[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 243 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                           May 2, 2007.
Whereas, on February 18, 2007, Vietnamese police raided the parish house of 
        Father Nguyen Van Ly and confiscated computers, telephones, more than 
        100 mobile phone cards, and more than 200 kilograms of documents;
Whereas the police moved Father Ly to the remote location of Ben Cui in central 
        Vietnam, where he is under house arrest;
Whereas Father Ly is a former prisoner of conscience, having spent a total of 
        over 13 years in prison since 1983 for his advocacy of religious freedom 
        and democracy in Vietnam;
Whereas Father Ly is an advisor of ``Block 8406'', a democracy movement that 
        started in April 2006 when hundreds of people throughout Vietnam signed 
        public petitions calling for democracy and human rights;
Whereas Father Ly is also an advisor of a new political party, the Vietnam 
        Progression Party, and one of the primary editors of ``Freedom of 
        Speech'' magazine;
Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police arrested one of Vietnam's few 
        practicing human rights lawyers, Nguyen Van Dai, who has defended 
        individuals arrested for their human rights and religious activities, is 
        the co-founder of the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam, and is one 
        of the principal organizers of the Block 8406 democracy movement;
Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police also arrested Le Thi Cong Nhan, a 
        human rights lawyer, a member of ``Block 8406'', the principal 
        spokesperson for the Progression Party, and a founder of the Vietnamese 
        Labor Movement;
Whereas Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, and Le Thi Cong Nhan have been charged with 
        disseminating propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under 
        article 88 of the Penal Code of Vietnam;
Whereas Father Ly was tried and convicted on March 30, 2007, and sentenced to 8 
        years in prison;
Whereas if convicted, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong each could be sentenced to 
        up to 20 years in prison;
Whereas Le Quoc Quan is a lawyer who traveled to the United States in September 
        2006 to research civil society development as a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at 
        the National Endowment for Democracy;
Whereas Le Quoc Quan returned to Vietnam in early March 2007 and was arrested by 
        Hanoi police on March 8, 2007;
Whereas Le Quoc Quan has been charged under Article 79 of the Penal Code of 
        Vietnam which prohibits activities aimed at overthrowing the Government 
        and carries extremely severe prison terms and even the death penalty;
Whereas in none of their activities have Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong 
        Nhan, or Le Quoc Quan advocated or engaged in violence;
Whereas the arrest of and charges against Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong 
        Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan 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 Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan have been 
        arrested and charged 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 18 (freedom of religion), 
        Article 19 (freedom of expression) and Article 22 (freedom of 
        association);
Whereas Vietnam recently 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, 
        including Nguyen Binh Thanh, Nguyen Phong, Nguyen Ngoc Quang, Nguyen Vu 
        Binh, Huynh Trung Dao, Nguyen Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doang Huy 
        Chuong, Doan Van Dien, Le Ba Triet, Nguyen Tuan, Bui Kim Thanh and Tran 
        Quoc Hien;
Whereas the United States Congress agreed to Vietnam becoming an official member 
        of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2006, amidst assurances that 
        the Vietnamese Government was steadily improving its human rights record 
        and would continue to do so;
Whereas the group of Asian countries at the United Nations have nominated 
        Vietnam as the sole regional candidate for a nonpermanent seat on the 
        United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 biennium, and pursuant 
        to the United Nations Charter, Vietnam would be required to discharge 
        its duties in accordance with the purposes of the United Nations, 
        including the promotion and encouragement of respect for human rights 
        and fundamental freedoms for all; and
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the human rights of 
        citizens of Vietnam are sources of continuing, grave concern to 
        Congress, and the arrests of Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong 
        Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan are part of a trend toward increasing oppression 
        of human rights advocates in Vietnam: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary arrests of Father 
                Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc 
                Quan by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and 
                calls for their immediate and unconditional release and the 
                dropping of all criminal charges, and for the immediate and 
                unconditional release of all other political and religious 
                prisoners;
                    (B) condemns and deplores the violations of the freedoms of 
                speech, religion, movement, association, and the lack of due 
                process afforded to individuals in Vietnam;
                    (C) challenges the qualifications of Vietnam to be a member 
                of the United Nations Security Council, unless the Government of 
                Vietnam begins immediately to respect human rights and 
                fundamental freedoms for all within its own borders; and
                    (D) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam to consider the 
                implications of its actions for the broader relationship between 
                the United States and Vietnam; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
        States should--
                    (A) make a top concern the immediate release, legal status, 
                and humanitarian needs of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, 
                Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan;
                    (B) use funds from the newly created Human Rights Defenders 
                Fund of the Department of State to assist with the legal defense 
                and the needs of the families and dependents of Father Ly, 
                Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan;
                    (C) continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to comply 
                with internationally recognized standards for basic freedoms and 
                human rights;
                    (D) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that it must 
                adhere to the rule of law and respect the freedom of religion 
                and expression in order to broaden its relations with the United 
                States;
                    (E) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that the 
                detention of Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, Le 
                Quoc Quan, and other political prisoners and prisoners of 
                conscience and other human rights violations are not in the best 
                interest of Vietnam because they create obstacles to improved 
                bilateral relations and cooperation with the United States;
                    (F) examine current human rights violations by the 
                Vietnamese Government and consider re-imposing on Vietnam the 
                ``country of particular concern'' (CPC) designation, which was 
                removed on November 13, 2006, pursuant to the International 
                Religious Freedom Act of 1998; and
                    (G) in order to advance these freedoms and rights, and to 
                strengthen the long-term relationship between the United States 
                and Vietnam, initiate new foreign assistance programs to advance 
                the capacity and networking abilities of Vietnamese civil 
                society, including--
                            (i) rule of law programs to train Vietnamese human 
                        rights lawyers, judges, academics, and students about 
                        international human rights law;
                            (ii) public diplomacy initiatives to inform and 
                        teach Vietnamese citizens about international human 
                        rights norms and responsibilities; and
                            (iii) projects that support organizations and 
                        associations that promote the freedom of religion, 
                        speech, assembly, and association.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.