[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 320 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 320


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 6, 2006

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to 
  immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Pham Hong Son and other 
  political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and other purposes.

Whereas in March 2002, Dr. Pham Hong Son was arrested after he had translated an 
        article entitled ``What is Democracy?'' from the Web site of the United 
        States Embassy in Vietnam and sent it to both friends and senior party 
        officials;
Whereas Dr. Son has written and published on the Internet articles entitled 
        ``The Promotion of Democracy: A Key Focus in a New World Order'', 
        ``Sovereignty and Human Rights: The Search for Reconciliation'', and 
        ``Hopeful Signs for Democracy in Viet Nam'';
Whereas in none of his activities did Dr. Son advocate violence in his 
        opposition to the Vietnamese Government or its policies;
Whereas Dr. Son has been arrested for the peaceful exercise of his fundamental 
        rights to freedom of expression and association in violation of Article 
        69 of the Vietnamese Constitution which states: ``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 Dr. Son has been arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned in 
        contravention of the rights enshrined 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 Dr. Son did not have a trial that would be considered fair and that met 
        even the most basic standards of internationally accepted justice, in 
        contravention of Article 14 (right to a fair trial) of the ICCPR;
Whereas Dr. Son was sentenced in June 2003, after a half-day closed trial in 
        Hanoi, to 13 years of imprisonment and three years of house arrest on 
        spurious espionage charges;
Whereas such spurious charges are routinely used to suppress peaceful democracy 
        activists, as in the notorious cases of Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, 
        his two nephews and niece, and in the cases of Pham Que Duong, Tran 
        Khue, and Tran Dung Tien;
Whereas Dr. Son's appeal was held on August 26, 2003, in a closed trial before 
        Vietnam's Supreme Court, from which international observers and Western 
        journalists were barred, although diplomats from more than eight 
        countries gathered outside the courthouse during the trial to register 
        their concern;
Whereas, although the Vietnamese Supreme Court upheld Dr. Son's sentence, it 
        reduced the sentence of imprisonment from 13 to five years;
Whereas Dr. Son remains imprisoned in harsh conditions, including imprisonment 
        for more than a year in solitary confinement, which have endangered his 
        health;
Whereas Vietnam has imprisoned, detained, placed under house arrest, or 
        otherwise restricted numerous other peaceful democratic and religious 
        activists for reasons related to their political or religious views, 
        such as Do Van My, Mai Thi Dung, Nguyen Thanh Phong, Nguyen Thi Ha, 
        Nguyen Van Dien, Nguyen Vu Binh, Phan Van Ban, To Van Manh, Vo Van Buu, 
        Vo Van Thanh Liem (Nam Liem), Bui Thien Hue, Nguyen Lap Ma, Nguyen Nhat 
        Thong, Nguyen Van Ly, Phan Van Loi, Thich Dong Tho, Thich Huyen Quang, 
        Thich Nguyen Ly, Thich Nguyen Vuong, Thich Phuoc An, Thich Quang Do, 
        Thich Tam Lien, Thich Thai Hoa, Thich Thanh Huyen, Thich Tien Hanh, 
        Thich Tue Sy, Thich Vien Dinh, Ngo Van Ninh, Le Van Chuong, Le Van Tinh, 
        Phuong Van Kiem, Nguyen Van Si, Tran Van Thien, Thich Thien Tam, Hoang 
        Chinh Minh, and Do Nam Hai (Phuong Nam);
Whereas Dr. Son and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience have 
        been deprived of their basic human rights by being denied their ability 
        to exercise freedom of opinion and expression;
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the human rights of 
        citizens of Vietnam are sources of continuing, grave concern to 
        Congress;
Whereas Vietnam continues to restrict access to Western diplomats, journalists, 
        and humanitarian organizations to the Central Highlands and the 
        Northwest Highlands, where there are credible reports that ethnic 
        minorities suffer serious violations of their human and civil rights, 
        including property rights, and ongoing restrictions on religious 
        activities, including forced conversions;
Whereas there are continuing and well-founded concerns about forcibly 
        repatriated Montagnard refugees, access to whom is restricted;
Whereas on December 1, 2005, the European Parliament adopted a resolution 
        calling on the Vietnamese authorities, among other measures, to 
        undertake political and institutional reforms leading to democracy and 
        the rule of law, starting by allowing a multi-party system and 
        guaranteeing the right of all currents of opinion to express their 
        views;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to end all forms 
        of repression against members of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 
        and officially recognize its existence and that of other non-recognized 
        Churches in the country;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to release all 
        Vietnamese political prisoners and prisoners of conscience detained for 
        having legitimately and peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of 
        opinion, expression, the press, and religion;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to guarantee full 
        enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Vietnamese 
        Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights, in particular by allowing the creation of a genuinely free 
        press; and
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to ensure the 
        safe repatriation, under the Cambodia-Vietnam-UNHCR Agreement, of the 
        Montagnards who fled Vietnam, and allow proper monitoring of the 
        situation of the returnees by the UNHCR and international 
        nongovernmental organizations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary detention 
                of Dr. Pham Hong Son by the Government of the Socialist 
                Republic of Vietnam and calls for his immediate and 
                unconditional release, and for the immediate and 
                unconditional release of all other political prisoners;
                    (B) condemns and deplores the violations of freedom 
                of speech, religion, movement, association, and the 
                lack of due process afforded to individuals in Vietnam;
                    (C) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam to 
                consider the implications of its actions for the 
                broader relationship between the United States and 
                Vietnam;
                    (D) urges the Government of Vietnam to allow 
                unfettered access to the Central Highlands and to the 
                Northwest Highlands by foreign diplomats, the 
                international press, and nongovernmental organizations; 
                and
                    (E) applauds the European Parliament for its 
                resolution of December 1, 2005, regarding human rights 
                in Vietnam, and urges the Government of Vietnam to 
                comply with the terms of the resolution; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that the United States 
        should--
                    (A) make the immediate release of Dr. Pham Hong Son 
                a top concern;
                    (B) continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to 
                comply with internationally recognized standards for 
                basic freedoms and human rights;
                    (C) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that it 
                must adhere to the rule of law and respect the freedom 
                of the press in order to broaden its relations with the 
                United States;
                    (D) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that 
                the detention of Dr. Son and other persons and the 
                infliction of human rights violations on these 
                individuals are not in the interest of Vietnam because 
                they create obstacles to improved bilateral relations 
                and cooperation with the United States; and
                    (E) reiterate the deep concern of the United States 
                regarding the continued imprisonment of Dr. Son and 
                other persons whose human rights are being violated and 
                discuss the legal status and immediate humanitarian 
                needs of such individuals with the Government of 
                Vietnam.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 6, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.