Donors and development agencies have contributed a substantial amount of financial assistance to legal reform and good governance programs in Vietnam, but these have so far failed to have a positive impact on the ground as Vietnam continues to adopt and use restrictive laws to silence and criminalise the peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms. The rule of law has been replaced by the rule by law in Vietnam.
This page provides quick access to the statements and reports on Vietnam done by FIDH and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), as well as links to UN documents related to human rights in Vietnam.
FIDH and VCHR reports:
VCHR: Violations of the Rights of Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
VCHR: Rule of Law or Rule by Law? Crimes and Punishment in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
FIDH-VCHR: From ”Vision” to Facts: HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM under its Chairmanship of ASEAN
FIDH-VCHR: The Death Penalty in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Special Edition
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders: Vietnam – 12 human rights defenders have the floor
VCHR: Alternative Report on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
FIDH and VCHR statements:
8 November 2012: UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention pronounced detention of Vietnamese pro-democracy activists a violation of international law
28 September 2012: Three pro-democracy bloggers sentenced to long prison terms
21 September 2012: Trial against three pro-democracy bloggers to open on September 24
1 August 2012: Pro-democracy bloggers face harsh penalties in upcoming trial
31 July 2012: Open Letter To Embassies About the Upcoming Trial of 3 Bloggers
24 July 2012: UN caves in to Vietnamese pressure, rejects human rights group’s consultative status
18 July 2012: In open letter NGOs call on ECOSOC not to revoke consultative status of Khmer-Krom NGO
4 July 2012: Clampdown on peaceful protests: another illustration of the Government’s disregard of its international human rights obligations
The First Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam at the Human Rights Council (May 2009):
VCHR-FIDH parallel NGO report, submitted in advance of UPR of Vietnam (PDF)
16 March 2009, Compilation of UN information (A/HRC/WG.6/5/VNM/2) (PDF)
23 February 2009, Summary of stakeholders’ information (A/HRC/WG.6/5/VNM/3) (PDF)
17 September 2009, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam (PDF)
UN treaty body documents:
Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Concluding observations, March 2012 (CERD/C/VNM/CO/10-14)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): Concluding comments, 2007 (CEDAW/C/VNM/CO/6)
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Concluding observations on the combined 3rd and 4th periodic report by Vietnam, June 2012 (CRC/C/VNM//CO/3-4) Concluding observations on report submitted by Vietnam under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC), 2006 (CRC/C/OPSC/VNM/CO/1) Concluding observations on report submitted by Vietnam under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 2006 (CRC/C/OPAC/VNM/CO/1)
ICCPR – Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, 2002 (CCPR/CO/75/VNM)
OVERDUE REPORTS [1]
ICCPR 3rd periodic report overdue since 2004 Combined CEDAW 7th and 8th report overdue since March 2011 CESCR 2nd, 3rd and 4th periodic reports overdue since 1995, 2000, 2005 respectively
UN special procedures documents:
June 2012: Mission report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and Vietnam’s comments on the report.
June 2012: Mission report by the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, and Vietnam’s comments on the report
May 2011: Report of the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights - Preliminary note on mission to Viet Nam (A/HRC/17/37/Add.2)
May 2011: Report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty - Mission to Viet Nam (A/HRC/17/34/Add.1)
January 2011: Report of the independent expert on minority issues - Mission to Viet Nam (A/HRC/16/45/Add.2)
PENDING REQUESTS:
Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation (requested in 2008) SR on the right to food (requested in 2008) SR on freedom of religion or belief (requested in 2008, reminder in 2009) SR on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (requested in 2006) SR on the right to freedom of opinion and expression (requested in 2002)
Key UN human rights instruments in Vietnamese:
The following texts have been translated into Vietnamese by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights and are available here:
A brief history of Human Rights (page 5) The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (page 11) The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (page 20) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (page 32) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (page 47)
