[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 295 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 295

Relating to continuing human rights violations and political oppression 
 in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 25 years after the fall of South 
                      Vietnam to Communist forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2000

    Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself, Mr. Royce, and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Relating to continuing human rights violations and political oppression 
 in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 25 years after the fall of South 
                      Vietnam to Communist forces.

Whereas 25 years after the Vietnam War ended, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
        is a one-party state ruled and controlled by the Vietnamese Communist 
        Party;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to violate 
        the liberties and civil rights of its own citizens through arbitrary 
        arrests, detentions without trial, and the censorship of peaceful 
        expressions of political and religious beliefs;
Whereas the Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 
        1999 notes that the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
        ``continued to repress basic political and some religious freedoms and 
        to commit numerous abuses'';
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still retains Article 4 in its 
        Constitution that ensures the supremacy of the Vietnamese Communist 
        Party as the only political party in the country while continuing to 
        enforce an extra-legal administrative decree to detain or place under 
        house arrest any dissidents or civilians for up to two years, without 
        trial, under the pretext of ``endangering national security'';
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the most repressive and 
        poorest countries in the world, with an average per capita income of 
        $330, despite the Vietnamese Communist party's claims of political and 
        economic reforms, or ``Doi Moi'', since 1986, and the subsequent lifting 
        of the trade embargo and the provision of economic assistance and 
        credits by the United States since 1995;
Whereas, according to the Department of State and international human rights 
        organizations, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
        continues to restrict unregistered religious activities and persecutes 
        its citizens on the basis of their religious affiliation through 
        arbitrary arrests and detention, harassment, physical abuse, censorship, 
        and the denial of the rights of free association and religious worship;
Whereas the Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 
        for 1999 on Vietnam estimates that ``there are from 30 to 50 religious 
        prisoners'' but ``the number is difficult to verify with any precision 
        because of the secrecy surrounding the arrest, detention, and release 
        process'';
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to prevent 
        human rights organizations from unfettered and open investigations of 
        allegations of state-sponsored oppression of the right to worship by its 
        citizens, and has prevented the United Nations Special Rapporteur on 
        Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, from meeting with various 
        religious leaders during his visit to Vietnam in October 1998;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam systematically 
        violates the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 
        International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in contravention 
        to its standing as a signatory to those agreements and as a member 
        nation of the United Nations;
Whereas April 30, 2000, marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to 
        Communist forces of North Vietnam; and
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States to promote political, 
        religious, and economic freedom throughout the world: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) requests the President to restate and make clear to the 
        leadership of the Government of the Socialist Republic of 
        Vietnam--
                    (A) the firm commitment of the American people to 
                political, religious, and economic freedom for the 
                citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and
                    (B) the United States fully expects equal 
                protection under law with all Vietnamese citizens, 
                regardless of religious belief, political philosophy, 
                or socio-political association;
            (2) urges the Government of the Socialist Republic of 
        Vietnam--
                    (A) to implement provisions called for under the 
                International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 relating to 
                conditions in Vietnam;
                    (B) to release all religious, political prisoners, 
                and prisoners of conscience, and immediately ceases the 
                harassment, detention, physical abuse, and imprisonment 
                of Vietnamese citizens who have exercised their 
                legitimate rights to freedom of belief, expression, and 
                association;
                    (C) to abolish article 4 of the Vietnamese 
                Constitution and repeal any and all regulations, codes, 
                and decrees prohibiting citizens rights to free 
                expression, freedom of association, freedom of the 
                press, and religious worship; and
                    (D) to formally commit to a framework and a set 
                timetable for open and fair elections that will 
                facilitate the ability of Vietnamese citizens to 
                peacefully choose their own local and national leaders, 
                free from fear and intimidation; and
            (3) commends the Vietnamese-American community for 
        initiating an international memorial to American and South 
        Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the cause of 
        freedom during the Vietnam War, which is under development and 
        will be located in Westminster, California.
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