{"id":50720,"date":"2024-09-27T14:55:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T14:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=50720"},"modified":"2024-09-27T16:03:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T16:03:13","slug":"vietnam-refuses-to-address-serious-human-rights-concerns-at-upr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vietnam-refuses-to-address-serious-human-rights-concerns-at-upr\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam refuses to address serious human rights concerns at UN Universal Periodic Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>GENEVA, 27\nSeptember 2024 (VCHR) \u2013 Speaking today at the UN Human Rights Council\u2019s 57<sup>th<\/sup>\nsession in Geneva on behalf of <strong>FIDH <\/strong>and the <strong>Vietnam Committee on\nHuman Rights<\/strong> (VCHR), VCHR President <strong>Penelope Faulkner <\/strong>informed the UNthat<em>\u201cr<\/em><em>eprisals against human\nrights defenders, the existence of political prisoners, and the repression of\nmembers of civil society and unregistered religious groups [in Vietnam] are\nreal<\/em>.<em> They are not \u201cinaccurate and groundless\nassessments,\u201d as Hanoi claims\u201d, <\/em>she said<em> (see full text below).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FIDH and VCHR were commenting on the report of the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Vietnam which was adopted today by the UN Human Rights Council. Out of 320 recommendations made by 133 member states at Vietnam\u2019s UPR in <a href=\"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vietnam-fails-to-address-serious-human-rights-concerns-at-its-4th-upr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">May 2024<\/a>, Vietnam announced it accepted 271 recommendations (85%), in whole or in part. However, 49 key recommendations for prompt and concrete action to improve human rights were categorically rejected by the communist state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cThe government\u2019s full or partial acceptance of 85% of the UPR recommendations is misleading. The devil is in the details, and Hanoi\u2019s dismissal of numerous recommendations related to key civil and political rights is a matter of serious concern\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Faulkner told the UN Human Rights Council<strong>. <\/strong>Vietnam\u2019s behaviour during the 4<sup>th<\/sup> UPR was <strong><em>\u201cunbecoming of a UN Human Rights Council member and shows the government is determined to pursue a path of repression of independent civil society for another UPR cycle\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 49 recommendations rejected by Vietnam included calls by UN member states to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>end practices of arbitrary arrests and detention of human rights defenders, political dissidents and journalists (Norway)<\/li><li>release those imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, association or assembly (Switzerland) <\/li><li>investigate threats and reprisals against human rights defenders (Argentina) <\/li><li>create a national mechanism to monitor prisons and detention centres in order to prevent torture, ill-treatment and cruel or degrading punishment (Peru) <\/li><li>guarantee fair trials (Netherlands)<\/li><li>lift all legal restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and access to the Internet (Estonia)<\/li><li>end forced renunciation of faith against members of unregistered religious groups (USA)<\/li><li>enhance the environment for the activities of civil society (Slovakia), and<\/li><li>officially recognize indigenous peoples (Costa Rica, Mexico).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Vietnam also\nrejected recommendations to amend the Cyber Security Law, the Law on Belief and\nReligion, the Criminal Code and other restrictive laws to bring them into line\nwith international human rights standards; to extend a standing invitation to all\nSpecial Procedures mandate holders to visit Vietnam; to revise legal\nrestrictions on right to strike; to reduce the number of crimes punishable by\ndeath, provide greater transparency on the use of the death penalty and initiate\na public debate on the eventual abolition of capital punishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The organizations\nexpressed particular concern at Vietnam\u2019s rejection of recommendations made by 10\nmember states to revise or abrogate broadly-defined <strong>\u201cnational security\u201d <\/strong>provisions\nin the 2015 Criminal Code, specifically articles 109, 116, 117 and 331 which\nare routinely used to arrest and prosecute human rights defenders, journalists,\nbloggers, members of independent religious groups, worker and land rights\nactivists and political dissidents. Vietnam said these recommendations were\n\u201cunsuitable\u201d and that it had \u201cno plan to review\u201d the national security\nprovisions before the next UPR cycle in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In reality,\nobserved Faulkner, <strong><em>\u201cthese so-called national security provisions are the cornerstone\nof government repression\u201d <\/em><\/strong>in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since January 2024, <strong>44 human rights defenders, journalists, religious followers and civil society activists<\/strong> have been arrested and\/or sentenced for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, religion, association or assembly. <strong>26 persons, including four women, were sentenced to a total of over 153 years in prison. <\/strong>Nearly all were found guilty under Articles 331, 117, 116 and 109.The two exceptions were Christian Montagnard <strong>Y Quynh Bdap<\/strong>, sentenced to 10 years prison <em>in absentia <\/em>for alleged \u201cterrorism\u201d, andenergy expert <strong>Ng\u00f4 Th\u1ecb T\u1ed1 Nhi\u00ean, <\/strong>condemned to 3 \u00bd years in prison at a secret trial in June 2024 on charges of <em>\u201cappropriation of information or documents\u201d<\/em> (Article 342 of the Criminal Code). Ms. Nhi\u00ean\u2019s conviction is the latest in a disturbing crackdown on environmental rights defenders and climate change activists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ms. Faulkner voiced deep concern about the\nplight of environmental lawyer <strong>\u0110\u1eb7ng \u0110\u00ecnh B\u00e1ch,<\/strong> sentenced to 5 years in\nprison at an unfair trial on politically-motivated charges of \u201ctax evasion\u201d. He\nis detained under extremely harsh conditions in the notorious Prison No. 6 in Nghe\nAn province, deprived of basic rights and subjected to discriminatory treatment\nby the prison authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other prominent activists detained in the\n2024 crackdown include <strong>Nguy\u1ec5n Ch\u00ed Tuy\u00ean<\/strong> (Anh Ch\u00ed), <strong>Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0169 B\u00ecnh<\/strong>\n(5 and 7 years in prison respectively) and <strong>Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng Huy San<\/strong> (Osin Huy \u0110\u1ee9c)\ncurrently awaiting trial. On 21 September 2024, over 90 renowned international academics\nand journalists signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Open-letter-regarding-Huy-Duc-20-Sept-2024.pdf\">Open\nLetter<\/a> calling for Huy \u0110\u1ee9c\u2019s immediate release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 57<sup>th<\/sup> session of the UN Human\nRights Council, which opened on 9 September and runs until 9 October, was marked\nfrom the very beginning by a series of high-profile statements highlighting increasing\nhuman rights violations in Vietnam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the opening session, UN High\nCommissioner on Human Rights Volker Turk deplored Vietnam\u2019s <strong><em>\u201ccrackdown on\nactivists.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>EU Ambassador Lotte Knudsen expressed the EU\u2019s <strong><em>\u201cdeep\nconcern over the shrinking space for civil society in Vietnam and the continued\narrests of human rights defenders and labour rights and environmental experts\u201d.<\/em><\/strong>She urged Vietnam to <strong><em>\u201censure that civil society can participate\nfreely in all aspects of development\u201d <\/em>and to<em> \u201crelease all those\nimprisoned for having peacefully expressed their views and to guarantee the\nright to a fair trial for all\u201d. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 10 September, in its report on reprisals against persons engaging with UN mechanisms, the Office of the UN High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern that <strong><em>\u201ccivil society organizations [in Vietnam] refrained from publicly engaging with UN human rights bodies\u2026 due to fear of reprisals\u201d<\/em>.<\/strong> As a result,civil society contributions to the fourth cycle of the UPR had been significantlyreduced. Indeed, VCHR representatives attending Vietnam\u2019s UPR session in May 2024 observed that no civil society organizations had come from Vietnam, contrary to previous UPR cycles. Activists in Vietnam told VCHR privately that they had boycotted the session due to threats and pressure from the Vietnamese authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 18\nSeptember, reporting to the Human Rights Council on his visit to Vietnam in\nNovember 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva,\nexpressed <strong><em>\u201cgreat concern\u201d<\/em><\/strong> on the <strong><em>\u201carrests and convictions\nof several environmental human rights defenders on charges such as tax\nevasion.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> He also regretted the <strong><em>\u201cselective use\u201d<\/em><\/strong> of\narticles 117 and 331 of the Criminal Code <strong><em>\u201cto target voices critical of\ngovernment decisions and policies\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><br><strong>FIDH Oral Statement<\/strong><br><strong>to the 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council<\/strong><br><strong>Item 6, Adoption of the UPR Report on Vietnam<br> read by VCHR President Penelope Faulkner<br>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Madam Vice-President,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FIDH and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights are\nextremely disturbed by the Vietnamese government\u2019s behavior during the current\nUPR. Such behavior is unbecoming of a UN Human Rights Council member and shows\nthe government is determined to pursue a path of repression of independent\ncivil society for another UPR cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government\u2019s full or partial acceptance of 85% of\nthe UPR recommendations is misleading. The devil is in the details and Hanoi\u2019s dismissal of\nnumerous recommendations related to key civil and political rights is a serious\nconcern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recommendations calling for the amendment or repeal of\nlegislation, including Articles 117 and 331 of the Criminal Code, which have\nbeen routinely used to punish individuals for the exercise of their human\nrights, have not been accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These so-called \u201cnational security\u201d provisions are the\ncornerstone of government repression. Since January, at least 26 individuals,\nincluding four women, have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 14 years in\npolitically motivated and unfair trials. Nearly all were found guilty under\nArticles 117 and 331.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reprisals against human rights defenders, the\nexistence of political prisoners, and the repression of members of civil\nsociety and unregistered religious groups are real. They are not \u201cinaccurate\nand groundless assessments,\u201d as Hanoi claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harassment of human rights defenders and their\nfamilies continues unabated and Vietnam holds around 200 political prisoners,\nwho may soon be joined by Montagnard human rights defender and asylum seeker Y\nQuynh Bdap, if Hanoi\u2019s bid to extradite him from Thailand is successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Political prisoners such as environmental lawyer Dang\nDinh Bach remain subjected to harsh conditions. These include prolonged\nsolitary confinement and the denial of adequate medical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are troubled by the government\u2019s refusal to accept\nall the recommendations for the release of individuals, who have been deprived\nof their liberty for exercising their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government also rejected nearly all\nrecommendations on the death penalty. Hanoi\u2019s commitment to limit the\napplication of the death penalty to \u201cthe most serious crimes\u201d and that its use\n\u201calways strictly conforms with [the] ICCPR\u201d are contradicted by ongoing cases\nof the imposition of death sentences for financial crimes, in blatant\ncontravention of Article 6 of the ICCPR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We urge UN member states to press the Vietnamese\ngovernment to release all political prisoners, address long-standing human\nrights violations, end impunity for abuses, and initiate much-needed legal,\ninstitutional, and democratic reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GENEVA, 27 September 2024 (VCHR) \u2013 Speaking today at the UN Human Rights Council\u2019s 57th session in Geneva on behalf of FIDH and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), VCHR President Penelope Faulkner informed the UNthat\u201creprisals against human rights defenders, the existence of political prisoners, and the repression of members of civil society and &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":41832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,113,98,64],"tags":[1751,1441,296,353,1705,1749,1579,1750,1752,251,1747],"class_list":["post-50720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-anh-chi","tag-dang-dinh-bach","tag-hrd","tag-human-rights-council","tag-ngo-thi-to-nhien","tag-nguyen-chi-tuyen","tag-nguyen-vu-binh","tag-osin-huy-duc","tag-truong-huy-san","tag-upr","tag-y-quynh-bdap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}