Human rights in Vietnam
“Promoting human rights is integral to the Government's wider foreign policy and security agenda. It is and will continue to be part of a global strategy bonded by our commitment to play our part in creating a better world. Some have argued that we can only expect governments in the developing world to take human rights seriously when we have helped them to overcome the problems of grinding poverty. Political freedom, they say, will grow from economic prosperity. But in my book these are two sides of the same coin. Experience shows us that economic growth without respect for human rights rarely endures.”
- Foreign Office Minister, Ian Pearson, on 21 July 2005.
Human rights remain at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy agenda. The UK works through international forums and bilateral relationships to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy, which we in the UK demand for ourselves.
While it has taken some positive steps forward in recent years, Vietnam’s overall record with regard to civil and political rights remains poor. The UK is particularly concerned about Vietnam’s high rate of executions, and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of the media and the internet, and freedom of religion.
In its 2005 Annual Report on Human Rights, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office identified Vietnam as a country of major human rights concern (see chapter 2, pages 88-90).
In Vietnam, the UK works closely with our EU partners to engage the Vietnamese Government in substantive dialogue on human rights. We meet monthly with our EU partners to discuss human rights developments, support a twice-yearly EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, contribute to maintenance of an EU List of Prisoners/Detainees of Concern, and participate in some field missions to regions of concern.
The UK also supports, through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund, projects to assist Vietnam’s compliance with its international human rights obligations. Currently and in recent years, we have funded projects in the fields of media training, the death penalty, access to justice, child rights, and cooperation with the UN human rights bodies. For further details, please contact our Project Support Officer (tel: +84 4 936 0500).
The EU has developed a common approach to human rights, which guides EU cooperation in Vietnam and our dialogue with the Vietnamese Government.
The EU has also developed Guidelines for Human Rights Defenders, which guide our contacts with dissident voices in Vietnam.
“Promoting human rights is integral to the Government's wider foreign policy and security agenda. It is and will continue to be part of a global strategy bonded by our commitment to play our part in creating a better world. Some have argued that we can only expect governments in the developing world to take human rights seriously when we have helped them to overcome the problems of grinding poverty. Political freedom, they say, will grow from economic prosperity. But in my book these are two sides of the same coin. Experience shows us that economic growth without respect for human rights rarely endures.”
- Foreign Office Minister, Ian Pearson, on 21 July 2005.
Human rights remain at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy agenda. The UK works through international forums and bilateral relationships to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy, which we in the UK demand for ourselves.
While it has taken some positive steps forward in recent years, Vietnam’s overall record with regard to civil and political rights remains poor. The UK is particularly concerned about Vietnam’s high rate of executions, and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of the media and the internet, and freedom of religion.
In its 2005 Annual Report on Human Rights, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office identified Vietnam as a country of major human rights concern (see chapter 2, pages 88-90).
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FCO Annual Report on Human Rights 2005 |
In Vietnam, the UK works closely with our EU partners to engage the Vietnamese Government in substantive dialogue on human rights. We meet monthly with our EU partners to discuss human rights developments, support a twice-yearly EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, contribute to maintenance of an EU List of Prisoners/Detainees of Concern, and participate in some field missions to regions of concern.
The UK also supports, through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund, projects to assist Vietnam’s compliance with its international human rights obligations. Currently and in recent years, we have funded projects in the fields of media training, the death penalty, access to justice, child rights, and cooperation with the UN human rights bodies. For further details, please contact our Project Support Officer (tel: +84 4 936 0500).
The EU has developed a common approach to human rights, which guides EU cooperation in Vietnam and our dialogue with the Vietnamese Government.
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EU Human rights & Democratisation Policy |
The EU has also developed Guidelines for Human Rights Defenders, which guide our contacts with dissident voices in Vietnam.
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EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders |
