110TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. RES. 506
Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and expressing the
sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should
remove permanent normal trade relations status with Vietnam unless
all political and religious prisoners are released and significant and
immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government of Vietnam.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on
RESOLUTION
Condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam, and
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives
that the United States should remove permanent normal
trade relations status with Vietnam unless all political
and religious prisoners are released and significant and
immediate human rights reforms are made by the Government
of Vietnam.
Whereas Vietnam has a long history of human rights and religious
freedom violations;
Whereas, despite ongoing human rights violations, on November
13, 2006, Vietnam was removed as a Country of Particular
Concern (CPC), as a precondition to the extension
of permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam, but
against the recommendation of the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom;
Whereas the extension of permanent normal trade relations
to Vietnam was also a precondition for its accession to
the World Trade Organization (WTO);
Whereas human rights conditions have deteriorated in Vietnam
since its accession to the WTO;
Whereas persecution against religious and ethnic minorities
continues unabated by the Vietnamese Government, and
hundreds of advocates of human rights and religious freedom
have been, and continue to be, imprisoned and harassed
by the Vietnamese Government without defense
counsel;
Whereas the indigenous Degar Montagnard people have suffered
decades of persecution by the Vietnamese government
and there are currently more than 350 Degars imprisoned
in Vietnam for practicing Christianity or standing
up for their human rights;
Whereas, on March 30, 2007, Father Nguyen Van Ly, a wellknown
advocate for democracy and freedom of religion,
was sentenced to eight years in prison for exercising his
free speech rights;
Whereas, on May 10, 2007, Huynh Nguyen Dao, Nguyen
Bac Truyen, and Le Nguyen Sang were sentenced to
three, four, and five years in prison, respectively;
Whereas, on May 11, 2007, human rights attorneys Nguyen
Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan were sentenced to five
and four years in prison, respectively;
Whereas, on May 15, 2007, Tran Quoc Hien was sentenced
to five years in prison;

Whereas Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Quang Do is in
his twenty-sixth year of detention;
Whereas none of the aforementioned individuals advocated or
engaged in violence in their opposition to the Vietnamese
Government or its policies;
Whereas these convictions violate Article 69 of the Vietnamese
Constitution, which states that ‘‘The citizen shall
enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the
press, the right to be informed and the right to assemble,
form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance
with the provisions of the law’’;
Whereas these convictions are in contravention of the rights
contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a State
Party, specifically Article 19 (freedom of expression) and
Article 22 (freedom of association);
Whereas, on June 16, 2007, the Vietnamese Government released
pro-democracy activist Le Quoc Quan and on June
9, 2007, the Vietnamese Government released fellow activist
Ngyuyen Vu Binh from prison;
Whereas these releases have yet to demonstrate that Vietnam
is committed to substantive and long-lasting changes to
its human rights policies;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom’s 2007 Annual Report states, ‘‘[S]ince
[Vietnam] joined the World Trade Organization (WTO),
the government of Vietnam has initiated a crackdown on
human rights defenders and advocates for the freedoms
of speech, association, and assembly, including many religious
leaders who previously were the leading advocates
for religious freedom in Vietnam’’; and
Whereas, in May 2007, the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom recommended Vietnam
be re-designated as a Country of Particular Concern:

Now, therefore, be it
1 Resolved, That—
2 (1) the House of Representatives—
3 (A) strongly condemns the ongoing human
4 rights abuses in Vietnam; and
5 (B) calls for the release of all political and
6 religious prisoners in Vietnam; and
7 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa8
tives that the United States should—
9 (A) re-designate Vietnam as a Country of
10 Particular Concern, pursuant to the Inter11
national Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and
12 the 2007 recommendation of the U.S. Commis13
sion on International Religious Freedom;
14 (B) demand that the Government of Viet15
nam comply with internationally recognized
16 standards for basic freedoms and human rights;
17 and
18 (C) remove permanent normal trade rela19
tions status with Vietnam unless all political
20 and religious prisoners are released and signifi21
cant and immediate human rights reforms are
22 made by the Government of Vietnam.


Thank you, office of Congresswoman Lofgren, for the privilege of announcing this Resolution to Vietnamese American community organizations and media resources.

Jean Libby, Editor
VietAm Review