Somsanga’s Secrets

(October 11, 2011) - The Somsanga center near Vientiane – the oldest and largest of Laos’s drug detention centers – is frequently described by the Lao government and its international donors as a “reformed” drug treatment facility. Despite extensive donor engagement, Human Rights Watch found that the essence of Somsanga’s purported “treatment” remains being locked up and subjected to physical abuse for infringing center rules or trying to escape. Based on interviews with 12 people recently held in Somsanga, this report describes how people who use drugs, but also beggars, street children, and people with mental disabilities, are detained by police or village militia and sent to Somsanga without due process. Some detainees seek an immediate end to their detention by the only means left to them: the report describes detainee suicides and suicide attempts by ingesting glass, swallowing fabric soap, or hanging. The Lao government and its international supporters should close the center and develop voluntary, community-based treatment options that comport with international standards.