라오스 : 5년 동안, “솜바스는 어디 있는가?”

라오스의 시민사회 지도자 솜바스 솜폰(Sombath Somphone)이 강제로 사라진 지 5년째를 맞아, 연서명한 우리 조직들은 솜바스의 실종과 소재를 밝히고 그를 가족의 품으로 돌려보내기 위한 라오스 정부의 독립적이고, 공정하고, 효과적이며 투명한 조사의 실패에 분노를 표한다.

솜바스의 강제 실종에 대한 라오스 정부의 계속된 침묵과 왜곡은 그의 가족들을 5년 동안 두려움에 떨게 만들었으며, 지금까지 그의 소재를 불분명하게 하였다.

솜바스는 2012년 12월 15일 저녁 라오스의 수도 비엔티안의 혼잡한 도시 속 경찰 검문소에서 마지막으로 목격되었다. 그가 납치당하는 광경은 경찰 검문소 근처 CCTV 카메라에 포착되었다. CCTV 기록에는 경찰이 솜바스의 차를 멈추게 하고, 그로부터 수분 이내에, 정체불명의 괴한이 경찰의 앞에서 그를 강제로 다른 차량으로 끌고 가 달아나는 장면이 녹화되었다. CCTV에는 또한 괴한이 나중에 다시 돌아오기 전, 솜바스의 차량을 끌고 시내에서 벗어나는 장면이 포착되었다.

경찰이 솜바스가 납치당하는 것을 목격하였음에도 이를 막지 못했다는 것은, 당국의 요원이 솜바스의 실종에 개입하였거나 적어도 묵인하였다는 것을 강력히 뒷받침한다. 이러한 증거에도 불구하고, 라오스 당국은 이 사건에 대한 조사에서 어떠한 새로운 결과도 제시하지 않고 있다. 당국은 다양한 국제 포럼들에서 이 사건에 대한 조사가 진행중이라고 주장하지만, 2013년 6월 8일 이후로는 조사 진행상황에 대한 어떠한 공식 발표도 이루어진 바 없다.

라오스에서 해결되지 않은 강제 실종은 솜바스 뿐만이 아니다. 라오스 당국은 강제 실종된 지역 운동가들을 포함하여 다른 수많은 시민들의 소재나 행방을 밝히지 못했다.

강제 실종 사건에 대하여 충분한 조사를 수행하지 않는 라오스정부는, 시민적 및 정치적 권리에 대한 국제규약 제 2조 3항을 비롯하여 국제 인권법상의 의무를 위반하는 것이다.

우리는 전세계 정부들에게, 라오스 정부가 즉시 솜바스의 행방과 현재 소재, 그리고 그의 실종에 대한 경위를 밝히고, 또한 강제 실종된 다른 피해자들에 대하여도 그들의 행방과 소재를 밝힐 것을 요구해 달라고 긴급하게 요청한다. 라오스 당국은 실종된 이들의 가족들에게 조사결과를 밝혀야 하고, 모든 강제 실종 사건에 대하여 조사 진행 경위를 정기적으로 공개해야만 한다. 또한 라오스 당국은 강제 실종에 책임이 있는 자들을 그들의 지위여하를 막론하고 공정한 재판의 국제 기준을 만족하는 재판에서 책임을 지도록 해야 할 것이다.

마지막으로, 우리는 라오스 정부가 강제 실종으로부터 모든 사람을 보호하기 위한 국제협약을 비준하여 국내법상에 이 규정들을 포함시키고, 실제로 그것을 이행하기를 강력하게 촉구한다

Laos: Five years on, 122 organizations worldwide demand to know: “Where is Sombath?”
(15 December 2017) - On the fifth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, express outrage at the Lao government’s failure to independently, impartially, effectively, and transparently investigate Sombath’s disappearance, reveal his whereabouts, and return him to his family. 
The Lao government’s continued silence and obfuscation of the facts around Sombath’s enforced disappearance have subjected his family to five years of fear and uncertainty over his fate and whereabouts, which remain unknown to this day.
Sombath was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street of the Lao capital, Vientiane, on the evening of 15 December 2012. His abduction was captured on a CCTV camera near the police checkpoint. The footage strongly suggests that police stopped Sombath’s vehicle and, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also appears to show an unknown individual driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center before returning sometime later.
The fact that police officers appeared to have witnessed Sombath’s abduction and failed to intervene strongly indicates state agents’ involvement in, or acquiescence to, Sombath’s disappearance. Despite this evidence, the Lao authorities have not presented any new findings with regard to their investigation of the case. Despite claiming in various international fora that the investigation is “ongoing”, the government has not issued an official report on the investigation’s progress since 8 June 2013.
Sombath’s case is not the only case of an unsolved enforced disappearance in Laos. Lao authorities have failed to provide information on the fate or whereabouts of many other individuals, including community activists, who have been victims of enforced disappearance.
The Lao government’s failure to undertake adequate investigations into all cases of enforced disappearances violates its obligations under international human rights law, including Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Laos is a state party.
We urgently call on governments worldwide to demand that the Lao government immediately provide information on Sombath’s fate or current whereabouts, and other details surrounding Sombath’s enforced disappearance, as well as all other cases of enforced disappearance, in order to determine the victims’ fate or whereabouts. Lao authorities should commit to making the findings available to family members of the disappeared, and provide regular public updates on their progress on all cases of enforced disappearance. The Lao government should also ensure that those responsible for enforced disappearance, regardless of title or rank, are held accountable in trials that comply with international fair trial standards.
Lastly, we strongly urge the Lao government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, incorporate its provisions into the country’s domestic legislation, and implement it in practice.
1. Accion Ecologica
2. Al Haq
3. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS)
4. Amnesty International
5. Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA
6. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
7. Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
8. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
9. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
10. Association for Law, Human Rights and Justice (HAK)
11. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)
12. Awaz Foundation Pakistan - Centre for Development Services
13. Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)
14. Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) - Friends of the Earth Bangladesh
15. Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
16. Bank Information Center
17. Bytes for All
18. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
19. Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
20. Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) - Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka
21. Centre for Environmental Justice
22. Centre for Financial Accountability
23. Centre for Human Rights and Development
24. Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD)
25. China Labour Bulletin (CLB)
26. Christian Development Alternative (CDA)
27. Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED)
28. Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement 11.11.11
29. Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
30. Community Resource Centre Foundation (CRC)
31. Covenants Watch
32. Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF)
33. DIGNIDAD (A Life of Dignity for All)
34. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
35. Empowering Singaporeans
36. ENGAGE
37. Fastenopfer Switzerland
38. FIAN International
39. FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
40. Finnish Asiatic Society
41. Finnish League for Human Rights
42. Focus on the Global South
43. Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific
44. Friends of the Earth Australia
45. Friends of the Earth International
46. Friends of the Earth Japan
47. Fundacion Solon
48. Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
49. Globe International
50. GZO Peace Institute
51. Haburas Foundation- Friends of the Earth East Timor
52. Human Rights Alert
53. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
54. Human Rights Defenders Forum
55. Human Rights Defenders' Alert
56. Human Rights Watch
57. Indian Social Action Forum
58. Indigenous Perspectives
59. Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association(PBHI)
60. Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)
61. INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre
62. Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC)
63. Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)
64. International Accountability Project
65. International Commission of Jurists
66. Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)
67. Italian League of Human Rights - LIDU
68. Jan Mitra Nyas
69. Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP)
70. Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS)
71. Lao Movement for Human Rights
72. Latvian Human Rights Committee
73. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
74. Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) - Friends of the Earth Philippines
75. Liga lidských Práv (LLP)
76. Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH)
77. Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)
78. Mangrove Action Project
79. MARUAH
80. Mekong Monitor Tasmania
81. Mekong Watch
82. Moroccan Association for Human Rights (Association Marocaine des Droits Humains/AMDH)
83. National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP)
84. ND-Burma
85. NGO Forum on ADB
86. Odhikar
87. Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON) - Friends of the Earth Palestine
88. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
89. People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)
90. People’s Watch
91. Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
92. PILIPINA Legal Resource Center (PLRC)
93. Polish Society of Antidiscrimination Law (PSAL)
94. Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI)
95. Progressive Voice
96. Pusat Kumunikasi Masyarakat (Pusat KOMAS)
97. Re:Common
98. Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)
99. #ReturnOurCPF
100. Russian Social-Ecological Union (RSEU) - Friends of the Earth Russia
101. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) - Friends of the Earth Malaysia
102. Savitri Bai Phule Women Forum
103. School for Wellbeing Studies and Research
104. Sister's Arab Forum (SAF)
105. Solidarité des Jeunes Lao
106. Sombath Initiative
107. Southeast Asia Development Program (SADP)
108. South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM)
109. Suan Nguen Mee Ma
110. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
111. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
112. Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
113. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
114. The Corner House
115. Think Centre
116. Transnational Institute
117. Ulu Foundation
118. Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
119. Vietnamese Women for Human Rights
120. WomanHealth Philippines
121. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
122. World Rainforest Movement