Panel Discussion – Sombath Somphone, 6 years On
9 December 2018 10:10 pm

Panel discussion – Sombath Somphone, 6 years on

Disappeared in Laos but not forgotten in ASEAN

10:30am, Wednesday, 12 December 2018

Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC), Bangkok

Friends of BACC room, 6th floor

Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone disappeared on the evening of 15 December 2012, after being stopped at a police checkpoint on a busy street of Vientiane, Laos. Footage from a CCTV camera near the police checkpoint showed that unknown individuals forced Sombath into another vehicle and drove away in the presence of police officers. Sombath has never been seen again. His fate or whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Six years after Sombath Somphone’s disappearance, what has been done to safely return Sombath? What are the regional implications of his disappearance? What are the next steps?

A panel of four distinguished speakers will answer these questions and provide an update on the quest for truth and justice for Sombath Somphone’s disappearance.

Ms. Shui-Meng Ng

Spouse of Sombath Somphone

Mr. Edmund Bon

Malaysia’ s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

Ms. Premrudee Daoroung

Project SEVANA South-East Asia Coordinator

Mr. Charles Santiago

Malaysian Member of Parliament (via Skype)

Moderated by FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)