[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6432 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6432

              To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2010

   Mr. Cao introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
              To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Vietnam Democracy 
Promotion Act of 2010''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purpose.
    TITLE I--ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM

Sec. 101. Authorization of assistance.
Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations.
      TITLE II--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND REFUGEE POLICY

Sec. 201. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam.
Sec. 202. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with 
                            Vietnam.
Sec. 203. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam.
 TITLE III--CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 
                         GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM

Sec. 301. Conditions.
Sec. 302. Definitions.
Sec. 303. Effective date.
      TITLE IV--ANNUAL REPORT ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM

Sec. 401. Annual report.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The relationship between the United States and the 
        Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown substantially since the 
        end of the trade embargo in 1994, with annual trade between the 
        countries reaching more than $15,200,000,000 in 2008.
            (2) The transition of the Government of Vietnam toward 
        greater economic activity and trade has not been matched by 
        greater political freedom and substantial improvements in basic 
        human rights for the citizens of Vietnam, including freedom of 
        religion, expression, association, and assembly.
            (3) The United States Congress agreed to Vietnam becoming 
        an official member of the World Trade Organization in 2006, 
        amidst assurances that the Government of Vietnam was steadily 
        improving its human rights record and would continue to do so.
            (4) Despite assurances that Vietnam's accession to the 
        World Trade Organization would be met with greater respect for 
        human rights, the Government of Vietnam has continued to 
        strictly regulate some religious practices and to imprison or 
        put under house arrest an undetermined number of individuals 
        for their peaceful advocacy of political views or religious 
        beliefs, including Father Nguyen Van Ly, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 
        Nguyen Tien Trung, Le Thang Long, Tran Duc Thach, Tran Anh Kim, 
        Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Nguyen Van Tuc, Nguyen Manh 
        Son, Nguyen Manh Tinh, Ngo Quynh, Nguyen Kim Nhan, Truong Minh 
        Duc, Nguyen Van Hai, Vu Hung, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, and Pham 
        Thanh Nghien, and human rights lawyers, Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen 
        Van Dai, and Le Thi Cong Nhan. Others arrested during 2010 are 
        being held incommunicado, including Cu Huy Ha Vu, Pham Minh 
        Hoang, Phan Thanh Hai, and Vi Duc Hoi.
            (5) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled 
        by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which continues to deny the 
        right of citizens to change their government.
            (6) Although in recent years the National Assembly of 
        Vietnam has on occasion played a role as a forum for 
        highlighting local concerns, corruption, and inefficiency, the 
        National Assembly remains subject to the direction of the 
        Communist Party of Vietnam and that party maintains control 
        over the selection of candidates in national and local 
        elections.
            (7) The Government of Vietnam forbids public challenge to 
        the legitimacy of the one-party state, restricts freedoms of 
        opinion, the press, assembly, and association, and tightly 
        limits access to the Internet and telecommunication. 
        Cyberattacks originating from Vietnam-based servers have 
        disabled dissident websites and the Government of Vietnam 
        introduced new restrictions on public internet shops while 
        continuing to restrict access to numerous overseas and domestic 
        blogs, news sites, and other websites perceived to carry 
        content critical of the Government of Vietnam.
            (8) The Government of Vietnam continues to detain, 
        imprison, place under house arrest, convict, and otherwise 
        restrict individuals for the peaceful expression of dissenting 
        political or religious views, including democracy and human 
        rights activists, independent trade union leaders, non-state-
        sanctioned publishers, journalists, bloggers, members of ethnic 
        minorities, and unsanctioned religious groups.
            (9) The Government of Vietnam has also failed to improve 
        labor rights, continues to harass, arrest, and imprison workers 
        rights activists, including Doan Huy Chuong, Do Thi Minh Hanh, 
        and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and restricts the right to organize 
        independently.
            (10) The Government of Vietnam continues to limit freedom 
        of religion, pressure all religious groups to come under the 
        control of government- and party-controlled management boards, 
        and restrict the operation of independent religious 
        organizations, including the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 
        and members of unsanctioned Mennonite, Cao Dai, Theravada 
        Buddhist, and Hoa Hao Buddhist religious groups and independent 
        Protestant house churches, primarily in the central and 
        northern highlands. Religious leaders who do not conform to the 
        Government's demands are often harassed, arrested, imprisoned, 
        or put under house arrest.
            (11) As noted in the October 2009 report of the United 
        States Commission on International Religious Freedom, ``[T]here 
        continue to be far too many serious abuses and restrictions of 
        religious freedom in the country. Individuals continue to be 
        imprisoned or detained for reasons related to their religious 
        activity or religious freedom advocacy; police and government 
        officials are not held fully accountable for abuses; 
        independent religious activity remains illegal; and legal 
        protection for government-approved religious organizations are 
        both vague and subject to arbitrary or discriminatory 
        interpretations based on political factors. In addition, 
        improvements experienced by some religious communities are not 
        experienced by others, including the Unified Buddhist Church of 
        Vietnam (UBCV), independent Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, and Protestant 
        groups, and some ethnic minority Protestants and Buddhists. 
        Also, over the past year, property disputes between the 
        government and the Catholic Church in Hanoi led to detention, 
        threats, harassment, and violence by `contract thugs' against 
        peaceful prayer vigils and religious leaders.''.
            (12) Despite reported progress in church openings and legal 
        registrations of religious venues, the Government of Vietnam 
        has halted most religious reforms since the Department of State 
        lifted the ``country of particular concern'' for religious 
        freedom violations designation for Vietnam in November 2006.
            (13) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant congregations 
        suffer severe abuses because of actions by the Government of 
        Vietnam, which have included forced renunciations of faith, 
        pressure to join government-recognized religious groups, arrest 
        and harassment, the withholding of social programs provided for 
        the general population, destruction of churches and pagodas, 
        confiscation and destruction of property, and subjection to 
        severe beatings.
            (14) During peaceful Catholic prayer vigils calling for the 
        return of government-confiscated church properties during 2008 
        at the Thai Ha Church in Ha Noi, protestors were dispersed 
        after being harassed, some were detained, and some of the 
        church property was destroyed. Similar incidents happened at 
        Bau Sen, Loan Ly, and Tam Toa parishes in central Vietnam and 
        more recently at Dong Chiem parish in Hanoi, where religious 
        statues and a crucifix were destroyed and parishioners and 
        clergies were physically harmed, and at Con Dau parish, where 
        police forcibly dispersed a Catholic funeral ceremony in May 
        2010 to a cemetery located on disputed land. Afterwards, police 
        and members of the civilian defense forces arrested and 
        interrogated dozens of Con Dau parishioners, with one 
        parishioner dying from injuries sustained during a beating in 
        July 2010 by civilian defense forces and two women suffered 
        miscarriages resulted from police tortures. Catholics continue 
        to face some restrictions on selection of clergy, the 
        establishment of seminaries and seminary candidates, and 
        restrictions on individual cases of travel and church 
        registration. Dissident clerics such as Father Phan Van Loi and 
        Father Nguyen Van Ly are currently under house arrest.
            (15) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam suffers 
        persecution as the Government of Vietnam continues to restrict 
        contacts and movement of senior clergy for refusing to join the 
        state-sponsored Buddhist organizations, the Government 
        restricts expression and assembly, and the Government continues 
        to harass and threaten monks, nuns, and youth leaders of the 
        Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The Supreme Patriarch of 
        Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Quang Do, is 
        currently under house arrest.
            (16) The Bat Nha Buddhists monastery in Lam Dong province 
        was attacked by government thugs in October 2009. About 400 
        monks and nuns were physically abused and forcibly evicted from 
        the monastery.
            (17) The Government of Vietnam continues to suppress the 
        activities of other religious adherents, including Cao Dai, Hoa 
        Hao, Mennonites, and Montagnard Christians belonging to 
        churches that lack official recognition or have chosen not to 
        affiliate with the state-sanctioned groups, including through 
        the use of detention and imprisonment.
            (18) During Easter weekend in April 2004, thousands of 
        Montagnard Christians in the Central Highlands gathered to 
        protest their treatment by the Government of Vietnam, including 
        the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restrictions on 
        religious activities. Credible reports indicate that the 
        protests were met with violent response as many demonstrators 
        were arrested or went into hiding, that many were injured, and 
        that some were killed. At least 200 of these Montagnard 
        Christians are still serving long sentences for their 
        involvement in peaceful demonstrations in 2001 and 2004. 
        Government officials continue to severely restrict movement by 
        the Montagnards and prohibit them from seeking asylum in 
        Cambodia. Many Montagnards were also imprisoned and otherwise 
        mistreated for their involvement in demonstrations in 2008.
            (19) Ethnic minority Hmong in the Northwest Highlands of 
        Vietnam also suffer restrictions, abuses, and persecution by 
        the Government of Vietnam, and although the Government is now 
        allowing some Hmong Protestants to organize and conduct 
        religious activity, some government officials continue to deny 
        or ignore additional applications for registration.
            (20) In 2007, the Government of Vietnam arrested and 
        expelled at least 20 ethnic Khmer Buddhist monks in Soc Trang 
        province from the monkhood and imprisoned 5 monks in response 
        to a peaceful religious protest in February 2007. In July 2010, 
        authorities in Tra Vinh arrested and purported to defrock Khmer 
        Krom Buddhist abbot Thach Sophon, sentencing him in September 
        to a 9-month suspended sentence. He remains under house arrest.
            (21) The Government of Vietnam controls all print and 
        electronic media, including access to the Internet, jams the 
        signals of some foreign radio stations, including Radio Free 
        Asia, and has detained and imprisoned individuals who have 
        posted, published, sent, or otherwise distributed democracy-
        related materials.
            (22) People arrested in Vietnam because of their political 
        or religious affiliations and activities and charged with 
        vaguely defined national security crimes are not accorded due 
        process of law. During the pre-trial investigatory phase of 
        their detention, religious and political prisoners are often 
        held incommunicado without access to legal counsel and family 
        members. They are routinely tortured during interrogation to 
        force them to confess to crimes they did not commit or to 
        falsely denounce others. Their trials are usually closed to 
        international press and diplomats and members of the public.
            (23) Vietnam continues to be a source country for the 
        commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor of women and 
        girls and for men and women legally entering into international 
        labor contracts who subsequently face conditions of debt 
        bondage or forced labor, and is a destination country for child 
        trafficking and continues to have internal human trafficking.
            (24) Labor export companies partly or wholly owned by the 
        Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and other 
        agencies of the Government of Vietnam have frequently been 
        identified as participants in human trafficking. There are a 
        number of well-documented cases in which these state 
        enterprises have misled workers by promising specific wages and 
        working conditions, often in the form of signed contracts, only 
        to require the workers to sign different contracts immediately 
        before leaving for their foreign destinations. When workers 
        have protested debt bondage or slavery-like conditions in the 
        foreign workplaces to which these Vietnamese state enterprises 
        have sent them, officials of the Ministry of Labor have 
        traveled from Hanoi to threaten the trafficking victims with 
        ``punishment under the laws of Vietnam'' if they do not cease 
        their protests. Workers who have returned to Vietnam after 
        being exploited by their foreign employers have reported being 
        harassed and intimidated by public security forces, who 
        typically accuse them of being liars, collaborating with 
        reactionary forces overseas, and having betrayed their country.
            (25) United States refugee resettlement programs, including 
        the Humanitarian Resettlement Program, the Orderly Departure 
        Program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese 
        Returnees Program, general resettlement of boat people from 
        refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, the Amerasian 
        Homecoming Act of 1988, and the priority one refugee 
        resettlement category have helped resettle nationals of Vietnam 
        who have suffered persecution on account of their associations 
        with the United States as well as nationals of Vietnam who have 
        been persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, 
        political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
            (26) While previous programs have served their purposes 
        well, a significant number of eligible refugees from Vietnam 
        were unfairly denied or excluded, including Amerasians and 
        Montagnards, in some cases by vindictive or corrupt officials 
        of Vietnam who controlled access to the programs, and in others 
        by United States personnel who imposed unduly restrictive 
        interpretations of program criteria. In addition, the 
        Government of Vietnam has denied passports to persons whom the 
        United States has found eligible for refugee admission.
            (27) Congress has passed numerous resolutions condemning 
        human rights violations in Vietnam, indicating that although 
        there has been an expansion of relations with the Government of 
        Vietnam, it should not be construed as approval of the ongoing 
        and serious violations of fundamental human rights in Vietnam, 
        particularly those enshrined in the International Covenant on 
        Civil and Political Rights, of which Vietnam is a signatory.
            (28) Enhancement of relations between the United States and 
        Vietnam has provided an opportunity for a human rights 
        dialogue, but is unlikely to lead to future progress on human 
        rights issues in Vietnam unless the United States makes clear 
        that such progress is an essential prerequisite for further 
        enhancements in the bilateral relationship.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote freedom and democracy in 
Vietnam.

    TITLE I--ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    The President is authorized to provide assistance, through 
appropriate nongovernmental organizations and the Human Rights 
Defenders Fund, for the support of individuals and organizations to 
promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.

SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
President to carry out section 101 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2011 and 2012.
    (b) Other Requirements.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)--
            (1) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
            (2) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such 
        purposes.

      TITLE II--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND REFUGEE POLICY

SEC. 201. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIETNAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming 
of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Vietnam.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Broadcasting Board of Governors to carry out the policy 
        under subsection (a) $12,5000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and 
        $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2012.
            (2) Other requirements.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
        the authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) are authorized to remain available until 
                expended; and
                    (B) are in addition to amounts otherwise available 
                for such purposes.

SEC. 202. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH 
              VIETNAM.

    It is the policy of the United States that programs of educational 
and cultural exchange with Vietnam should actively promote progress 
toward freedom and democracy in Vietnam by providing opportunities to 
Vietnamese nationals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensuring that 
Vietnamese nationals who have already demonstrated a commitment to 
these values are included in such programs.

SEC. 203. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIETNAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Vietnam (including 
members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for 
the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR) 
Program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) 
Program, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other United 
States refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to 
administrative error or who for reasons beyond the control of such 
individuals (including insufficient or contradictory information or the 
inability to pay bribes demanded by officials of the Government of 
Vietnam) were unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance 
with deadlines imposed by the Department of State.
    (b) Authorized Activity.--Of the amounts authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of State for Migration and Refugee 
Assistance for each of the fiscal years 2011 and 2012, such sums as may 
be necessary are authorized to be made available for the protection 
(including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refugees 
and asylum seekers, including Montagnards and ethnic Khmer in Cambodia 
and Thailand.

 TITLE III--CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 
                         GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM

SEC. 301. CONDITIONS.

    (a) Conditions.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        United States Government may not provide nonhumanitarian 
        assistance to the Government of Vietnam during any fiscal year 
        in an amount that is greater than the amount of nonhumanitarian 
        assistance provided by the United States Government to the 
        Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010.
            (2) Exception.--The United States Government may provide 
        nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam during 
        any fiscal year in an amount that is greater than the amount of 
        nonhumanitarian assistance provided by the United States 
        Government to the Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010 
        but is not greater than twice the amount of nonhumanitarian 
        assistance provided by the United States Government to the 
        Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010 if--
                    (A) the President certifies to Congress that the 
                United States Government has provided assistance, in 
                addition to assistance authorized under section 102, 
                supporting the creation and facilitation of human 
                rights training, civil society capacity building, 
                noncommercial rule of law programming, and exchange 
                programs between the Vietnamese National Assembly and 
                the United States Congress during the 12-month period 
                ending on the date of the certification in an amount 
                that is not less than the amount of nonhumanitarian 
                assistance provided by the United States Government to 
                the Government of Vietnam during the 12-month period 
                ending on the date of the certification; and
                    (B)(i) with respect to fiscal year 2011, the 
                President certifies to Congress, not later than 30 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act, that the 
                requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of 
                subsection (b) have been met during the 12-month period 
                ending on the date of the certification; and
                    (ii) with respect to subsequent fiscal years, the 
                President certifies to Congress, in the most recent 
                annual report submitted pursuant to section 401, that 
                the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of 
                subsection (b) have been met during the 12-month period 
                covered by the report.
    (b) Requirements.--The requirements of this subsection are the 
following:
            (1) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward releasing all political and religious prisoners from 
        imprisonment, house arrest, and other forms of detention.
            (2) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward--
                    (A) respecting the right to freedom of religion, 
                including the right to participate in religious 
                activities and institutions without interference, 
                harassment, or involvement of the Government, for all 
                of Vietnam's diverse religious communities; and
                    (B) returning estates and properties confiscated 
                from the churches and religious communities.
            (3) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward respecting the right to freedom of expression, assembly, 
        and association, including the release of independent 
        journalists, bloggers, and democracy and labor activists.
            (4) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward repealing or revising laws that criminalize peaceful 
        dissent, independent media, unsanctioned religious activity, 
        and nonviolent demonstrations and rallies, in accordance with 
        international standards and treaties to which Vietnam is a 
        party.
            (5) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward allowing Vietnamese nationals free and open access to 
        United States refugee programs.
            (6) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress 
        toward respecting the human rights of members of all ethnic and 
        minority groups.
            (7) Neither any official of the Government of Vietnam nor 
        any agency or entity wholly or partly owned by the Government 
        of Vietnam was complicit in a severe form of trafficking in 
        persons, or the Government of Vietnam took all appropriate 
        steps to end any such complicity and hold such official, 
        agency, or entity fully accountable for its conduct.
            (8) The Government of Vietnam treats government officials 
        and military personnel of the former Government of South 
        Vietnam with dignity and equality.
    (c) Exception.--
            (1) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
        Notwithstanding the failure of the Government of Vietnam to 
        meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of 
        subsection (b), the President may waive the application of 
        subsection (a) for any fiscal year if the President determines 
        that the provision of increased nonhumanitarian assistance to 
        the Government of Vietnam would promote the purpose of this Act 
        or is otherwise in the national interest of the United States.
            (2) Exercise of waiver authority.--The President may 
        exercise the authority under paragraph (1) with respect to--
                    (A) all United States nonhumanitarian assistance to 
                Vietnam; or
                    (B) one or more programs, projects, or activities 
                of such assistance.

SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term ``nonhumanitarian 
        assistance'' means--
                    (A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act 
                of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2 
                of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private 
                Investment Corporation), other than--
                            (i) disaster relief assistance, including 
                        any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 
                        that Act;
                            (ii) assistance which involves the 
                        provision of food (including monetization of 
                        food) or medicine;
                            (iii) assistance for refugees; and
                            (iv) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, 
                        including any assistance under section 104A of 
                        that Act; and
                    (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the 
                Arms Export Control Act.
            (2) Severe form of trafficking in persons.--The term 
        ``severe form of trafficking in persons'' means any activity 
        described in section 103(8) of the Trafficking Victims 
        Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 
        U.S.C. 7102(8)).

SEC. 303. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The prohibition on the amount of nonhumanitarian assistance to the 
Government of Vietnam during a fiscal year under section 301 applies 
with respect to fiscal year 2011 and subsequent fiscal years.

      TITLE IV--ANNUAL REPORT ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM

SEC. 401. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the Congress a report on the following:
            (1) The determination and certification of the President 
        that the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 
        301(b) have been met, if applicable.
            (2) Steps taken to carry out section 301(a)(1), if 
        applicable.
            (3) Efforts by the United States Government to secure 
        transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries in close 
        geographical proximity to Vietnam in accordance with section 
        201(a).
            (4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Vietnam promote 
        the policy set forth in section 202 and with section 105 of the 
        Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act 
        of 1996 regarding participation in programs of educational and 
        cultural exchange.
            (5) Steps taken to carry out the policy under section 
        203(a).
            (6) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained, 
        or placed under house arrest, tortured, or otherwise persecuted 
        by the Government of Vietnam due to their pursuit of 
        internationally recognized human rights. In compiling such 
        lists, the Secretary shall exercise appropriate discretion, 
        including concerns regarding the safety and security of, and 
        benefit to, the persons who may be included on the lists and 
        their families. In addition, the Secretary shall include a list 
        of such persons and their families who may qualify for 
        protections under United States refugee programs.
            (7) A description of the development of the rule of law in 
        Vietnam, including--
                    (A) progress toward the development of institutions 
                of democratic governance;
                    (B) processes by which statutes, regulations, 
                rules, and other legal acts of the Government of 
                Vietnam are developed and become binding within 
                Vietnam;
                    (C) the extent to which statutes, regulations, 
                rules, administrative and judicial decisions, and other 
                legal acts of the Government of Vietnam are published 
                and are made accessible to the public;
                    (D) the extent to which administrative and judicial 
                decisions are supported by statements of reasons that 
                are based upon written statutes, regulations, rules, 
                and other legal acts of the Government of Vietnam;
                    (E) the extent to which individuals are treated 
                equally under the laws of Vietnam without regard to 
                citizenship, race, religion, political opinion, or 
                current or former associations;
                    (F) the extent to which administrative and judicial 
                decisions are independent of political pressure or 
                governmental interference and are reviewed by entities 
                of appellate jurisdiction; and
                    (G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam are written 
                and administered in ways that are consistent with 
                international human rights standards, including the 
                requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and 
                Political Rights.
    (b) Contacts With Other Organizations.--In preparing the report 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, as appropriate, seek out and 
maintain contacts with nongovernmental organizations and human rights 
advocates (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights advocates in 
Vietnam), including receiving reports and updates from such 
organizations and evaluating such reports. The Secretary shall also 
seek to consult with the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom for appropriate sections of the report.
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