[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 541 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 541
Condemning the Government of Vietnam for human rights violations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2012
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Durbin)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the Government of Vietnam for human rights violations.
Whereas Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party of
Vietnam, which continues to deny the right of the people of Vietnam to
participate in free and fair elections;
Whereas, according to the 2012 annual report of the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, ``Vietnam's overall human rights record
remains poor, and has deteriorated since Vietnam was removed from the
CPC [countries of particular concern] list and joined the World Trade
Organization in 2007.'';
Whereas, according to the Department of State's most recent Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices, published on May 24, 2012 (in this resolution,
the ``DOS Human Rights Report''), the most significant human rights
issues in Vietnam ``were severe government restrictions on citizens'
political rights, particularly their right to change their government;
increased measures to limit citizens' civil liberties; and corruption in
the judicial system and police'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, the Government of Vietnam
``reportedly held more than 100 political detainees at year's end,
although some international observers claimed there were more . . . .
Diplomatic sources reported the existence of four reeducation centers in
the country holding approximately 4,000 prisoners'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, Vietnam's Ministry of Public
Security ``maintains a system of household registration and block
wardens to monitor the population,'' while ``credible reports suggested
that local police used `contract thugs' and `citizen brigades' to harass
and beat political activists and others, including religious
worshippers, perceived as undesirable or a threat to public security'';
Whereas, on April 8, 2006, the pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406 was founded in
Vietnam, and it has since attracted thousands of supporters calling for
respect for basic human rights, the establishment of a multiparty
political system, and guarantees of freedom of religion and political
association;
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, the Government of Vietnam
``continued to restrict public debate and criticism severely. No public
challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state was permitted,'' and
``the government continued to crack down on the small, opposition
political groups established in 2006, and group members faced arrests
and arbitrary detentions'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, ``[t]here continued to be
credible reports that authorities pressured defense lawyers not to take
as clients any religious or democracy activists facing trial. Human
rights lawyers were restricted, harassed, arrested, disbarred, and in
some cases detained for representing political activists,'' while
``given their previous convictions, lawyers Le Tran Luat, Le Thi Cong
Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan were not permitted to practice law'';
Whereas, on April 4, 2011, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced attorney Cu Huy Ha
Vu to seven years in prison for defending victims of land confiscation
and abuse of power, including the Catholic villagers of Con Dau who
refused to sell or vacate land, including a 135-year-old religious
burial site, and in August and November 2011, Vu's appeals were
unsuccessful;
Whereas, although the constitution of Vietnam provides for freedom of religion,
Vietnamese law requires official recognition or registration for
religious groups, which has been used to monitor and restrict the
operations of religious organizations;
Whereas the 2012 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) lists Vietnam as one of the ``world's worst
religious freedom violators,'' recommending that the Secretary of State
name Vietnam a ``country of particular concern'' with respect to
religious freedom, noting that ``the Government of Vietnam continues to
control all religious communities, restrict and penalize independent
religious practice severely, and repress individuals and groups viewed
as challenging its authority'' and that ``individuals continue to be
imprisoned or detained for reasons relating to their religious activity
or religious freedom advocacy'' while ``independent religious activity
remains illegal'';
Whereas, according to the USCIRF report, between April 2011 and February 2012,
``as many as 27 individuals were arrested or disappeared in Vietnam for
their religious affiliations, religious activities, or peaceful protest
of religious freedom restrictions, among them Hoa Hao Buddhists,
Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners'';
Whereas hundreds of Montagnard Protestants arrested after 2001 and 2004
demonstrations for religious freedom and land rights remain in detention
in Vietnam's Central Highlands, while, according to Human Rights Watch,
in 2010, as many as 70 additional people were detained in the Central
Highlands for conducting ``illegal'' religious services;
Whereas the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is the country's largest
religious organization, yet according to the USCIRF, it ``has faced
decades of harassment and repression for seeking independent status and
for appealing to the government to respect religious freedom and related
human rights'';
Whereas, in July 2011, Father Nguyen Van Ly, who has been imprisoned numerous
times for his religious freedom and human rights advocacy, but had been
granted medical parole in March 2010 after suffering several strokes in
prison that left him partially paralyzed, was returned to prison to
serve the remainder of his eight-year sentence;
Whereas, on January 6, 2011, Christian Marchant, a United States diplomat at the
United States Embassy in Hanoi, was beaten by Vietnamese police when he
went to visit Father Ly, who was then under house arrest;
Whereas, according to the USCIRF report, over a dozen religious leaders are
being held under long-term house arrest orders, including Unified
Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) leader Thich Quang Do and other UBCV
leaders, Catholic Father Phan Van Loi, Hoa Hao leader Le Quang Liem,
Protestants Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Mennonite Leader
Nguyen Thi Hong;
Whereas Reporters Without Borders' 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index ranks Vietnam
last in Southeast Asia with regard to freedom of the press, and 172 out
of 179 countries overall;
Whereas, in September 2007, Vietnamese bloggers established the Club of Free
Journalists to promote freedom of expression and independent journalism
and were quickly faced with harassment, intimidation, and detention by
authorities in Vietnam, beginning with the arrest of Nguyen Van Hai in
April 2008;
Whereas, on October 30, 2010, while in Hanoi, Vietnam, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said, ``[T]he United States remains concerned about the
arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, the attacks on
religious groups, the curbs on Internet freedom, including of bloggers.
Vietnam has so much potential, and we believe that political reform and
respect for human rights are an essential part of realizing that
potential.'';
Whereas, on November 10, 2011, Secretary of State Clinton stated, ``We support
not only open economies but open societies . . . we have made it clear
to Vietnam that if we are to develop a strategic partnership, as both
nations desire, Vietnam must do more to respect and protect its
citizens' rights''; and
Whereas, on February 2, 2012, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell
stated that ``for the United States and Vietnam to go to the next level
it will require some significant steps on the part of Vietnam to address
. . . human rights concerns . . . but also more systematic challenges
associated with freedom of expression, freedom of organization,''
explaining that ``progress in these areas will be essential to have the
appropriate level of support in the United States that will sustain a
deeper engagement between our two countries'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law,
including the universal rights of freedom of assembly, freedom
of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association;
(2) strongly condemns the ongoing and egregious human
rights violations committed by the Government of Vietnam
against the Vietnamese people;
(3) urges the President, Secretary of State, and all other
appropriate United States Government officials to ensure that
relations between the United States and Vietnam continue to
include robust discussion on the troubling human rights record
of the Government of Vietnam;
(4) encourages the Secretary of State to place Vietnam on
the list of ``Countries of Particular Concern'' with regard to
religious freedom pursuant to section 402(b) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b))
in order to highlight abuses of religious freedom in Vietnam
and encourage improvement in the respect for human rights in
Vietnam; and
(5) urges the President, Secretary of State, and other
world leaders to publicly support the human rights of the
people of Vietnam and to call on the President of Vietnam to--
(A) release all political and religious prisoners,
including all those imprisoned or detained on account
of their advocacy for democracy, religious freedom, and
other human rights;
(B) revise or repeal ordinances and decrees that
limit freedom of expression, assembly, association, or
religion; and
(C) implement all necessary legal and political
reforms to protect these rights.
<all>