[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 506 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 506

 Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and expressing the 
  sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should 
remove permanent normal trade relations status with Vietnam unless all 
  political and religious prisoners are released and significant and 
 immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government of Vietnam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2007

   Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California (for herself, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Loretta 
Sanchez of California, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, and Mr. Smith of New 
 Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
 and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and expressing the 
  sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should 
remove permanent normal trade relations status with Vietnam unless all 
  political and religious prisoners are released and significant and 
 immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government of Vietnam.

Whereas Vietnam has a long history of human rights and religious freedom 
        violations;
Whereas, despite ongoing human rights violations, on November 13, 2006, Vietnam 
        was removed as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), as a precondition 
        to the extension of permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam, but 
        against the recommendation of the United States Commission on 
        International Religious Freedom;
Whereas the extension of permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam was also a 
        precondition for its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO);
Whereas human rights conditions have deteriorated in Vietnam since its accession 
        to the WTO;
Whereas persecution against religious and ethnic minorities continues unabated 
        by the Vietnamese Government, and hundreds of advocates of human rights 
        and religious freedom have been, and continue to be, imprisoned and 
        harassed by the Vietnamese Government without defense counsel;
Whereas the indigenous Degar Montagnard people have suffered decades of 
        persecution by the Vietnamese government and there are currently more 
        than 350 Degars imprisoned in Vietnam for practicing Christianity or 
        standing up for their human rights;
Whereas, on March 30, 2007, Father Nguyen Van Ly, a well-known advocate for 
        democracy and freedom of religion, was sentenced to eight years in 
        prison for exercising his free speech rights;
Whereas, on May 10, 2007, Huynh Nguyen Dao, Nguyen Bac Truyen, and Le Nguyen 
        Sang were sentenced to three, four, and five years in prison, 
        respectively;
Whereas, on May 11, 2007, human rights attorneys Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong 
        Nhan were sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively;
Whereas, on May 15, 2007, Tran Quoc Hien was sentenced to five years in prison;
Whereas Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Quang Do is in his twenty-sixth year of 
        detention;
Whereas none of the aforementioned individuals advocated or engaged in violence 
        in their opposition to the Vietnamese Government or its policies;
Whereas these convictions 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 these convictions are in contravention of the rights contained 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, on June 16, 2007, the Vietnamese Government released pro-democracy 
        activist Le Quoc Quan and on June 9, 2007, the Vietnamese Government 
        released fellow activist Ngyuyen Vu Binh from prison;
Whereas these releases have yet to demonstrate that Vietnam is committed to 
        substantive and long-lasting changes to its human rights policies;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2007 
        Annual Report states, ``[S]ince [Vietnam] joined the World Trade 
        Organization (WTO), the government of Vietnam has initiated a crackdown 
        on human rights defenders and advocates for the freedoms of speech, 
        association, and assembly, including many religious leaders who 
        previously were the leading advocates for religious freedom in 
        Vietnam''; and
Whereas, in May 2007, the United States Commission on International Religious 
        Freedom recommended Vietnam be re-designated as a Country of Particular 
        Concern: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) strongly condemns the ongoing human rights 
                abuses in Vietnam; and
                    (B) calls for the release of all political and 
                religious prisoners in Vietnam; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the United States should--
                    (A) re-designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular 
                Concern, pursuant to the International Religious 
                Freedom Act of 1998, and the 2007 recommendation of the 
                U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom;
                    (B) demand that the Government of Vietnam comply 
                with internationally recognized standards for basic 
                freedoms and human rights; and
                    (C) remove permanent normal trade relations status 
                with Vietnam unless all political and religious 
                prisoners are released and significant and immediate 
                human rights reforms are made by the Government of 
                Vietnam.
                                 <all>