anmeldung erforderlich unter helvetas.org/sombath

Ende 2012 wurde der laotische NGO-Aktivist Sombath Somphone von der Polizei verhaftet – seither fehlt jede Spur von ihm. Trotz erdrückender Beweislast lehnt die Regierung von Laos jede Verantwortung ab und verweigert jegliche Unterstützung bei der Aufklärung des Falles. Entsprechend scheiterten alle bisherigen Bemühungen von Angehörigen, Freunden und Partner- organisationen, Sombaths Schicksal aufzuklären.

Am Dienstag, 2. Oktober weilt Shui Meng, die Frau von Sombath Somphone, auf die Einladung von Helvetas hin in der Schweiz, um einen neuen, bereitspreisgekrönten Dokumentarfilm über Sombath und sein langjähriges Engagement für ein offenes und tolerantes Laos zu zeigen. Der Film ist sehr bewegend und vermittelt auch die jüngere Geschichte Laos’ auf eindrückliche Art und Weise. Helvetas nimmt den Film zum Anlass, um mit Shui Meng und weiteren Gästen über die Menschenrechtslage in Laos und die Rolle der Schweiz zu diskutieren:

  • Shui Meng, Frau von Sombath Somphone
  • Barbara Dietrich, Programmverantwortliche Laosbei Helvetas
  • Guido Käppeli, Honorarkonsul von Laos in der Schweiz
  • Sandra Lendenmann Winterberg, Chefin der Sektion Menschenrechtspolitik der Abteilung Menschliche Sicherheit, Eidgenössisches Depar- tement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA)
  • Moderation: Daniel Hitzig, Alliance Sud
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Brothers in belief and deeds

LaCroix: 03 September 2018

Separated by a generation, Jonas Burgos was abducted at 37 years old, Sombath Somphone a few months before turning 56

Filipino human rights activists call on the Lao government to surface Sombath Somphone, who went missing in Vientiane, Laos, in 2012. (Photo by Joe Torres/ucanews.com)

When we were invited to Europe to seek support for our search for my missing son, Jonas Burgos, my other son, who accompanied me, and I were greeted with welcome posters of Jonas with the caption “Jonas is mijn broer,” “Jonas ist mein Bruder,” “Jonas is my brother.”

The impact was such that now we have our own posters reading “Jonas is my brother.”

A few years back, I met Shui Meng Ng, a Singaporean whose husband, Sombath Somphone, is a victim of enforced disappearance. For three days, I learned about Sombath.

Continue reading “Brothers in belief and deeds”

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Human Rights Groups Applaud Tough UN Review of ‘Highly Repressive’ Laos

RFA: 02 August 2018

Lao agricultural expert Sombath Somphone, who went missing in December 2012, in 2005 file photo.

By Paul Eckert

A harsh review by the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) of Laos’ rights record should prompt the international community to press the one-party state to make major political and legal reforms, human rights groups said on Thursday.

The Geneva-based UNHRC held talks with Laos on July 11-12 in that Swiss city and on July 26 issued a tough review of the Southeast Asian country’s compliance with its legal obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was the first review since Laos became a state party to the Covenant in 2009.

“The outcome of the United Nations’ assessment of the human rights situation in Laos highlighted the country’s highly repressive environment and the government’s failure to respect virtually all civil and political rights,” said a statement by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the affiliated Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR). Continue reading “Human Rights Groups Applaud Tough UN Review of ‘Highly Repressive’ Laos”

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UN slams violations of civil and political rights after landmark review

FIDH: 02 August 2018

(Paris) The outcome of the United Nations’ (UN) assessment of the human rights situation in Laos highlighted the country’s highly repressive environment and the government’s failure to respect virtually all civil and political rights, FIDH and its member organization Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) said today.

“The outcome of the UN review should be an eye-opener for foreign governments, which have too often looked the other way whenever human rights violations were committed in Laos. There are no more excuses for the international community to refuse to pressure the Lao government to address key human rights issues.” Debbie Stothard, FIDH Secretary-General

On 26 July 2018, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) issued its Concluding Observations regarding the situation of civil and political rights in Laos. In the Concluding Observations, the CCPR expressed its concern over numerous human rights violations and made recommendations to the government. The CCPR monitors state parties’ compliance with their legal obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Laos became a state party to the ICCPR in 2009. FIDH and LMHR welcome the CCPR’s recommendations and urge the government to take concrete steps towards their implementation without undue delay. Continue reading “UN slams violations of civil and political rights after landmark review”

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Invitation: Sombath Somphone Public Lecture

All are cordially invited to join  the Sombath Somphone public lecture at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, 02 August.

The lecture will be delivered by Seng Raw Lahpai, Founder, Metta Development Foundation, Myanmar.

Like Sombath, Seng Raw is a laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

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“Paucity of Relevant Information”

[The UN Human Rights Committee] …regrets the paucity of relevant information provided by the State party regarding the measures taken, and the progress achieved, in investigating the enforced disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone…

[The Lao PDR should] Step up efforts to conduct a thorough, credible, impartial and transparent investigation into the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, and in all other cases of alleged enforced disappearances…

From UN Human Rights Committee “Concluding observations on the initial report of Lao People’s Democratic Republic,” 26 July 2018.

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Government slanders Sombath Somphone, issues “blanket denials” on enforced disappearances during rights review

FIDH: 18 July 2018

(Paris) During a review by a United Nations (UN) body, the Lao government slandered disappeared civil society leader Sombath Somphone and failed to provide any details concerning its purported investigation into his enforced disappearance, FIDH and its member organization Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) said today.

On 11-12 July 2018, FIDH and LMHR attended the first-ever examination of the situation of civil and political rights in Laos by the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) in Geneva, Switzerland. Continue reading “Government slanders Sombath Somphone, issues “blanket denials” on enforced disappearances during rights review”

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Lao Delegation Ducks Questions at UN Rights Review

Radio Free Asia: 16 July 2018

Lao delegate Phoukhong Sisoulath addresses the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva, July 11, 2018. Screen grab from UN Web TV

Lao government representatives evaded tough questioning at a U.N. review of the country’s rights record last week, speaking to points that had not been raised and saying that villagers arrested for refusing to leave confiscated land had sought to block the country’s development.

Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 11 to 12, the U.N. Human Rights Committee (CCPR) examined for the first time the state of civil and political rights in communist Laos. The committee tracks the compliance of state signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Laos became a state party to the Covenant in 2009.

Addressing the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, an agricultural expert who vanished at a police checkpoint outside the Lao capital Vientiane in 2012, Lao delegate Bounkeut Sangsomsak refused to answer detailed questions from the Committee concerning government efforts to find the missing civil society leader. Continue reading “Lao Delegation Ducks Questions at UN Rights Review”