This video is one of a series from an interview by Ore Huiying with Sombath in August, 2010.
EU, Laos Hold Working Group on Human Rights, Governance
RTT News: 21 May 2014
The European Union and Laos have held the fifth round of their annual Working Group Human Rights and Governance meet in Brussels, a statement issued by the 28-member European bloc said Wednesday. The EU delegation was led by Anette Mandler, acting Director for Human Rights and Democracy in the European External Action Services. The Lao delegation was led by Phoukhong Sisoulath, Director General, Department of Treaties and Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Lao PDR Representative to the AICHR, Secretary-General to the Lao National Steering Committee on Human Rights. “It provided an opportunity to express concerns about the implementation of international standards in Laos and in the EU. It also allowed for a constructive exchange of experience about how to translate such standards into domestic practice,” the statement said.
The two sides reviewed recent developments in human rights, including issues such as freedom of expression, assembly and association, death penalty as well as civil society and human rights defenders. Continue reading “EU, Laos Hold Working Group on Human Rights, Governance”
EU Must Continue Pressure on Lao Leadership
In prelude to the 5th Lao-EU Working Group on Human Rights and Governance, The International Federation for Human Rights, together with the Lao Movement for Human Rights, have called on the European Union to increase pressure on the Lao government to meet its obligations and fulfill its international promises.
Despite accepting 115 of the 145 recommendations made by various States at its last Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in May 2010, the Lao government has failed to undertake any tangible efforts to reform or to turn any of the recommendations into concrete actions. Laos has also ignored the voluntary pledges it made during the same UPR session. In addition, the government continues to fail to comply with its legal obligations under several human rights treaties it ratified.
…The Lao government’s persistent reluctance to thoroughly investigate the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone and to obtain concrete commitments from the authorities to determine Sombath’s fate or whereabouts. The EU has already made numerous recommendations in this regard and it is fundamental that the Lao government addresses the issue of enforced disappearances as a matter of priority and puts an end to the climate of fear that prevents civil society from active participation in public affairs.
The full statement can be read here.
Listening to the People's Voice
Across all social groups, the people strongly emphasized the need for wise leadership and good governance as the fundamental basis for influencing happiness in multiple domains. In particular, they repeatedly stressed the need to consistently enforce laws and ensure social justice as precursors to social equity.
From “Listening to the People’s Voice,” a draft press release summarizing nation-wide consultations held as part of the lead up to the 9th Asia-Europe People’s Forum in October, 2012. The article was drafted by Sombath and Minh H. Pham, Resident Representative of the UN Development Program, but withdrawn prior to publication at Mr. Pham’s request.
Soon thereafter, UNDP joined with the Lao government in celebrating the 2012 International Human Rights Day themed “Inclusion and the Right to Participate in Public Affairs” on December 10th, but made no public mention of Sombath’s disappearance five days later. Mr. Pham recently received the Lao Cross of Friendship for his dedication while serving in Laos.
Laos: Crony scheme in control of press and civil society
Index on Censorship: 12 May 2014
By Helen Clark
When travellers and writers talk about Laos, they mention how peaceful it is, and how Buddhist. The people, says Lonely Planet, are some of the most chilled out in the world. People forget, as they rarely do with Vietnam or China, that it is still a communist state.
The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) has absolute control over the press and civil society. Professor Martin Stuart-Fox, a Laos expert with the University of Queensland, has written widely on the country’s history and government and has said that the party is little more than a crony scheme, with many of those in power now descended from the old Lao aristocracy. It is necessary to have a powerful patron, almost always in the party or closely connected to it, for success. Information is difficult to get hold of and even local journalists, who often have close ties to the government, complain publicly, if respectfully, about the impenetrability of government departments.
Freedom House writes: “Press freedom in Laos remains highly restricted. Despite advances in telecommunications infrastructure, government control of all print and broadcast news prevents the development of a vibrant, independent press.”
These media restrictions are part of a wider pattern of suppression of information, lack of transparency in business dealings, prevention of protests and cultural and religious oversight by the government and party.
However the most noticeable event of the past 18 months has been the disappearance of Sombath Somphone. At the end of 2012 the Lao development expert went missing and many of his colleagues quietly believe the government may be responsible. Little but the bare facts have been written in the local, state-owned press. Continue reading “Laos: Crony scheme in control of press and civil society”
Dear Sombath…from Nico Bakker
Dear Sombath,
I am not sure you know the writer Eduardo Galeano. I do think you would appreciate him. If you haven’t read anything by him, I do hope someday you ‘ll get the opportunity to read Galeano. One of my favourite books is his Book of Embraces. As Galeano says, writing is a way of embracing other people, so I am writing you.
One of the chapters in the mentioned book is called Celebration of Mistrust that goes like this:
On the first day of classes, the professor brought out an enormous flask.
“It’s full of perfume,” he told Miguel Brun and the rest of the students. “I want to measure how perceptive each one of you is. Raise your hand as soon as you perceive the scent.”
And he removed the stopper. Moments later two hands were in the air. Some five, ten, thirty—all hands were raised. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Nico Bakker”
The disappearance of Sombath Somphone: an Interview with Ng Shui Meng
By Lucy Duncan, American Friends Service Committee (07 May 2014)
I talked recently with Ng Shui Meng, the wife of Sombath Somphone, a Laotian man and close associate of AFSC who ran civil society programs in Laos until he disappeared in December, 2012. Despite having close circuit television (CCTV) footage documenting his abduction, the Laotian government has denied any knowledge of Sombath Somphone’s whereabouts. Shui Meng came to the United States recently to request the assistance of AFSC, Amnesty International, Quakers and others to take action to support the return of Sombath Somphone. You can find many ways to support Sombath at the website: www.sombath.org. -Lucy
Lucy Duncan (LD): Tell me about the day of Sombath’s disappearance… what happened?
Ng Shui Meng (NSM): He disappeared on 15 December 2012, a Saturday. We usually go out in one vehicle, but I had a meeting early in the morning. He regularly plays ping pong for exercise, so he took his beat-up Jeep to go play ping pong. Then he came to meet up with me at 5:30 or 6:00 and we were going home for dinner. Continue reading “The disappearance of Sombath Somphone: an Interview with Ng Shui Meng”
Dear Sombath…from Ben Edwards
Dear Sombath,
I was talking to Shui Meng yesterday about your ideas on holistic education,”education of the heart” as the basis for building strong governance; shaping personal morality and integrity, individual and societal concepts of active citizenship, and relation of self to the natural environment, family, community and society.These ideas continue to inspire and direct my approach to education as a teacher. I am now living in Hong Kong and it is fantastic to see so many young people here engaged as active citizens and how the education system, both formal and informal, is teaching people to be informed, concerned and active in all aspects of society.
A group of my year 9 students were doing a research project about Laos recently and a large part of their presentation was about your work in education and civil society. The ideas they learnt about have motivated them to find out more, to understand how privileged they are in Hong Kong, that other countries are struggling to achieve what they often take for granted here- and they are planning more projects to follow up. We will be running a school trip to Laos in the Autumn, have set up a ‘Design for Change’ program as an after school activity at our school and they will also be raising awareness and funds for UXO victims in Laos. I hope it is some comfort to you that you continue to inspire us and that your ideas are meaningful and guiding to so many young people in their daily lives and work, well beyond the borders of Laos.
I look forward to talking to you about all this soon, showing you what the kids have done as a result of your inspiration, and discussing all the exciting projects that we have planned.
Ben Edwards
Giving back is a pleasure
“Generally I’m known to be a serious person, and therefore serious persons are generally pessimistic. But at the same time, I’m simple and practical… and from that point of view, I’m optimistic… I basically come to the point that I would not be able to change the world, but I should do whatever I can, no matter how small, just to give meaning to my life, and also to pay back the society which I have taken from to attend school… Giving back is a pleasure.”
Sombath Somphone in Great Men and Women of Asia: Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from Southeast Asia 1990-2005.
Dear Sombath…from Kearrin Sims
Dear Sombath,
I write you this letter having never met you before.
Like so many others across the world I only came to know of you after your disappearance.
I consider this a great tragedy.
However, I also see it as representative of the importance of your work and all that you have achieved.
Even in your absence your ideas and values are reverberating around the globe and inspiring and influencing a new generation of young scholars, social activists, community development workers and anyone else who feels that we need to move beyond simplistic interpretations of economic growth as representative of social progress and people’s wellbeing. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Kearrin Sims”