{"id":41983,"date":"2019-12-03T13:15:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T13:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=41983"},"modified":"2021-07-16T07:43:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T07:43:44","slug":"vchr-csw-call-on-mep-not-to-ratify-evfta-without-hr-guarantees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vchr-csw-call-on-mep-not-to-ratify-evfta-without-hr-guarantees\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil society urges European Parliament not to ratify EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement without firm guarantees on human rights – Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng arrested in Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRUSSELS, 3rd<\/sup>\nDecember 2019 (VCHR) \u2013 At a Conference on \u201cHuman Rights and the EU-Vietnam\nFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA)\u201d<\/strong>, hosted by MEP Julie Ward (S&D Group) and\norganized by Vietnam Committee on Human Rights<\/strong> (VCHR) and Christian\nSolidarity Worldwide<\/strong> (CSW), civil society organizations urged Euro-MPs not\nto ratify EVFTA until Vietnam has taken concrete steps to improve human rights.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the\nconference, VCHR revealed a video message prepared especially for the event by Ph\u1ea1m\nCh\u00ed D\u0169ng<\/strong>, an independent journalist and prominent dissident in Vietnam. On\n21st<\/sup> November, just two days after he sent it to VCHR, Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng\nwas arrested in Vietnam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nconference took place as the European Parliament embarks on a crucial phase of\nnegotiations on EVFTA, one of the most ambitious trade agreements ever\nconcluded between the EU and a developing country, and the Investment\nProtection Agreement (IPA). Today, the EP Human Rights Subcommittee meets to\ndevelop its opinion, and MEPs from across the political spectrum will discuss\ntheir position, to be voted at the beginning of 2020. Signed in June 2019 in\nHanoi, EVFTA and the IPA must be ratified by the European Parliament before\nthey come into force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCHR Vice-Chair Penelope Faulkner<\/a><\/strong> said<\/a> that for her committee, EVFTA had \u201ca<\/em> distinct air of <\/em>d\u00e9ja vu\u201d. <\/em>Throughout more than two decades of EU-Vietnam trade relations, with a first agreement in 1995 and a framework Cooperation and Partnership Agreement signed in 2012, the European Commission has systematically played down Vietnam\u2019s abysmal human rights record, insisting that the agreements would give the EU more leverage to press for reforms. \u201cFor the first agreement, we were hopeful. For the second, we were doubtful. For EVFTA, we are plainly not convinced\u201d,<\/em> she told MEPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also\nwarned that the EU was rushing to finalize EVFTA against a backdrop of\nincreasing political repression in Vietnam. Harassments, beatings and arrests\nof human rights defenders, religious followers, bloggers and journalists have\nescalated, harsh prison sentences of 15 \u2013 20 years on trumped-up \u201cnational\nsecurity\u201d charges are frequent. At the same time, Vietnam has adopted a whole\narsenal of laws such as the Criminal Code, the Law on Belief and Religion, the\nPress Law, Cyber Security Law, the law on Access to Information, etc. that\ncriminalise the exercise of human rights. \u201cVCHR and other NGO colleagues\nhave reported regularly on these abuses at the EU-Vietnam human rights dialogues.\nThe EU cannot say they did not know\u201d. <\/em>The EP would betray its core values\nof democracy and human rights by ratifying the agreements without any sign of\ngood will from Hanoi, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his\nvideo message, Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng,<\/strong> a former Communist Party member, observed that\nEVTFA and IPA would benefit Vietnam far more than the EU, given the EU\u2019s trade\ndeficit of 20-25 billion US$ with Vietnam. He described the eight annual\nEU-Vietnam human rights dialogues as \u201cfruitless\u201d,<\/em> with less than 95% of\nthe EU\u2019s recommendations not taken into account, and rejected claims that\nVietnam\u2019s newly-amended Labour Code is a positive step forward. Contrary to what\nhas been said, the Code makes no provisions for the establishment of free trade\nunions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>