H. Res. 243 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

May 2, 2007. 

Whereas, on February 18, 2007, Vietnamese police raided 

the parish house of Father Nguyen Van Ly and confiscated computers, telephones, more than 100 mobile 

phone cards, and more than 200 kilograms of documents; 

Whereas the police moved Father Ly to the remote location 

of Ben Cui in central Vietnam, where he is under house 

arrest; 

Whereas Father Ly is a former prisoner of conscience, having 

spent a total of over 13 years in prison since 1983 for 

his advocacy of religious freedom and democracy in Vietnam; 

Whereas Father Ly is an advisor of ‘‘Block 8406’’, a democracy movement that started in April 2006 when hundreds 

of people throughout Vietnam signed public petitions calling for democracy and human rights; 

Whereas Father Ly is also an advisor of a new political 

party, the Vietnam Progression Party, and one of the primary editors of ‘‘Freedom of Speech’’ magazine; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police arrested one 

of Vietnam’s few practicing human rights lawyers, 

Nguyen Van Dai, who has defended individuals arrested 

for their human rights and religious activities, is the co- 
2 

•HRES 243 EH 

founder of the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam, 

and is one of the principal organizers of the Block 8406 

democracy movement; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police also arrested 

Le Thi Cong Nhan, a human rights lawyer, a member of 

‘‘Block 8406’’, the principal spokesperson for the Progression Party, and a founder of the Vietnamese Labor 

Movement; 

Whereas Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, and Le Thi Cong 

Nhan have been charged with disseminating propaganda 

against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under article 

88 of the Penal Code of Vietnam; 

Whereas Father Ly was tried and convicted on March 30, 

2007, and sentenced to 8 years in prison; 

Whereas if convicted, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong each 

could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison; 

Whereas Le Quoc Quan is a lawyer who traveled to the 

United States in September 2006 to research civil society 

development as a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National 

Endowment for Democracy; 

Whereas Le Quoc Quan returned to Vietnam in early March 

2007 and was arrested by Hanoi police on March 8, 

2007; 

Whereas Le Quoc Quan has been charged under Article 79 

of the Penal Code of Vietnam which prohibits activities 

aimed at overthrowing the Government and carries extremely severe prison terms and even the death penalty; 

Whereas in none of their activities have Father Ly, Nguyen 

Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, or Le Quoc Quan advocated or engaged in violence; 
3 

•HRES 243 EH 

Whereas the arrest of and charges against Father Ly, 

Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan 

violate Article 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution, which 

states that ‘‘The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion 

and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be informed and the right to assemble, form associations and 

hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of 

the law’’; 

Whereas Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, 

and Le Quoc Quan have been arrested and charged in 

contravention of the rights enshrined in the International 

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which 

Vietnam is a state party, specifically Article 18 (freedom 

of religion), Article 19 (freedom of expression) and Article 22 (freedom of association); 

Whereas Vietnam recently has imprisoned, detained, placed 

under house arrest, or otherwise restricted numerous 

other peaceful democratic and religious activists for reasons related to their political or religious views, including 

Nguyen Binh Thanh, Nguyen Phong, Nguyen Ngoc 

Quang, Nguyen Vu Binh, Huynh Trung Dao, Nguyen 

Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doang Huy Chuong, 

Doan Van Dien, Le Ba Triet, Nguyen Tuan, Bui Kim 

Thanh and Tran Quoc Hien; 

Whereas the United States Congress agreed to Vietnam becoming an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2006, amidst assurances that the Vietnamese Government was steadily improving its human 

rights record and would continue to do so; 

Whereas the group of Asian countries at the United Nations 

have nominated Vietnam as the sole regional candidate 

for a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security 
4 

•HRES 243 EH 

Council for the 2008–2009 biennium, and pursuant to 

the United Nations Charter, Vietnam would be required 

to discharge its duties in accordance with the purposes of 

the United Nations, including the promotion and encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental 

freedoms for all; and 

Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the 

human rights of citizens of Vietnam are sources of continuing, grave concern to Congress, and the arrests of 

Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le 

Quoc Quan are part of a trend toward increasing oppression of human rights advocates in Vietnam: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That— 

(1) the House of Representatives— 

(A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary arrests of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, 

Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and 

calls for their immediate and unconditional release 

and the dropping of all criminal charges, and for 

the immediate and unconditional release of all other 

political and religious prisoners; 

(B) condemns and deplores the violations of 

the freedoms of speech, religion, movement, association, and the lack of due process afforded to individuals in Vietnam; 
5 

•HRES 243 EH 

(C) challenges the qualifications of Vietnam to 

be a member of the United Nations Security Council, unless the Government of Vietnam begins immediately to respect human rights and fundamental 

freedoms for all within its own borders; and 

(D) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam 

to consider the implications of its actions for the 

broader relationship between the United States and 

Vietnam; and 

(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives 

that the United States should— 

(A) make a top concern the immediate release, 

legal status, and humanitarian needs of Father 

Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong 

Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan; 

(B) use funds from the newly created Human 

Rights Defenders Fund of the Department of State 

to assist with the legal defense and the needs of the 

families and dependents of Father Ly, Nguyen Van 

Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan; 

(C) continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to comply with internationally recognized 

standards for basic freedoms and human rights; 

(D) make clear to the Government of Vietnam 

that it must adhere to the rule of law and respect 
6 

•HRES 243 EH 

the freedom of religion and expression in order to 

broaden its relations with the United States; 

(E) make clear to the Government of Vietnam 

that the detention of Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, 

Le Thi Cong Nhan, Le Quoc Quan, and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and other 

human rights violations are not in the best interest 

of Vietnam because they create obstacles to improved bilateral relations and cooperation with the 

United States; 

(F) examine current human rights violations 

by the Vietnamese Government and consider re-imposing on Vietnam the ‘‘country of particular concern’’ (CPC) designation, which was removed on 

November 13, 2006, pursuant to the International 

Religious Freedom Act of 1998; and 

(G) in order to advance these freedoms and 

rights, and to strengthen the long-term relationship 

between the United States and Vietnam, initiate 

new foreign assistance programs to advance the capacity and networking abilities of Vietnamese civil 

society, including— 

(i) rule of law programs to train Vietnamese human rights lawyers, judges, aca-
7 

•HRES 243 EH 

demics, and students about international 

human rights law; 

(ii) public diplomacy initiatives to inform 

and teach Vietnamese citizens about international human rights norms and responsibilities; and 

(iii) projects that support organizations 

and associations that promote the freedom of 

religion, speech, assembly, and association. 

Attest: 

Clerk.