Commemorating 20 years of the landmark UBCV protest:
1993: 40,000 Buddhists demonstrate for religious freedom in Hue
PARIS, 24.5.2013 (IBIB) – Exactly 20 years ago, on 24 May 1993, a conflict between Security Police and monks of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) sparked off a spontaneous demonstration of 40,000 Buddhists in the central city of Hue, ancient capital of Vietnam and historical centre of Buddhist …
Read More »European Union deplores “mismatch” between government rhetoric and reality on religious freedom in Vietnam
PARIS, 7 May 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Baroness Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has expressed concern about violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam, and in particular the “apparent mismatch between the information provided by the [Vietnamese] …
Read More »Security Police surround Giac Hoa Pagoda in Saigon
PARIS, 7.5.2013 (IBIB) – The International Buddhist Information Bureau has received an urgent report from Venerable Thich Vien Hy of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) stating that 50 Security Police surrounded the Giac Hoa Pagoda, secretariat of the outlawed UBCV, on Sunday 5 May 2013 and prohibited the …
Read More »FIDH & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights : Vietnam and Free trade Agreement negotiations: NGOs urge the EU to carry out a human rights impact assessment
Brussels, 30 April 2013 Dear Commissioner de Gucht, Dear HR/VP Ashton, Dear Mr. Lambrinidis, Dear Members of the Working Party on Human Rights, Dear Members of the Working Party on Asia, Dear Members of the Trade Policy Committee, The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation, the …
Read More »International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies : Civil Society Recommendations for the Ulaanbaatar Ministerial Declaration
Civil Society Recommendations for the Ulaanbaatar Ministerial Declaration Presented by the nongovernmental International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies (ISC/CD) 29 April 2013 We, the representatives of civil society gathered in Ulaanbaatar for the Seventh CD Ministerial Conference add our voices to the Ministerial Declaration to: 1. Applaud the …
Read More »VII Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Mongolia launches Asia Democracy Network
ULAANBAATAR, 29 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Foreign Ministers, parliamentarians, global media representatives, democracy and human rights activists from over 100 countries gathered in Ulaanbaator, for the VII Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies from 27-29 April 2013, hosted by Mongolia, the Community’s current President. Opened by Mongolian President …
Read More »European Parliament condemns violations of human rights, freedom of expression, religion and assembly in Vietnam
STRASBOURG, 18 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – At its plenary session in Strasburg today, the 754-member European Parliament adopted an Urgent Resolution on Vietnam strongly condemning a wide range of human rights violations and asking the EU to “assess the compatibility” of these violations with the new EU-Vietnam Partnership …
Read More »US Congressional Hearing examines human rights and religious freedom violations against the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
WASHINGTON, 11 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of Paris-based Vietnam Committee for Human Rights and International Spokesman of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) called on the United States today to raise issues of religious repression against the UBCV at the coming U.S.-Vietnam human …
Read More »AFP : US pressed to seek rights improvements from Vietnam
WASHINGTON, 11 April 2013 (AFP) – Lawmakers and activists called Thursday for the United States to press Vietnam to free dissidents and allow greater religious freedom as the two nations hold talks on human rights. The two nations hold an annual dialogue Friday in Hanoi on Vietnam’s human rights record, …
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