Organizer: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand

Description:

Ten years ago, Sombath Somphone, a prominent Lao civil society leader and winner of the prestigious Magsaysay Award for his work in rural development, was on his way home when he was stopped at a police checkpoint on one of the major roads in the capital, Vientiane. CCTV footage recovered by his family show Sombath escorted into the checkpoint, then later exiting and getting into another car with officials, who then drive away into the night. Last seen under the control of government officials, Sombath's plight is the classic definition of an enforced disappearance for which the LPDR government is directly responsible. Despite the government's campaign to implausibly refuse any responsibility, the global community will never stop its demands that the powers that be in Vientiane reveal "Where is Sombath?"

This important press conference will update about the situation of Sombath Somphone and the continued struggle to demand answers, examine the impact of enforced disappearances on family and friends of those who are taken away, and discuss enforced disappearance as a serious human rights violation in the Southeast Asian region.

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