[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1410 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1410
To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 7, 2011
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of
California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, and Mr. Royce)
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 Human
Rights Act of 2011''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Prohibition on increased nonhumanitarian assistance to the
Government of Vietnam.
Sec. 4. Assistance to support democracy in Vietnam.
Sec. 5. United States public diplomacy.
Sec. 6. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam.
Sec. 7. Annual report.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(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
two countries reaching over $15,300,000,000 in 2009.
(2) The Government of Vietnam's transition toward greater
economic freedom and trade has not been matched by greater
political freedom and substantial improvements in basic human
rights for Vietnamese citizens, 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) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled
by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to
deny the right of citizens to change their Government.
(5) Although in recent years the National Assembly of
Vietnam has played an increasingly active role as a forum for
highlighting local concerns, corruption, and inefficiency, the
National Assembly remains subject to the direction of the CPV
and the CPV maintains control over the selection of candidates
in national and local elections.
(6) The Government of Vietnam forbids public challenge to
the legitimacy of the one-party state, restricts freedoms of
opinion, the press, and association and tightly limits access
to the Internet and telecommunication.
(7) Since Vietnam's accession to the WTO on January 11,
2007, the Government of Vietnam arbitrarily arrested and
imprisoned numerous individuals for their peaceful advocacy of
religious freedom, democracy, and human rights, including
Father Nguyen Van Ly, human rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai, Le
Thi Cong Nhan, Cu Huy Ha Vu, and Le Cong Dinh, and bloggers
Nguyen Van Hai and Phan Thanh Hai.
(8) The Government of Vietnam continues to detain,
imprison, place under house arrest, convict, or otherwise
restrict persons for the peaceful expression of dissenting
political or religious views.
(9) The Government of Vietnam has also failed to improve
labor rights, continues to arrest and harass labor leaders, and
restricts the right to organize independently.
(10) The Government of Vietnam continues to limit the
freedom of religion, restrict the operations of independent
religious organizations, and persecute believers whose
religious activities the Government regards as a potential
threat to its monopoly on power.
(11) Despite reported progress in church openings and legal
registrations of religious venues, the Government of Vietnam
has halted most positive actions since the Department of State
lifted the ``country of particular concern'' (CPC) designation
for Vietnam in November 2006.
(12) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant congregations,
particularly Montagnards in the Central Northwest highlands,
suffer severe abuses because of actions by the Government of
Vietnam, which have included forced renunciations of faith,
arrest and harassment, the withholding of social programs
provided for the general population, confiscation and
destruction of property, subjection to severe beatings, and
reported deaths.
(13) There has been a pattern of violent responses by the
Government to peaceful prayer vigils and demonstrations by
Catholics for the return of Government-confiscated church
properties. Protesters have been harassed, beaten, and detained
and church properties have been destroyed. Catholics also
continue to face some restrictions on selection of clergy, the
establishment of seminaries and seminary candidates, and
individual cases of travel and church registration.
(14) In May 2010 the village of Con Dau, a Catholic parish
in Da Nang, faced escalated violence during a funeral
procession as police attempted to prohibit a religious burial
in the village cemetery; more than 100 villagers were injured,
62 were arrested, and at least three died.
(15) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) suffers
persecution as the Government of Vietnam continues to restrict
contacts and movement of senior UBCV clergy for refusing to
join the state-sponsored Buddhist organization, the Government
restricts expression and assembly, and the Government continues
to harass and threaten UBCV monks, nuns, and youth leaders.
(16) The Government of Vietnam continues to suppress the
activities of other religious adherents, including Cao Dai and
Hoa Hao Buddhists who lack official recognition or have chosen
not to affiliate with the state-sanctioned groups, including
through the use of detention, imprisonment, and strict
Government oversight.
(17) During Easter weekend in April 2004, thousands of
Montagnards 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, injured,
or went into hiding, and that others were killed. Many of these
Montagnards and others are still serving long sentences for
their involvement in peaceful demonstrations in 2001, 2002,
2004, and 2008. Montagnards continue to face threats,
detention, beatings, forced renunciation of faith, property
destruction, restricted movement, and reported deaths at the
hands of Government officials.
(18) 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 activities, some Government officials continue to
deny or ignore additional applications for registration, and to
persecute churches and believers who do not wish to affiliate
with Government-controlled religious entities.
(19) In 2007, the Government of Vietnam arrested, beat, and
defrocked several ethnic Khmer Buddhists in response to a
peaceful religious protest. The Government continues to
restrict Khmer Krom expression, assembly, association, and
controls all religious organizations and prohibits most
peaceful protests.
(20) 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.
(21) People arrested in Vietnam because of their political
or religious affiliations and activities often are not accorded
due legal process as they lack full access to lawyers of their
choice, may experience closed trials, have often been detained
for years without trial, and have been subjected to the use of
torture to admit crimes they did not commit or to falsely
denounce their own leaders.
(22) Vietnam continues to be a source country for the
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor of women and
girls, as well as 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.
(23) Although the Government of Vietnam reports progress in
combating human trafficking, it does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is
not making substantial efforts to comply.
(24) United States refugee resettlement programs, including
the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR) Program, the Orderly
Departure Program (ODP), Resettlement Opportunities for
Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) 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 rescue Vietnamese nationals
who have suffered persecution on account of their associations
with the United States or, in many cases, because of such
associations by their spouses, parents, or other family
members, as well as other Vietnamese nationals who have been
persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, political
opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
(25) While previous programs have served their purposes
well, a significant number of eligible refugees from Vietnam
were unfairly denied or excluded, including Amerasians, in some
cases by vindictive or corrupt Vietnamese officials 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 who the United States has found
eligible for refugee admission.
(26) Congress has passed numerous resolutions condemning
human rights abuses 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.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to promote the development
of freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE
GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM.
(a) Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Federal Government may not provide nonhumanitarian assistance
to the Government of Vietnam during any fiscal year in an
amount that exceeds the amount of such assistance provided
during fiscal year 2011 unless--
(A) the Federal Government provides assistance, in
addition to the assistance authorized under section 4,
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 at levels commensurate with,
or exceeding, any increases in nonhumanitarian
assistance to Vietnam;
(B) with respect to the limitation for fiscal year
2012, the President determines and certifies to
Congress, not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, that the requirements of
subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) have
been met during the 12-month period ending on the date
of the certification; and
(C) with respect to the limitation for subsequent
fiscal years, the President determines and certifies to
Congress, in the most recent annual report submitted
pursuant to section 601, that the requirements of
subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) have
been met during the 12-month period covered by the
report.
(2) Requirements.--The requirements of this paragraph are
the following:
(A) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial
progress toward releasing all political and religious
prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, and other
forms of detention.
(B) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial
progress toward--
(i) 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
(ii) returning estates and properties
confiscated from the churches and religious
communities.
(C) 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.
(D) 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.
(E) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial
progress toward allowing Vietnamese nationals free and
open access to United States refugee programs.
(F) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial
progress toward respecting the human rights of members
of all ethnic and minority groups.
(G) 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.
(b) Exception.--
(1) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
Notwithstanding the failure of the Government of Vietnam to
meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2), the President may
waive the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year if
the President determines that the provision to the Government
of Vietnam of increased nonhumanitarian assistance 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.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(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 forms 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)).
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to the provision
of nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam during
fiscal year 2012 and subsequent fiscal years.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM.
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 internationally recognized human rights in Vietnam.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.
(a) Radio Free Asia Transmissions to Vietnam.--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) 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. 6. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIETNAM.
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.
SEC. 7. 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 subparagraphs (A) through (G) of
section 3(a)(2) have been met, if applicable.
(2) Steps taken to carry out section 3(a)(1)(A), 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
5(a).
(4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Vietnam promote
the policy set forth in section 5(b) and with section 102 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 6.
(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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