The People's Democratic Party

http://ddcnd.org/main/

 

 

January 10, 2008

 

 

Bureau of International Labor Affairs

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs

Ms. Charlotte M. (Charlie) Ponticelli

Frances Perkins Building
Room C-4325
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington , DC 20210

contact-ilab@dol.gov

 

Dear Ms. Charlotte Ponticelli

 

Re: Vietnam uses political prisoners as forced labor to export cashew nuts and shrimp into the U.S.

 

The United States Congress passed a law to prevent Americans from using forced labor linked products and to stop these products from being imported into the U.S. Unfortunately, some of these products are on sale in various U.S. stores. Currently, The Vietnamese prison system employs prisoner forced labor to generate profits. In 2007, tons of cashew nuts were imported to the U.S , as well as various seafood products, much of which was generated from  labor exploitation of political prisoners. The practice of forced labor is not only against the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C 1307), section 307 but also violates the U.S. core of labor standards.(1)

 

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) states: "All goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or forced labor ... shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the U.S., and the importation thereof is prohibited."  

 

In addition, the 109 th Congress Amendment of Tariff Act of 1930 passed a bill which promises to (1) prohibit the import, export, or sale of goods made in factories or workshops that violate core labor standards; and (2) prohibit the procurement of sweatshop goods by the United States Government.   By such definition, any importation of products from use of forced labor violates U.S. law and is subjected to banning. (2)

 
However, a number of goods made by Vietnam's forced labor programs continue to be shipped into our country and around the world unnoticed. Many prisoners in Vietnam have been cruelly forced to be a part of this unethical aspect of Vietnam' s economic development. The purpose of these ill-practices is two-fold: demoralizing and punishing prisoners with harsh labor conditions; and generating huge profits from unpaid labor.

  
Forced labor has been widely practiced in the Vietnamese prison system but has gone unnoticed. Due to the rapid development of Vietnam's economy, there are huge demands and profits for such exploitation so much so that the Ministry of Vietnam Security greatly profits itself. According to our recent report, Xuan Loc prison camp, south of Saigon, exemplifies the typical Vietnamese prison that employs such grossly inhumane practices.

 
According to Voice of Vietnam (VOV), Vietnam Cashew Association and Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam has exported around 126,000 tons of cashew nuts to foreign markets in 2006. In 2007, Vietnam had export revenues of US$700 million, up over 38.6 percent against last year, gaining US$505 million from exporting 127,000 tons of cashew nuts, mainly to China, the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, England and Russia.

 
Viet Nam 's cashew nut posted a growth rate of 30.8 percent in export value in 2007 and currently holds 50 percent of the world market share, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Plantation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked the Government and relevant agencies to assist farmers in growing cashew trees, increasing the plantation area to 450,000 ha in early 2010 and improving the productivity to 3-4 tons per ha to double the world's average output.

 
With such high demand in cashew exportation, officials turned to unpaid labor forces present in swelling prisons. Political prisoners as well as their fellow convicts in various Southern prisons are forced to denude 25kgs (approximately 50 pounds) of cashew nut shells daily. If the quota is not met, prisoners are punished, commonly with solitary confinement in small, unlit cells where prisoners' legs are shackled for weeks, up to months.

 
Due to the "harsh labor requirements and excessive quotas, many have not  been able to meet the demands, not to mention the injuries sustained in the process of denuding cashew nuts where the toxic sap would come in contact with prisoners' flesh causing festering sores on their bodies. The warden has threatened Doctor Le Nguyen Sang with solitary confinement and legs shackles because he could not meet his quotas. Many political prisoners have been burned and infected with toxic saps due to the denuding labor". (4)

 
I am writing this letter to ask that you conduct a thorough investigation on the labor practices the country employs as well as the quality of imported products from Vietnam such as seafood, vegetable products and particularly cashew nuts currently on sale in U.S. I also would like to remind you of the importation of Vietnamese forced labor products into the U.S. is illegal according to section 1307 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

 

I would like to call on the United States and global consumers to pay more attention to products bearing the label "Made in Vietnam" and what this may entail. Our food and belongings may have been produced by the forced labor of detained democratic activists, religious leaders and their followers, political prisoners and other prisoners.

 

Vietnam must stop their ill-practices in prison labor exploitation and comply with international human rights standards in the management of their prison systems. We, as part of the human race must say no to totalitarianism and their crimes and not allow ourselves to participate in the exploitation of others as practiced by such regimes.  

 

Regards,

Do, Thanh Cong, spokesperson of the People's Democratic Party

dangdanchunhandan@yahoo.com

 

cc:

-          U.S. Congress members

-          Human Rights Watch

-          Amnesty International

-          Trader Joes' Company

-          Waymouth Farms Inc. Minneapolis, MN

-          Target Corporation, Minneapolis , MN

-          To Whom It May Concern

 

References:

(1)  SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF CORE LABOR STANDARDS. (109th Congress Amendment)   

(2) 109th Congress amendment of Tariff Act of 1930. 

(3) Radio Free Asia's Interview Dr. Le Nguyen Sang's brother on Jan 10, 2008

(4) The People’s Democratic Party Press Release on Jan 5, 2008