[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 295 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 295


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2000

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign 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 April 30, 2000, marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to 
        Communist forces of North Vietnam;
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 2 years, without 
        trial, under the pretext of ``endangering national security'';
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the most politically 
        repressive and poorest countries in the world, with an average annual 
        per capita income of $330;
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 
        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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights in contravention of 
        its status as a member of the United Nations;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam systematically 
        violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 
        contravention of its status as a signatory to that agreement; 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 that--
                    (A) the American people are firmly committed 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 cease violations of religious freedom as 
                defined by the International Religious Freedom Act of 
                1998;
                    (B) to release all religious prisoners, political 
                prisoners, and prisoners of conscience, and immediately 
                cease 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 allow all Vietnamese citizens the right 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 a 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 3, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.