Press Release

Trade relations: Reluctant to assess human rights in Vietnam, the EU fails to respect its commitments

BRUSSELS, 3 July 2013 (FIDH & VCHR) – FIDH and VCHR wrote an open letter to the European Union on 30 April 2013 highlighting how prejudicial the absence of an assessment on human rights would be within the context of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement currently under negotiation. In its …

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Adoption of the Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief: a Major Step Forward in EU External Policy

EPRID (25 June 2013) The European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID) welcomes the adoption of the EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion and Belief by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 24 June 2013. The Guidelines were developed by the European External …

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British Parliamentary Delegation is barred from visiting Buddhist leader Thich Quang Do

PARIS, 5 June 2013 (IBIB) – A delegation of Members of Parliament from the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) was barred from visiting the leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) during their trip to Vietnam last week. The delegation was in Vietnam from 25-31 May, visiting …

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FIDH denounces detention of dissidents, use of the death penalty and violations of freedom of expression in Vietnam

  ISTANBUL, Turkey, 27 May 2013 (VCHR) – Representatives of 178 non-governmental organizations from 117 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, gathering in Istanbul, Turkey from 22-27 May for the 38th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) adopted an Urgent Resolution on Human Rights …

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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 …

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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] …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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