BACKGROUND INFORMATION The approximately 7,000 ethnic Hmong Laotians started arriving in the camp in Phetchabun province in 2004 claiming persecution in Laos because of their connection to former rebels who began armed resistance to the Lao government when it came to power in 1975. These rebel groups were formed from an armed faction that fought with the United States during the Viet Nam war and its spill-over fighting in Laos. Up to a third of the Hmong minority in Laos, estimated to be 300,000 in 1970, are believed to have fled abroad around that time, the vast majority resettling as refugees in the United States. Up to a few thousand Hmong, including women, children and elderly people, still live in the jungle today hiding from attacks by the Lao military, despite no longer posing any apparent military threat to the Lao government. These families and communities in the jungle face a daily struggle for survival amidst malnutrition, disease, bullet and shrapnel injuries, and a lack of healthcare. Laos and Thailand are state parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which states that "a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child." The CRC also states that "No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily." As a state party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination the Lao authorities have legal obligations not to sponsor, defend or support any form of racial discrimination. In 2005 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination raised concerns about reported violence against the Hmong minority, including children.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language or your own language: - welcoming reports that 21 Lao girls and young women, from a group of 27 ethnic Hmong arbitrarily detained since they were forcibly returned from Thailand on 5 December 2005, have been "found"; - urging the authorities to publicly reveal where the 21 are now, and ensure that they are permitted to return to Thailand immediately to be reunited with their families; - urging the authorities to carry out an independent and thorough investigation into their arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and reported torture during the 15 months since they were forcibly returned, and to bring those responsible to justice; - urging the authorities to take immediate steps to locate the six unaccounted for from the group and ensure that they are released immediately and unconditionally, and permitted to return to Thailand to be reunited with their families; - calling on the authorities to ensure that they fully uphold their obligations as a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
APPEALS TO: Bouasone Bouphavanh Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Office Rue Sisavat Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic Fax: +856 21 213560 Salutation: Dear Prime Minister Chaleuan Yapaoher Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice Rue Phone Xay Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic Fax: Salutation: Dear Minister Dr Thongloun Sisoulith Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs That Luang Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic Fax: + 856 21 414009 Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of the Lao People's Democratic Republic accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 9 May 2007.******** Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 0DW, London, United Kingdom
