Corporate report

Vietnam - Country of Concern: latest update, 30 September 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

0.1 Latest Update: 30 September 2014

The human rights situation in Vietnam remains of concern, with closed trials and harsh sentences for political and human rights activists. There is a mixed picture on freedom of religion or belief, and some good progress on LGB&T issues.

The UK is concerned at Vietnam’s attitude towards events promoting follow-up to its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations, including its harassment of some invitees to such events. A number of civil society-led events in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City were either stopped or forced to change venue because of pressure by the authorities. This goes against the collaborative premise of the UPR. In July, a UPR follow-up event, held at the Australian embassy and co-hosted by Australia, the EU and other diplomatic missions, was heavily criticised by the state-run Nhan Dan newspaper. Six human rights activists were also stopped by the authorities from attending the event. The government was invited but did not attend.

More positively, a second UPR follow-up event in Hanoi organised by civil society in August passed without incident. There was again, however, no government participation.

The UK is disappointed that the government has not taken these opportunities to get involved in civil society-led events to implement recommendations that Vietnam accepted from its UPR. The UK is concerned at the incidents in which activists have been stopped from attending these events. The UK will continue to meet civil society organisations and academics to consider how to support follow-up to the recommendations from the UPR.

The UK is pleased the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, to Vietnam in July. However, we are disappointed the visit was cut short because Vietnamese authorities blocked activists from meeting with the Special Rapporteur. This led to visits to An Giang, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces in the Central Highlands being cancelled, and meant that the Special Rapporteur was unable to investigate particular issues of concern with regard to religious freedom, e.g. reported problems that some ethnic minorities face in practising their religion.

Speaking at his press conference, the Special Rapporteur said: “there have been some positive developments (on religious freedom)….most representatives of religious communities agreed in spite of ongoing serious problems, their space for religious practices has increased in recent years.” He also highlighted that reported problems around freedom of religion are often linked to other human rights issues, including land rights and ethnic minority issues, and that the legal provisions in Vietnam listing exceptions to an individual’s right to freedom of religion contradict the principle of the UN treaty. The Special Rapporteur will now present a formal report to the Vietnamese government, who will answer any criticisms raised at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2015.

The UK agrees with the statements of the UN Special Rapporteur and shares the concerns he raised during his visit. British Embassy officials met religious leaders before the visit to discuss their problems with practising religion in certain rural areas, and will continue to meet a broad selection of religious groups.

Two political prisoners were released in September. Nguyen Xuan Nghia, a human rights activist, was released from prison and placed on three years’ probation. Nghia had been convicted under article 88 of the penal code, “… propaganda against the Communist system …. slanderous allegations undermining national security”. He is a member of both of the Authors’ Association of Hai Phong City and Bloc 8406, a pro-democracy group. Blogger Pham Viet Dao was released after being sentenced in March to 15 months under article 258, “misuse of democratic freedoms to attack state interests and the legitimate rights and interests of collectives and citizens”. Dao ran a blog that expressed political opinions critical of the Vietnamese government; we reported on his case in the human rights update covering January-March 2014. Tran Tu and Nguyen Tuan Nam, two elderly political prisoners both in their seventies, were released at the end of September. Tu was sentenced in 1983 to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the state”. Nam was sentenced in 1996 to 19 years in prison for “fleeing abroad to oppose the state”.

The UK welcomes these releases and is encouraged by the trend in 2014 of the release of political prisoners, with ten released this year.

We still have serious concerns that both political and human rights activists continue to be arrested and sentenced for expressing peaceful opinions, in violation of their fundamental freedoms. Two groups of human rights activists were sentenced in August and September in trials which were closed to foreign diplomats or media. In August, human rights activists, Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, were sentenced at Dong Thap People’s Court in the Mekong Delta to three, two-and-a-half, and two years respectively for disturbing public order by holding up traffic through being part of a motorcycle convoy en route to visit a political prisoner. In September, Nguyen Thi Ngan and Nguyen Thi Toan were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment under article 57 for “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties”, while attempting to stop officials removing them from their land in Hanoi, in what they considered an illegal “land grab”. The EU issued a statement. The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, Ambassador Franz Jessen, expressed his deep concern over the sentences, and called for the release of all peaceful advocates of human rights in the country.

The UK is pleased that Vietnam voted in support of a resolution on “sexual orientation and gender identity” at the 27th session of the UNHRC in September. We hope we can work more closely with Vietnam in the UNHRC on areas of mutual interest. The UK is also pleased that the Gay Pride event in August in Hanoi was a huge success. There was a similar event in May in Hanoi celebrating the LGB&T community in the ASEAN region. We hope Vietnam continues to host or permit LGB&T events.

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