On the 12-year anniversary of the unresolved enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned civil society organizations and individuals worldwide, urge United Nations (UN) member states to express their concern over this continuing crime and to call for the prompt resolution of Sombath's case at the upcoming review of the human rights record of Laos.
As UN member states prepare for the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos, scheduled for April/May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, we call on them to reinforce civil society's long-standing calls for truth and accountability regarding Sombath's enforced disappearance.
During the second UPR of Laos in January 2015, Sombath Somphone was the subject of recommendations, expressions of concern, and advance questions by 16 UN member states.[1] During the third UPR of Laos in January 2020, seven UN member states formulated recommendations or advance questions on Sombath's case.[2]
During both reviews, the Lao government claimed its investigation into Sombath's enforced disappearance was ongoing. Such statements have been contradicted by the undisputable fact that, for 12 years, the Lao authorities have consistently failed to provide any concrete information on the steps they claim to have taken to effectively investigate Sombath's disappearance. Instead, the government has engaged in a protracted campaign of misinformation, denials, slander, and cover-ups.[3]
At the upcoming UPR, UN member states should call on the Lao government to take thorough and effective measures to establish the fate or whereabouts of Sombath and all other victims of enforced disappearances in the country, identify the suspected perpetrators of such serious crimes, and provide victims with an effective remedy and full reparations. To date, no case of enforced disappearance in Laos has been resolved and no perpetrators have been identified or brought to justice.
UN member states should also recommend the Lao government promptly ratify, without reservations, the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), which it signed in 2008, and fully implement it into national law, policies, and practices.
The Lao government's failure to uphold its obligations under international human rights law and standards with respect to Sombath is reflective of the human rights violations constituting crimes under international law and related impunity that have plagued Laos for several decades. His enforced disappearance has also had a chilling effect on Lao civil society organizations and human rights defenders, and marked a significant escalation in the government's silencing of independent voices.
Amid the serious constraints and repression faced by independent civil society organizations and human rights defenders in Laos, and the continued silence of donors, development agencies, and diplomats in the country, concerned international attention remains the primary hope for finding Sombath and delivering justice to him and his family.
We continue to stand in solidarity with Sombath and his family and urge UN member states to join us in asking the Lao government the same question we have been asking for the past 12 years: "Where is Sombath?"
Background
Sombath Somphone, a pioneer in community-based development and youth empowerment, was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of Vientiane on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a traffic CCTV camera showed that police stopped Sombath's vehicle at the checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual arriving and driving Sombath's vehicle away from the city center. In December 2015, Sombath's family obtained new CCTV footage from the same area and made it public. The video shows Sombath's car being driven back towards the city by an unknown individual.
