I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1969 

To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. CAO, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. 

ROHRABACHER, and Mr. PENCE) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 

Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 


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TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN 

ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

Sec. 101. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance. 

TITLE II—PROHIBITION ON GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 

PREFERENCES AUTHORITY FOR VIETNAM 

Sec. 201. Prohibition on Generalized System of Preferences. 

TITLE III—ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 301. Assistance. 

TITLE IV—UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

Sec. 401. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam. 

Sec. 402. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with Vietnam. 

TITLE V—UNITED STATES REFUGEE POLICY 

Sec. 501. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam. 

TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM 

AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 601. Annual report. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The relationship between the United States 

4 and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown 

5 substantially since the end of the trade embargo in 

6 1994, with annual trade between the 2 countries 

7 reaching over $15,200,000,000 in 2008. 

8 (2) The Government of Vietnam’s transition to9 ward greater economic freedom and trade has not 

10 been matched by greater political freedom and sub11 stantial improvements in basic human rights for Vi12 etnamese citizens, including freedom of religion, ex13 pression, association, and assembly. 


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1 (3) The United States Congress agreed to Viet2 nam becoming an official member of the World 

3 Trade Organization in 2006, amidst assurances that 

4 the Government of Vietnam was steadily improving 

5 its human rights record and would continue to do so. 

6 (4) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled 

7 and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam 

8 (CPV), which continues to deny the right of citizens 

9 to change their government. 

10 (5) Although in recent years the National As11 sembly of Vietnam has played an increasingly active 

12 role as a forum for highlighting local concerns, cor13 ruption, and inefficiency, the National Assembly re14 mains subject to the direction of the CPV and the 

15 CPV maintains control over the selection of can16 didates in national and local elections. 

17 (6) The Government of Vietnam forbids public 

18 challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state, re19 stricts freedoms of opinion, the press, and associa20 tion and tightly limits access to the Internet and 

21 telecommunication. 

22 (7) Since Vietnam’s accession to the WTO on 

23 January 11, 2007, the Government of Vietnam arbi24 trarily arrested and imprisoned several individuals 

25 for their peaceful advocacy of democracy, including 


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1 Father Nguyen Van Ly and human rights lawyers 

2 Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan. 

3 (8) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

4 detain, imprison, place under house arrest, convict, 

5 or otherwise restrict persons for the peaceful expres6 sion of dissenting political or religious views. 

7 (9) The Government of Vietnam has also failed 

8 to improve labor rights, continues to arrest and har9 ass labor leaders, and restricts the right to organize 

10 independently. 

11 (10) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

12 limit freedom of religion and restrict the operation 

13 of religious organizations. 

14 (11) Despite reported progress in church open15 ings and legal registrations of religious venues, the 

16 Government of Vietnam has halted most positive ac17 tions since the Department of State lifted the ‘‘coun18 try of particular concern’’ (CPC) designation for 

19 Vietnam in November 2006. 

20 (12) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant 

21 congregations suffer severe abuses because of actions 

22 by the Government of Vietnam, which have included 

23 forced renunciations of faith, arrest and harassment, 

24 the withholding of social programs provided for the 


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1 general population, confiscation and destruction of 

2 property, and subjection to severe beatings. 

3 (13) During a peaceful Catholic prayer vigil for 

4 the return of government confiscated church prop5 erties, protestors were dispersed after being har6 assed, some were detained, and some of the property 

7 was destroyed. Catholics continue to face some re8 strictions on selection of clergy, the establishment of 

9 seminaries and seminary candidates, and restrictions 

10 on individual cases of travel and church registration. 

11 (14) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 

12 (UBCV) suffers persecutions as the Government of 

13 Vietnam continues to restrict contacts and move14 ment of senior UBCV clergy for refusing to join the 

15 state sponsored Buddhist organizations, the Govern16 ment restricts expression and assembly, and the 

17 Government continues to harass and threaten UBCV 

18 monks, nuns, and youth leaders. 

19 (15) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

20 suppress the activities of other religious adherents, 

21 including Cao Dai and Hoa Hao who lack official 

22 recognition or have chosen not to affiliate with the 

23 state-sanctioned groups, including through the use 

24 of detention and imprisonment. 


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1 (16) During Easter weekend in April 2004, 

2 thousands of Montagnards gathered to protest their 

3 treatment by the Government of Vietnam, including 

4 the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restric5 tions on religious activities. Credible reports indicate 

6 that the protests were met with violent response as 

7 many demonstrators were arrested, injured, went 

8 into hiding, and that others were killed. Many of 

9 these Montagnards are still serving long sentences 

10 for their involvement in peaceful demonstrations in 

11 2001 and 2004. Government officials continue to se12 verely restrict Montagnard movement and prohibit 

13 them from seeking asylum in Cambodia. 

14 (17) Ethnic minority Hmong in the Northwest 

15 Highlands of Vietnam also suffer restrictions, 

16 abuses, and persecution by the Government of Viet17 nam, and although the Government is now allowing 

18 some Hmong Protestants to organize and conduct 

19 religious activity, some government officials continue 

20 to deny or ignore additional applications for reg21 istration. 

22 (18) On February 8, 2007, the Government of 

23 Vietnam arrested and defrocked several ethnic 

24 Khmer Buddhists in response to a peaceful religious 

25 protest. The Government continues to restrict 


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1 Khmer Krom expression, assembly, association, and 

2 controls all religious organizations and prohibits 

3 most peaceful protests. 

4 (19) The Government of Vietnam controls all 

5 print and electronic media, including access to the 

6 Internet, jams the signals of some foreign radio sta7 tions, including Radio Free Asia, and has detained 

8 and imprisoned individuals who have posted, pub9 lished, sent, or otherwise distributed democracy-re10 lated materials. 

11 (20) People arrested in Vietnam because of 

12 their political or religious affiliations and activities 

13 often are not accorded due legal process as they lack 

14 full access to lawyers of their choice, may experience 

15 closed trials, have often been detained for years 

16 without trial, and have been subjected to the use of 

17 torture to admit crimes they did not commit or to 

18 falsely denounce their own leaders. 

19 (21) Vietnam continues to be a source country 

20 for the commercial sexual exploitation and forced 

21 labor of women and girls, for men and women legally 

22 entering into international labor contracts who sub23 sequently face conditions of debt bondage or forced 

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1 ficking and continues to have internal human traf2 ficking. 

3 (22) Although the Government of Vietnam is 

4 making progress in combating human trafficking, it 

5 does not fully comply with the minimum standards 

6 for the elimination of trafficking. 

7 (23) United States refugee resettlement pro8 grams, including the Humanitarian Resettlement 

9 (HR) Program, the Orderly Departure Program 

10 (ODP), Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese 

11 Returnees (ROVR) Program, general resettlement of 

12 boat people from refugee camps throughout South13 east Asia, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, 

14 and the Priority One Refugee resettlement category 

15 have helped rescue Vietnamese nationals who have 

16 suffered persecution on account of their associations 

17 with the United States as well as Vietnamese nation18 als who have been persecuted because of race, reli19 gion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in 

20 a particular social group. 

21 (24) While previous programs have served their 

22 purposes well, a significant number of eligible refu23 gees from Vietnam were unfairly denied or excluded, 

24 including Amerasians, in some cases by vindictive or 

25 corrupt Vietnamese officials who controlled access to 


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1 the programs, and in others by United States per2 sonnel who imposed unduly restrictive interpreta3 tions of program criteria. In addition, the Govern4 ment of Vietnam has denied passports to persons 

5 who the United States has found eligible for refugee 

6 admission. 

7 (25) Congress has passed numerous resolutions 

8 condemning human rights abuses in Vietnam, indi9 cating that although there has been an expansion of 

10 relations with the Government of Vietnam, it should 

11 not be construed as approval of the ongoing and se12 rious violations of fundamental human rights in 

13 Vietnam. 

14 (26) Enhancement of relations between the 

15 United States and Vietnam has proved an oppor16 tunity for a human rights dialogue and could lead to 

17 future progress on human rights issues in Vietnam. 

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

19 The purpose of this Act is to promote the develop20 ment of freedom and democracy in Vietnam. 


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1 TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON IN2 CREASED NONHUMANI3 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 

4 GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

5 SEC. 101. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub8 section (b), the Federal Government may not pro9 vide nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government 

10 of Vietnam during any fiscal year in an amount that 

11 exceeds the amount of such assistance provided dur12 ing fiscal year 2009 unless— 

13 (A) the Federal Government provides as14 sistance, in addition to the assistance author15 ized under section 301(b), supporting the cre16 ation and facilitation of human rights training, 

17 civil society capacity building, noncommercial 

18 rule of law programming, and exchange pro19 grams between the Vietnamese National Assem20 bly and the United States Congress at levels 

21 commensurate with, or exceeding, any increases 

22 in nonhumanitarian assistance to Vietnam; 

23 (B) with respect to the limitation for fiscal 

24 year 2010, the President determines and cer25 tifies to Congress, not later than 30 days after 


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1 the date of the enactment of this Act, that the 

2 requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (G) 

3 of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12- 

4 month period ending on the date of the certifi5 cation; and 

6 (C) with respect to the limitation for sub7 sequent fiscal years, the President determines 

8 and certifies to Congress, in the most recent 

9 annual report submitted pursuant to section 

10 601, that the requirements of subparagraphs 

11 (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) have been 

12 met during the 12-month period covered by the 

13 report. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this 

15 paragraph are the following: 

16 (A) The Government of Vietnam has made 

17 substantial progress toward releasing all polit18 ical and religious prisoners from imprisonment, 

19 house arrest, and other forms of detention. 

20 (B) The Government of Vietnam has made 

21 substantial progress toward— 

22 (i) respecting the right to freedom of 

23 religion, including the right to participate 

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1 ment of the Government, for all of Viet2 nam’s diverse religious communities; and 

3 (ii) returning estates and properties 

4 confiscated from the churches and religious 

5 communities. 

6 (C) The Government of Vietnam has made 

7 substantial progress toward respecting the right 

8 to freedom of expression, assembly, and associa9 tion, including the release of independent jour10 nalists, bloggers, and democracy and labor ac11 tivists. 

12 (D) The Government of Vietnam has made 

13 substantial progress toward repealing or revis14 ing laws that criminalize peaceful dissent, inde15 pendent media, unsanctioned religious activity, 

16 and nonviolent demonstrations and rallies, in 

17 accordance with international standards and 

18 treaties to which Vietnam is a party. 

19 (E) The Government of Vietnam has made 

20 substantial progress toward allowing Viet21 namese nationals free and open access to 

22 United States refugee programs. 

23 (F) The Government of Vietnam has made 

24 substantial progress toward respecting the 


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1 human rights of members of all ethnic and mi2 nority groups. 

3 (G) Neither any official of the Government 

4 of Vietnam nor any agency or entity wholly or 

5 partly owned by the Government of Vietnam 

6 was complicit in a severe form of trafficking in 

7 persons, or the Government of Vietnam took all 

8 appropriate steps to end any such complicity 

9 and hold such official, agency, or entity fully 

10 accountable for its conduct. 

11 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

12 (1) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE IN THE NA13 TIONAL INTEREST.—Notwithstanding the failure of 

14 the Government of Vietnam to meet the require15 ments of subsection (a)(2), the President may waive 

16 the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year 

17 if the President determines that the provision to the 

18 Government of Vietnam of increased nonhumani19 tarian assistance would promote the purpose of this 

20 Act or is otherwise in the national interest of the 

21 United States. 

22 (2) EXERCISE OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

23 President may exercise the authority under para24 graph (1) with respect to— 


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1 (A) all United States nonhumanitarian as2 sistance to Vietnam; or 

3 (B) one or more programs, projects, or ac4 tivities of such assistance. 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The 

7 term ‘‘nonhumanitarian assistance’’ means— 

8 (A) any assistance under the Foreign As9 sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under 

10 title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relat11 ing to the Overseas Private Investment Cor12 poration), other than— 

13 (i) disaster relief assistance, including 

14 any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 

15 that Act; 

16 (ii) assistance which involves the pro17 vision of food (including monetization of 

18 food) or medicine; 

19 (iii) assistance for refugees; and 

20 (iv) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, 

21 including any assistance under section 

22 104A of that Act; and 

23 (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under 

24 the Arms Export Control Act. 


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1 (2) SEVERE FORMS OF TRAFFICKING IN PER2 SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per3 sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8) 

4 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

5 (Public Law 106–386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 U.S.C. 

6 7102(8)). 

7 TITLE II—PROHIBITION ON GEN8 ERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREF9 ERENCES AUTHORITY FOR 

10 VIETNAM 

11 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 

12 PREFERENCES. 

13 (a) PROHIBITION.—The President may not provide 

14 duty-free treatment for eligible articles from Vietnam 

15 under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 

16 et seq.) until the President determines and certifies to 

17 Congress that the Government of Vietnam meets the re18 quirements described in subsection (b). 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements described in 

20 this subsection are the following: 

21 (1) The Government of Vietnam fully protects 

22 the freedom of association, in law and practice. 

23 (2) The Government of Vietnam does not en24 gage in or condone serious violations of the rights of 

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1 rest of labor activists or individuals who write, 

2 speak, or otherwise disseminate information relating 

3 to labor rights. 

4 TITLE III—ASSISTANCE TO SUP5 PORT DEMOCRACY IN VIET6 NAM 

7 SEC. 301. ASSISTANCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

9 provide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental 

10 organizations and the Human Rights Defenders Fund, for 

11 the support of individuals and organizations to promote 

12 internationally recognized human rights in Vietnam. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry 

15 out subsection (a) $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

16 2010 and 2011. 

17 TITLE IV—UNITED STATES 

18 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

19 SEC. 401. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIETNAM. 

20 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol21 icy of the United States to take such measures as are nec22 essary to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by 

23 the Government of Vietnam. 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi25 tion to such amounts as are otherwise authorized to be 


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1 appropriated for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, 

2 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 

3 policy under subsection (a) $12,5000,000 for the fiscal 

4 year 2010 and $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

5 SEC. 402. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 

6 EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIETNAM. 

7 It is the policy of the United States that programs 

8 of educational and cultural exchange with Vietnam should 

9 actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy 

10 in Vietnam by providing opportunities to Vietnamese na11 tionals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 

12 to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by en13 suring that Vietnamese nationals who have already dem14 onstrated a commitment to these values are included in 

15 such programs. 

16 TITLE V—UNITED STATES 

17 REFUGEE POLICY 

18 SEC. 501. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF 

19 VIETNAM. 

20 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol21 icy of the United States to offer refugee resettlement to 

22 nationals of Vietnam (including members of the 

23 Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for 

24 the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), the Humani25 tarian Resettlement (HR) Program, the Resettlement OpVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:13 Apr 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1969.IH H1969

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1 portunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) Program, 

2 the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other 

3 United States refugee program and who were deemed in4 eligible due to administrative error or who for reasons be5 yond the control of such individuals (including insufficient 

6 or contradictory information or the inability to pay bribes 

7 demanded by officials of the Government of Vietnam) were 

8 unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance 

9 with deadlines imposed by the Department of State. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—Of the amounts au11 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of State 

12 for Migration and Refugee Assistance for each of the fiscal 

13 years 2010, 2011, and 2012, such sums as may be nec14 essary are authorized to be made available for the protec15 tion (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Viet16 namese refugees and asylum seekers, including 

17 Montagnards and ethnic Khmer in Cambodia and Thai18 land. 

19 TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORT ON 

20 PROGRESS TOWARD FREE21 DOM AND DEMOCRACY IN 

22 VIETNAM 

23 SEC. 601. ANNUAL REPORT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act and every 12 months 


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1 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Con2 gress a report on the following: 

3 (1) The determination and certification of the 

4 President that the requirements of subparagraphs 

5 (A) through (G) of section 101(a)(2) have been met, 

6 if applicable. 

7 (2) Steps taken to carry out section 

8 101(a)(1)(A), if applicable. 

9 (3) Efforts by the United States Government to 

10 secure transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in 

11 countries in close geographical proximity to Vietnam 

12 in accordance with section 401(a). 

13 (4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet14 nam promote the policy set forth in section 402 and 

15 with section 105 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and 

16 Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996 regard17 ing participation in programs of educational and cul18 tural exchange. 

19 (5) Steps taken to carry out the policy under 

20 section 501(a). 

21 (6) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, 

22 detained, or placed under house arrest, tortured, or 

23 otherwise persecuted by the Government of Vietnam 

24 due to their pursuit of internationally recognized 

25 human rights. In compiling such lists, the Secretary 


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1 shall exercise appropriate discretion, including con2 cerns regarding the safety and security of, and ben3 efit to, the persons who may be included on the lists 

4 and their families. In addition, the Secretary shall 

5 include a list of such persons and their families who 

6 may qualify for protections under United States ref7 ugee programs. 

8 (7) A description of the development of the rule 

9 of law in Vietnam, including— 

10 (A) progress toward the development of in11 stitutions of democratic governance; 

12 (B) processes by which statutes, regula13 tions, rules, and other legal acts of the Govern14 ment of Vietnam are developed and become 

15 binding within Vietnam; 

16 (C) the extent to which statutes, regula17 tions, rules, administrative and judicial deci18 sions, and other legal acts of the Government of 

19 Vietnam are published and are made accessible 

20 to the public; 

21 (D) the extent to which administrative and 

22 judicial decisions are supported by statements 

23 of reasons that are based upon written statutes, 

24 regulations, rules, and other legal acts of the 

25 Government of Vietnam; 


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1 (E) the extent to which individuals are 

2 treated equally under the laws of Vietnam with3 out regard to citizenship, race, religion, political 

4 opinion, or current or former associations; 

5 (F) the extent to which administrative and 

6 judicial decisions are independent of political 

7 pressure or governmental interference and are 

8 reviewed by entities of appellate jurisdiction; 

9 and 

10 (G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam 

11 are written and administered in ways that are 

12 consistent with international human rights 

13 standards, including the requirements of the 

14 International Covenant on Civil and Political 

15 Rights. 

16 (b) CONTACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In 

17 preparing the report under subsection (a), the Secretary 

18 shall, as appropriate, seek out and maintain contacts with 

19 nongovernmental organizations and human rights advo20 cates (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights 

21 advocates in Vietnam), including receiving reports and up22 dates from such organizations and evaluating such re23 ports. The Secretary shall also seek to consult with the 


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1 United States Commission on International Religious 

2 Freedom for appropriate sections of the report. 

Æ 


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