Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
PARIS, 5 January 2024 (VCHR) – In a Joint Report to the UN Human Rights Committee today, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) documented serious abuses of human rights in Vietnam and questioned the Vietnamese authorities on what measures they would take to improve human rights and uphold their obligations as a state party to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The report is a contribution to the “List of Issues” that will be adopted by the UN Human Rights Committee at its 140th session in Geneva on 28 March 2024. The Committee will transfer these key issues and concerns to the government of Vietnam, which must reply to them before the full examination of its Fourth Periodic Report on Implementation of the ICCPR, the date of which has not yet been set.
VCHR and FIDH raised issues including the arbitrary detention of human rights defenders, climate-change activists, journalists and members of non-recognized religious communities; inhumane conditions in Vietnam’s prisons, including torture and lack of access to medical care; the use of the death penalty; unfair trials and unlimited pre-trial detention; the adoption of extensive legislation restricting the exercise of freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
Commenting on the Fourth Periodic Report of Vietnam posted on the ICCPR website, VCHR President Penelope Faulkner regretted that “the report prepared by the Vietnamese government denies reality and masks the fierce repression of civil society that has drawn strong criticism from the international community. The ‘List of Issues’ is an important part of the ICCPR’s review process, for it obliges Vietnam to give concrete answers to concerns raised by UN experts, human rights NGOs and other key stakeholders”, she said.
See the full text of the report:
This post is also available in: French Vietnamese
