Enforced Disappearances in Southeast Asia: A Crisis of Impunity and Forgotten Victims

Enforced disappearances continue to be a pressing human rights concern in the region, sustained by a pervasive culture of impunity that undermines the rule of law, weakens public trust in state institutions, and erodes fundamental human rights protections.

According to the most recent data compiled by the WGEID, at least 1,324 cases of enforced disappearances across Southeast Asia remain unresolved. While these figures account only for cases formally submitted to the WGEID, and therefore do not capture the full extent of alleged enforced disappearances, they nonetheless provide a stark indication of the systemic failure by national governments to take meaningful action to prevent or address enforced disappearance. Despite repeated calls for accountability, impunity continues to prevail, leaving victims without truth, justice or reparations.

Emerging patterns include short-term enforced disappearances aimed at silencing dissent, transnational abductions targeting exiled activists and dissidents, and the systematic targeting of human rights defenders, particularly those advocating for environmental and indigenous rights. Families of the disappeared often endure harassment, surveillance, and retaliation for seeking truth and accountability.

Despite the seriousness of the issue, only two countries in Southeast Asia - Cambodia and Thailand - have ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). Indonesia and Lao PDR have signed but not yet ratified the treaty, while other states in the region show little to no progress in adopting the Convention or establishing effective domestic mechanisms. Calls for reform from victims’ families, civil society organisations, and international organisations have largely gone unanswered, with accountability remaining the rare exception.

The Philippines remains one of the countries most severely affected by enforced disappearances in Southeast Asia. Despite the passage of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act (RA 10353) in 2012, implementation has remained deeply inadequate while investigations into cases are often protracted or non-existent.

Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office in 2022, the human rights non-governmental organisation Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) has reported at least 45 cases of enforced disappearance – averaging more than one case per month. Victims are predominantly human rights defenders, particularly those advocating for indigenous rights and environmental protection.

The opening of this WGEID session is especially poignant as it coincides with the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of indigenous rights defenders Bazoo de Jesus and Dexter Capuyan, who went missing on 28 April 2023 and remain unaccounted for. Their names join others such as James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr., William Lariosa, Denald Mialen, and Renel Delos Santos, whose families continue to face intimidation, red-tagging, and denial of justice. Legal remedies pursued by their relatives, including petitions for writs of amparo, remain pending or unresolved.

In Indonesia, the use of short-term enforced disappearances has been increasingly reported in recent years, especially during mass protests. During the August 2024 demonstrations against proposed changes to the Local Election Law, several individuals were reported to have been detained with their whereabouts remaining unknown for days. In many of these cases, legal representatives and family members were denied access. Similar incidents occurred during the 2025 protests against amendments to the 2004 Indonesian Military (TNI) Law, where activists were detained and subjected to short-term disappearance, pointing to a broader strategy in which state actors deploy disappearance as a means of deterring political dissent and restricting civic space.

Although the Indonesian government expressed its intention to ratify the ICPPED in 2022, no significant progress has been made in this regard.

In Thailand, enforced disappearances persist despite significant legal reforms such as the adoption of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance in February 2023 and the ratification of the ICPPED in 2024. While these reforms represent a positive step forward and establish a long-awaited legal framework, authorities have yet to take meaningful action to implement them. Investigations continue to be opaque, lacking transparency and public disclosure. The case of Karen environmental activist Pholachi “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, whose enforced disappearance in 2014 and apparent killing remain unresolved, highlights the continued failure to hold perpetrators accountable. In September 2023, Thailand’s Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases acquitted four Kaeng Krachan National Park officials of all murder-related charges, convicting only former park chief Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn of malfeasance in office and sentencing him to three years’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, the civil lawsuit filed by Billy’s family against the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has stalled, with the plaintiff’s witness examination, originally scheduled for 21 February 2025, postponed indefinitely.

Thailand has also witnessed an alarming increase in the use of enforced disappearances as a tool of political repression - particularly after the 2014 military coup - often targeting individuals perceived as critical of the government or monarchy, including those facing charges under lèse-majesté laws.

Between 2016 and 2019, nine Thai political refugees, who had sought asylum in neighboring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam disappeared under suspicious circumstances. One of the most emblematic cases is that of Wanchalearm “Tar” Satsaksit, a Thai pro-democracy activist who was abducted in broad daylight in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in June 2020. CCTV footage reportedly captured the moment of his abduction, yet investigations have seen little progress, hampered by a lack of transparency and cooperation from both Cambodian and Thai authorities. His family’s ongoing pursuit of truth and justice has been obstructed by repeated intimidation and harassment. Other Thai activists in exile, including Chucheep Cheewasut, Siam Theerawut, and Kritsana Tapthai, have also vanished under similar circumstances. In a June 2024 report, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand acknowledged that these disappearances reflect patterns consistent with state-directed operations.

In Cambodia, concerns remain over the lack of progress in addressing enforced disappearances, both domestic and cross-border. One of the most prominent unresolved cases is that of Khem Sophath, a 16-year-old boy who went missing during a violent crackdown on striking garment workers by Cambodian security forces on 3 January 2014 in Phnom Penh. Eyewitnesses reported seeing him lying on the ground after being shot. In over a decade, no significant steps have been taken to investigate his disappearance or hold any individuals accountable.

Cambodian authorities have also failed to pursue a meaningful investigation in the above-mentioned case of Thai activist Wanchalearm “Tar” Satsaksit. In February 2024, a government spokesperson claimed the investigation had been concluded due to a lack of sufficient evidence. However, as of April 2025, no official notice has been provided to the Cambodian lawyer’s of Wanchaleearm’s family, raising concerns over transparency and due process.

Viet Nam has also faced ongoing scrutiny over its alleged involvement in transnational repression, particularly through the targeting of dissidents abroad. A notable case includes that of Trương Duy Nhất, a journalist who disappeared in Bangkok in 2019 while seeking asylum and was later found in detention in Viet Nam, raising concerns of cross-border abduction. Despite multiple recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and human rights bodies, the Vietnamese government has thus far declined to ratify the ICPPED.

In Laos, the case of Sombath Somphone remains one of the most emblematic examples of unresolved enforced disappearance. Sombath, a well-known community development advocate, was last seen on 15 December 2012, at a police checkpoint in Vientiane. CCTV footage from the scene clearly shows his vehicle being stopped and Sombath being taken away in the presence of police officers. Despite sustained pressure from international human rights organisations, foreign governments, and UN bodies, the Lao authorities have consistently maintained that the case remains under investigation, now more than 12 years later, with no new information disclosed and no individuals held responsible.

As the WGEID convenes in Bangkok, it is imperative that Southeast Asian governments move beyond rhetoric and commit to urgent, coordinated, and sustained action, both at the national and regional levels, to ensure accountability and guarantee the rights to truth, justice and reparation in all cases of enforced disappearance, including short-term disappearances, that are often dismissed or overlooked.

This first step must be the ratification and full implementation of the ICPPED. Yet ratification alone is not enough. It must be backed by robust enforcement of domestic legislation where it exists, alongside efforts to close legislative and institutional gaps in countries where such protections remain inadequate or absent. In parallel, independent, well-resourced, and impartial investigative mechanisms must be established. Victims and their families must be guaranteed genuine access to justice, reparations and protection from intimidation and reprisals.

The increasingly transnational dimension of enforced disappearances also demands urgent attention. The targeting of political exiles, activists, and dissidents across borders underscores the need for enhanced regional cooperation, including joint cross-border investigations, timely information-sharing, and mutual legal assistance to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice - wherever they may be.