PRESS RELEASE
January 05, 2024

 

THREE VIETNAMESE HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS issued a point-by-point rebuttal of VIETNAM’S REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

 

On the occasion of the 140th session of the UN Human Rights Committee to review the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by the Vietnamese government on March 28, 2024, the Vietnam Human Rights Network, Defend the Defenders, and the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam issued an alternative report rebutting Vietnam’s report.

In the introduction, the report of the three organizations states: “Unlike Vietnam’s report, which mainly mentions laws, decrees, and administrative decisions as a guarantee of compliance with international human rights law, this alternative report will present the Vietnamese government’s implementation of the provisions of the ICCPR through after-the-fact monitoring.”

Using data collected by human rights activists in Vietnam and abroad and verified through social media research, the alternative report exposed Vietnam’s violations on ten main issues of the ICCPR, including:

• The right of self-determination

• The right to life

• Human trafficking and forced labor

• The right to freedom from arbitrary detention and torture 

• The right to be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal

• The right to freedom of religion

• The right to freedom of expression 

• The right of peaceful assembly 

• The right to freedom of association with others 

• The right to freedom from discrimination

The 24-page alternative report with 113 quoted evidence from many data sources, including the official websites of Vietnamese public agencies, is convincing evidence of serious violations by the Vietnamese government concerning the ICCPR. The Vietnamese government’s breach of promise deserves condemnation from the international community, especially when it is currently a UN Human Rights Council member. We hope the UN Human Rights Committee will take adequate corrective remedies against the Vietnamese government’s human rights violations.

FULL TEXT OF THE ALTERNATIVE REPORT HERE

 

 

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