[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19936]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commemorate International Human Rights Day.
  This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant 
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States of America was founded upon freedom, 
democracy, and liberty, and America must perform its role as an 
advocate and as a defender of these values.
  Today, more than 140 prisoners of conscience are currently imprisoned 
in Vietnam due to their political views and activities. These activists 
are victims of constant mental and physical harassment and oftentimes 
are forced to endure unsanitary prison conditions.
  Activists, including Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Dang Xuan Dieu, and Ho Duc 
Hoa, were falsely tried and imprisoned simply for practicing their 
right to assemble.
  This year, in November, Burma, a country known for its horrendous 
human rights record, held its first free election, yet Vietnam 
continues to function as a single-party system. Today, on International 
Human Rights Day, I urge Vietnam to finally open up its society and to 
empower its people.

                          ____________________