H.L.C.

110TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. ll

Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and expressing the

sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should

remove permanent normal trade relations status with Vietnam unless

all political and religious prisoners are released and significant and

immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government of Vietnam.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California submitted the following resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on lllllllllllllll

RESOLUTION

Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and

expressing the sense of the House of Representatives

that the United States should remove permanent normal

trade relations status with Vietnam unless all political

and religious prisoners are released and significant and

immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government

of Vietnam.

Whereas Vietnam has a long history of human rights and religious

freedom violations;

Whereas, despite ongoing human rights violations, on November

13, 2006, Vietnam was removed as a Country of Particular

Concern (CPC), as a precondition to the extension

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H.L.C.

of permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam, but

against the recommendation of the United States Commission

on International Religious Freedom;

Whereas the extension of permanent normal trade relations

to Vietnam was also a precondition for its accession to

the World Trade Organization (WTO);

Whereas human rights conditions have deteriorated in Vietnam

since its accession to the WTO;

Whereas persecution against religious and ethnic minorities

continues unabated by the Vietnamese Government, and

hundreds of advocates of human rights and religious freedom

have been, and continue to be, imprisoned and harassed

by the Vietnamese Government without defense

counsel;

Whereas the indigenous Degar Montagnard people have suffered

decades of persecution by the Vietnamese government

and there are currently more than 350 Degars imprisoned

in Vietnam for practicing Christianity or standing

up for their human rights;

Whereas, on March 30, 2007, Father Nguyen Van Ly, a wellknown

advocate for democracy and freedom of religion,

was sentenced to eight years in prison for exercising his

free speech rights;

Whereas, on May 10, 2007, Huynh Nguyen Dao, Nguyen

Bac Truyen, and Le Nguyen Sang were sentenced to

three, four, and five years in prison, respectively;

Whereas, on May 11, 2007, human rights attorneys Nguyen

Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan were sentenced to five

and four years in prison, respectively;

Whereas, on May 15, 2007, Tran Quoc Hien was sentenced

to five years in prison;

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H.L.C.

Whereas Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Quang Do is in

his twenty-sixth year of detention;

Whereas none of the aforementioned individuals advocated or

engaged in violence in their opposition to the Vietnamese

Government or its policies;

Whereas these convictions violate Article 69 of the Vietnamese

Constitution, which states that ‘‘The citizen shall

enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the

press, the right to be informed and the right to assemble,

form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance

with the provisions of the law’’;

Whereas these convictions are in contravention of the rights

contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a State

Party, specifically Article 19 (freedom of expression) and

Article 22 (freedom of association);

Whereas, on June 16, 2007, the Vietnamese Government released

pro-democracy activist Le Quoc Quan and on June

9, 2007, the Vietnamese Government released fellow activist

Ngyuyen Vu Binh from prison;

Whereas these releases have yet to demonstrate that Vietnam

is committed to substantive and long-lasting changes to

its human rights policies;

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious

Freedom’s 2007 Annual Report states, ‘‘[S]ince

[Vietnam] joined the World Trade Organization (WTO),

the government of Vietnam has initiated a crackdown on

human rights defenders and advocates for the freedoms

of speech, association, and assembly, including many religious

leaders who previously were the leading advocates

for religious freedom in Vietnam’’; and

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Whereas, in May 2007, the United States Commission on

International Religious Freedom recommended Vietnam

be re-designated as a Country of Particular Concern:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That—

2 (1) the House of Representatives—

3 (A) strongly condemns the ongoing human

4 rights abuses in Vietnam; and

5 (B) calls for the release of all political and

6 religious prisoners in Vietnam; and

7 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa8

tives that the United States should—

9 (A) re-designate Vietnam as a Country of

10 Particular Concern, pursuant to the Inter11

national Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and

12 the 2007 recommendation of the U.S. Commis13

sion on International Religious Freedom;

14 (B) demand that the Government of Viet15

nam comply with internationally recognized

16 standards for basic freedoms and human rights;

17 and

18 (C) remove permanent normal trade rela19

tions status with Vietnam unless all political

20 and religious prisoners are released and signifi21

cant and immediate human rights reforms are

22 made by the Government of Vietnam.

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