Press Release

8/31/2025

 

Vietnam Human Rights Network Concludes 17th Congress and Reception to Thank Fellow Countrymen.

 

Little Saigon, CA – August 31, 2025 - Vietnam Human Rights Network held its 17th Congress in Little Saigon, California, USA, on August 31, 2025.

The Congress gathered members from many localities. Members who could not attend on-site were also connected via the online meeting platform Zoom.

The Congress listened to the Executive Committee's report on activities during the 2023-2025 term, discussed the human rights situation in Vietnam and the world, and proposed strategies and key tasks for the upcoming term. Thanks to the online meeting platform Zoom, many members from various locations were also able to participate actively in the discussion.

The Congress also discussed and passed amendments to the bylaws to make the Network's structure more adaptable to reality and operate more effectively.

The Congress elected the leadership for the 2025-2028 term in accordance with the newly approved structure, which includes the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Pharmacist Nguyen Mau Trinh was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Dr. Nguyen Ba Tung was appointed the Executive Director.

The Congress also approved the Statement on the current human rights situation in Vietnam (attached)

Following the Congress, a reception was held for the Vietnam Human Rights Network, thanking its benefactors and media partners for their support of the Network's work over the past 28 years. The main speaker of the reception was Attorney Dang Dinh Manh, a human rights lawyer who has defended many activists in Vietnam in the past.

The Vietnam Human Rights Network is a global Vietnamese organization founded in 1997 with the mission of protecting and promoting human rights, civil liberties, and all other fundamental freedoms for all Vietnamese citizens as stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human rights instruments. 

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Statement of The 17th Congress of The Vietnam Human Rights Network - 2025 

The 17th Congress of the Vietnam Human Rights Network, held in Little Saigon, California, USA on August 31, 2025, stated that the human rights situation in Vietnam is getting worse and worse through the following events:

- During the preparation for the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2026, especially after Mr. To Lam consolidated his absolute power as General Secretary, the communist authorities continued to increase repression of the people, stifling fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, etc. through increased control of information, social networks, and civil organizations.

- People exercising their legitimate freedoms are still being illegally arrested, detained, and sentenced many times more unjustly than those convicted for the same crime in previous years. 

From the above observations, the Vietnam Human Rights Network solemnly declares:

1. Demand that the communist Vietnamese authorities immediately end arbitrary arrests and detentions, and immediately and unconditionally release all those exercising the freedoms stipulated in the Vietnamese constitution and international laws, and those who peacefully work for human rights.

2. Demand that the communist Vietnamese authorities allow individuals and organizations in the country to promote and advocate for fundamental human rights freely.

3. Call on Vietnamese people in the country to exercise and demand their legitimate freedoms stipulated in the Vietnamese constitution and international human rights law.

4. Call on overseas Vietnamese to actively support human rights activities in Vietnam, and support overseas Vietnamese compatriots to participate in mainstream politics to advocate for human rights in Vietnam effectively.

5. Call on religious leaders to encourage all believers to be aware of their responsibility for the fate of the nation, develop patriotism, and seek ways to reduce social injustice.

6. Call on the international community, through diplomacy and economics, to pressure the Vietnamese government to  respect the fundamental human rights that it has committed to implementing.

 

 Little Saigon, California, United States, August 31, 2025.

 

 

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