[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 216 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 216

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding human rights in Vietnam.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 8, 1994

  Mr. Gilman submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding human rights in Vietnam.

Whereas President Clinton on October 19, 1992, promised to the American/Vietnam 
        community ``it is my firm belief that the issue of human rights should 
        be a part of the discussion when addressing the issue of normalization 
        with Vietnam'';
Whereas the ``road map'' established between the United States Government and 
        the Government of Vietnam did not mention provisions for human rights or 
        democracy as a precondition for lifting the embargo and normalizing 
        relations with Vietnam;
Whereas Vietnam remains one of the last communist countries in the world and 
        maintains one of the most repressive political and social systems and 
        the Vietnamese people are deprived of their basic human rights;
Whereas Vietnam has released from labor camps large numbers of persons suspected 
        of disloyalty or having ties to the South Vietnamese government, and yet 
        has rearrested and incarcerated some of these former prisoners and many 
        other individuals for nonviolent political and religious advocacy;
Whereas one of the most repressed people in Vietnam are the ethnic minorities 
        known as the Montagnards whose traditions, culture, and religious 
        beliefs continue to be eradicated through policies such as the 
        destruction of tribal villages comprised of ethnic Vietnamese migrants 
        for the purposes of forced assimilation;
Whereas free expression is denied in Vietnam (for example, independent radio and 
        television stations, newspapers, performing artists, book publishers, 
        writers, artists, and journalists are forced to conform to government 
        approval or censorship);
Whereas the poet Nguyen Chi Thien, a recognized Amnesty International Prisoner 
        of Conscience in northern Vietnam for the past 27 years, is still denied 
        the right of expression and remains under close government surveillance;
Whereas most South Vietnamese writers and poets have been denied the right to 
        publish or compose since 1975;
Whereas the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution still designates the Communist Party as 
        the ``force leading the state and society'';
Whereas Vietnam's criminal law is used to punish nonviolent advocates of 
        political pluralism, through charges such as ``attempting to overthrow 
        the people's government'' or ``antisocialist propaganda'';
Whereas participants in independent democratic parties and movements have been 
        subjected to harsh repression (for example, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, the 
        leader of the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam; 
        Professor Doan Viet Hoat of the Freedom Forum; and Nguyen Dinh Huy of 
        the Movement to Unite the People and Build Democracy);
Whereas even nonviolent political movements for democracy consisting of former 
        National Liberation Front members such as the League of Former 
        Revolutionaries have been repressed and its leaders, Nguyen Ho and Ta Ba 
        Tong, remain under house arrest;
Whereas prominent leaders from the Buddhist, Catholic, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and 
        Protestant faiths are in prison or under house arrest for expressing 
        their religious beliefs;
Whereas 4 monks of the Unified Buddhist Church were tried and convicted on 
        charges of instigating public disorder on November 15, 1993, in relation 
        to a massive demonstration in Hue protesting police detention and 
        harassment of major church leaders;
Whereas Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, head of the United Buddhist Church, is 
        under house arrest and under strict surveillance by security police; and
Whereas Catholic and Protestant clerics and lay people are imprisoned for 
        conducting unauthorized religious activities, including religious 
        education classes and social programs: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the Department of State, in its formal human rights 
        dialogue with Vietnam (which was announced by the United States 
        and Vietnam on January 10, 1994), should place a high priority 
        on seeking--
                    (A) the release of all nonviolent political 
                prisoners, and
                    (B) reforms in Vietnam's legal procedures and 
                practices to bring them into conformity with 
                international human rights standards;
            (2) the Secretary of State should submit a progress report 
        on this dialogue to the Congress within 6 months of the date on 
        which this resolution is adopted by the Congress;
            (3) the United States should actively support resolutions 
        at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressing 
        concern about the imprisonment of nonviolent political and 
        religious dissidents in Vietnam;
            (4) the United States should urge the Government of Vietnam 
        to invite international humanitarian organizations to provide 
        their confidential humanitarian services to prisoners in 
        Vietnam, as a step towards improving their treatment and the 
        poor condition of imprisonment; and
            (5) the United States should consult with its allies, 
        including Japan, Australia, Canada, and the European Community, 
        to coordinate international public and private appeals for 
        improvement in human rights in Vietnam, drawing attention to 
        the statement issued by the World Bank-convened donors' 
        conference in Paris on November 10, 1993, that notes that 
        economic and social development in Vietnam require ``more 
        attention to democratization and the promotion of human 
        rights'' by the Government of Vietnam.

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