2022 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World - Update on Vietnam

 

Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam | 04.08.2023

The 2022 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World, report of the EU High Representative, is published in a world that is once again marked by war on the European continent and many other conflicts and crises. The EU is strongly mobilised against the unprecedented attacks on democracy, violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law worldwide and the alarming rise in authoritarian regimes and their onslaught on democratic values across the globe.

The following text provides an update on the situation in Vietnam. Read the full Report here.

1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation

Restrictions on political and civil rights in Vietnam continued in 2022, especially as regards freedom of expression and association. The space for civil society is continuously shrinking. Several new laws and decrees introducing further restrictions in areas of cybersecurity, the work of NGOs and freedom of religion were either issued or under preparation. Journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders, as well as environmental activists, continued to be arrested and prosecuted on vague charges of crimes against national security or tax evasion and given long jail sentences in trials with little or no public access. During the year, appeal courts upheld several high profile convictions. There continue to be numerous allegations of unfair trails, including denial of legal representation; harsh physical and administrative conditions in prison, including prolonged incommunicado pre-trial detention; denial of adequate medical treatment; denial of family visits including through punitive transfers; and solitary confinement. Vietnam has continued to address the implementation of labour rights. It has committed to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention N. 87 in 2023 and to present a decree on workers’ representative organisations, to implement the 2019 Labour Code. It has also increasingly been making efforts to combat child labour and to promote gender equality and LGBTI rights. The death penalty remains a serious concern and continues to be applied in a non-transparent fashion, with data on executions not published by the authorities. Concerns over the rights of religious minorities and the administration of land rights remain. Media freedom is still severely limited: print, broadcast, online and electronic media are heavily controlled; access to politically independent websites is blocked, and social media companies are forced to close accounts or remove content critical of the government. Vietnam is ranked 174th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

2. EU action on human rights and democracy - key focus areas

EU priorities focus on freedom of expression, including for human rights defenders; access to information; freedom of religion or belief; civil society and participative democracy; equal rights and respect for diversity (including gender-related issues, people with disabilities, LGBTI); rights of the youth and child; the rule of law and fair administration of justice; abolition of the death penalty; compliance with international human rights law, and effective implementation of human rights mechanisms. In terms of action, the EU gave particular attention to protecting and empowering individuals. The EU Delegation was also actively engaged in actions aimed at supporting human rights activists. The EU together with EU Member States, who share the commitment to delivering by working together, arranged various social media campaigns, activities and events to promote human rights, including on the occasion of the World Day against the Death Penalty, International Human Rights Day and International Women’s Day. Member States also arranged various events on gender equality, LGBTI rights and the situation for civil society, with the aim of helping build a more resilient and inclusive society.

3. EU bilateral political engagement

Human rights have been mainstreamed in bilateral discussions at all levels with the Government of Vietnam. The EU, in close coordination with EU Member States and like-minded countries, maintained regular exchanges on human rights with Vietnam and reiterated requests for full implementation of all international human rights obligations and for the release of all persons detained for exercising their freedom of expression, both online and offline. The EU and Member States submitted many requests to observe trials of human rights defenders, to have access to prisoners, and on the provision of legal aid, medical support and for allowing family visits. However, almost all of these requests went unanswered or were denied. On 25 August, the EEAS spokesperson issued a statement on the conviction on appeal of Pham Doan Trang and other activists. The EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue and the EU-Vietnam Committee on Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights took place after a hiatus due to the Covid pandemic.

4. EU financial engagement

The EU continued in cooperation with Vietnam to implement the EU programme for Justice and Legal Empowerment (EU JULE), which supports, inter alia, justice sector reform, access to justice for the most vulnerable, and the implementation of the international human rights conventions to which Vietnam is a party (including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights the Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Women and the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities). The EU also supported actions of civil society organisations in various domains, including gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence, ethnic minority rights (including land rights), children’s rights, business and human rights, civil society empowerment, environmental rights, promotion of information on human rights issues online, freedom of expression, rights of migrants/returnees and informal workers, Covid-19 response and cultural rights. Throughout the year, the EU substantially advocated for providing technical assistance to support the revision of the labour code and the ratification of all core ILO Conventions and their implementation. The EU also continued to offer technical assistance for the implementation of the accepted recommendations under the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The EU is currently discussing a new programme on Rule of Law and Human Rights (EU JULE+) with the government.

5. Multilateral context

In terms of cooperation in multilateral fora, the EU has maintained a dialogue with Vietnam on international human rights issues, including in the context of the 77th UN General Assembly. Vietnam has refrained from condemning the Russian aggression and has abstained from all UN votes on the issue, apart from the vote to suspend Russia’s membership of the Human Rights Council where it voted against. Dialogue on implementation of the recommendations to Vietnam under the third cycle of the UPR continued in 2022. Vietnam has accepted 241 of the 271 recommendations proposed. In March 2022, Vietnam submitted a voluntary mid-term report on implementation of the recommendations. Although the submission was a positive sign of engagement, the report was lacking in substance and clarity. On Human Rights Day in December 2022, Vietnam organised an event to launch the UPR process for the fourth cycle. However, a planned presentation of the involvement of NGOs was cancelled.