[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 541 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 541

   Condemning the Government of Vietnam for human rights violations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2012

   Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Durbin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the Government of Vietnam for human rights violations.

Whereas Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party of 
        Vietnam, which continues to deny the right of the people of Vietnam to 
        participate in free and fair elections;
Whereas, according to the 2012 annual report of the United States Commission on 
        International Religious Freedom, ``Vietnam's overall human rights record 
        remains poor, and has deteriorated since Vietnam was removed from the 
        CPC [countries of particular concern] list and joined the World Trade 
        Organization in 2007.'';
Whereas, according to the Department of State's most recent Country Reports on 
        Human Rights Practices, published on May 24, 2012 (in this resolution, 
        the ``DOS Human Rights Report''), the most significant human rights 
        issues in Vietnam ``were severe government restrictions on citizens' 
        political rights, particularly their right to change their government; 
        increased measures to limit citizens' civil liberties; and corruption in 
        the judicial system and police'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, the Government of Vietnam 
        ``reportedly held more than 100 political detainees at year's end, 
        although some international observers claimed there were more . . . . 
        Diplomatic sources reported the existence of four reeducation centers in 
        the country holding approximately 4,000 prisoners'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, Vietnam's Ministry of Public 
        Security ``maintains a system of household registration and block 
        wardens to monitor the population,'' while ``credible reports suggested 
        that local police used `contract thugs' and `citizen brigades' to harass 
        and beat political activists and others, including religious 
        worshippers, perceived as undesirable or a threat to public security'';
Whereas, on April 8, 2006, the pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406 was founded in 
        Vietnam, and it has since attracted thousands of supporters calling for 
        respect for basic human rights, the establishment of a multiparty 
        political system, and guarantees of freedom of religion and political 
        association;
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, the Government of Vietnam 
        ``continued to restrict public debate and criticism severely. No public 
        challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state was permitted,'' and 
        ``the government continued to crack down on the small, opposition 
        political groups established in 2006, and group members faced arrests 
        and arbitrary detentions'';
Whereas, according to the DOS Human Rights Report, ``[t]here continued to be 
        credible reports that authorities pressured defense lawyers not to take 
        as clients any religious or democracy activists facing trial. Human 
        rights lawyers were restricted, harassed, arrested, disbarred, and in 
        some cases detained for representing political activists,'' while 
        ``given their previous convictions, lawyers Le Tran Luat, Le Thi Cong 
        Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan were not permitted to practice law'';
Whereas, on April 4, 2011, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced attorney Cu Huy Ha 
        Vu to seven years in prison for defending victims of land confiscation 
        and abuse of power, including the Catholic villagers of Con Dau who 
        refused to sell or vacate land, including a 135-year-old religious 
        burial site, and in August and November 2011, Vu's appeals were 
        unsuccessful;
Whereas, although the constitution of Vietnam provides for freedom of religion, 
        Vietnamese law requires official recognition or registration for 
        religious groups, which has been used to monitor and restrict the 
        operations of religious organizations;
Whereas the 2012 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom (USCIRF) lists Vietnam as one of the ``world's worst 
        religious freedom violators,'' recommending that the Secretary of State 
        name Vietnam a ``country of particular concern'' with respect to 
        religious freedom, noting that ``the Government of Vietnam continues to 
        control all religious communities, restrict and penalize independent 
        religious practice severely, and repress individuals and groups viewed 
        as challenging its authority'' and that ``individuals continue to be 
        imprisoned or detained for reasons relating to their religious activity 
        or religious freedom advocacy'' while ``independent religious activity 
        remains illegal'';
Whereas, according to the USCIRF report, between April 2011 and February 2012, 
        ``as many as 27 individuals were arrested or disappeared in Vietnam for 
        their religious affiliations, religious activities, or peaceful protest 
        of religious freedom restrictions, among them Hoa Hao Buddhists, 
        Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners'';
Whereas hundreds of Montagnard Protestants arrested after 2001 and 2004 
        demonstrations for religious freedom and land rights remain in detention 
        in Vietnam's Central Highlands, while, according to Human Rights Watch, 
        in 2010, as many as 70 additional people were detained in the Central 
        Highlands for conducting ``illegal'' religious services;
Whereas the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is the country's largest 
        religious organization, yet according to the USCIRF, it ``has faced 
        decades of harassment and repression for seeking independent status and 
        for appealing to the government to respect religious freedom and related 
        human rights'';
Whereas, in July 2011, Father Nguyen Van Ly, who has been imprisoned numerous 
        times for his religious freedom and human rights advocacy, but had been 
        granted medical parole in March 2010 after suffering several strokes in 
        prison that left him partially paralyzed, was returned to prison to 
        serve the remainder of his eight-year sentence;
Whereas, on January 6, 2011, Christian Marchant, a United States diplomat at the 
        United States Embassy in Hanoi, was beaten by Vietnamese police when he 
        went to visit Father Ly, who was then under house arrest;
Whereas, according to the USCIRF report, over a dozen religious leaders are 
        being held under long-term house arrest orders, including Unified 
        Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) leader Thich Quang Do and other UBCV 
        leaders, Catholic Father Phan Van Loi, Hoa Hao leader Le Quang Liem, 
        Protestants Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Mennonite Leader 
        Nguyen Thi Hong;
Whereas Reporters Without Borders' 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index ranks Vietnam 
        last in Southeast Asia with regard to freedom of the press, and 172 out 
        of 179 countries overall;
Whereas, in September 2007, Vietnamese bloggers established the Club of Free 
        Journalists to promote freedom of expression and independent journalism 
        and were quickly faced with harassment, intimidation, and detention by 
        authorities in Vietnam, beginning with the arrest of Nguyen Van Hai in 
        April 2008;
Whereas, on October 30, 2010, while in Hanoi, Vietnam, Secretary of State 
        Hillary Clinton said, ``[T]he United States remains concerned about the 
        arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, the attacks on 
        religious groups, the curbs on Internet freedom, including of bloggers. 
        Vietnam has so much potential, and we believe that political reform and 
        respect for human rights are an essential part of realizing that 
        potential.'';
Whereas, on November 10, 2011, Secretary of State Clinton stated, ``We support 
        not only open economies but open societies . . . we have made it clear 
        to Vietnam that if we are to develop a strategic partnership, as both 
        nations desire, Vietnam must do more to respect and protect its 
        citizens' rights''; and
Whereas, on February 2, 2012, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell 
        stated that ``for the United States and Vietnam to go to the next level 
        it will require some significant steps on the part of Vietnam to address 
        . . . human rights concerns . . . but also more systematic challenges 
        associated with freedom of expression, freedom of organization,'' 
        explaining that ``progress in these areas will be essential to have the 
        appropriate level of support in the United States that will sustain a 
        deeper engagement between our two countries'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
        democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law, 
        including the universal rights of freedom of assembly, freedom 
        of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association;
            (2) strongly condemns the ongoing and egregious human 
        rights violations committed by the Government of Vietnam 
        against the Vietnamese people;
            (3) urges the President, Secretary of State, and all other 
        appropriate United States Government officials to ensure that 
        relations between the United States and Vietnam continue to 
        include robust discussion on the troubling human rights record 
        of the Government of Vietnam;
            (4) encourages the Secretary of State to place Vietnam on 
        the list of ``Countries of Particular Concern'' with regard to 
        religious freedom pursuant to section 402(b) of the 
        International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)) 
        in order to highlight abuses of religious freedom in Vietnam 
        and encourage improvement in the respect for human rights in 
        Vietnam; and
            (5) urges the President, Secretary of State, and other 
        world leaders to publicly support the human rights of the 
        people of Vietnam and to call on the President of Vietnam to--
                    (A) release all political and religious prisoners, 
                including all those imprisoned or detained on account 
                of their advocacy for democracy, religious freedom, and 
                other human rights;
                    (B) revise or repeal ordinances and decrees that 
                limit freedom of expression, assembly, association, or 
                religion; and
                    (C) implement all necessary legal and political 
                reforms to protect these rights.
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