II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 929 

To impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit in human rights abuses 

committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2013 

Mr. CORNYN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit in 

human rights abuses committed against nationals of 

Vietnam or their family members, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vietnam Human 

5 Rights Sanctions Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The relationship between the United States 

2 and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown 

3 substantially since the end of the trade embargo in 

4 1994, with annual trade between the countries 

5 reaching more than $24,800,000,000 in 2012. 

6 (2) However, the transition by the Government 

7 of Vietnam toward greater economic activity and 

8 trade, which has led to increased bilateral engage9 ment between the United States and Vietnam, has 

10 not been matched by greater political freedom or 

11 substantial improvements in basic human rights for 

12 the people of Vietnam. 

13 (3) Vietnam remains an authoritarian state 

14 ruled by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which 

15 continues to deny the right of the people of Vietnam 

16 to participate in free and fair elections. 

17 (4) According to the Department of State’s 

18 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

19 Vietnam’s ‘‘most significant human rights problems 

20 . . . continued to be severe government restrictions 

21 on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to 

22 change their government; increased measures to 

23 limit citizens’ civil liberties; and corruption in the ju24 dicial system and police’’. 


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1 (5) The Country Reports also state that the 

2 Government of Vietnam ‘‘increasingly limited free3 doms of speech and press and suppressed dissent; 

4 further restricted Internet freedom; reportedly con5 tinued to be involved in attacks against Web sites 

6 containing criticism; maintained spying on dissident 

7 bloggers; and continued to limit privacy rights and 

8 freedoms of assembly, association, and movement’’. 

9 (6) Furthermore, the Department of State doc10 uments that ‘‘arbitrary arrest and detention, par11 ticularly for political activists, remained a problem’’, 

12 with the Government of Vietnam sentencing ‘‘at 

13 least 35 arrested activists during [2012] to a total 

14 of 131 years in jail and 27 years of probation for 

15 exercising their rights’’. 

16 (7) At the end of 2012, the Government of 

17 Vietnam reportedly held more than 120 political 

18 prisoners, and diplomatic sources maintained that 4 

19 reeducation centers in Vietnam held approximately 

20 4,000 prisoners. 

21 (8) On September 24, 2012, 3 prominent Viet22 namese bloggers—Nguyen Van Hai (also known as 

23 Dieu Cay), Ta Phong Tan, and Phan Thanh Hai 

24 (also known as Anh Ba Saigon)—were sentenced to 

25 prison based on 3-year-old blog postings criticizing 


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1 the Government and leaders of Vietnam and the 

2 Communist Party of Vietnam. 

3 (9) United Nations High Commissioner for 

4 Human Rights Navi Pillay responded to the sen5 tencing of the bloggers on September 25, 2012, stat6 ing that ‘‘[t]he harsh prison terms handed down to 

7 bloggers exemplify the severe restrictions on freedom 

8 of expression in Vietnam’’ and calling the sentences 

9 an ‘‘unfortunate development that undermines the 

10 commitments Vietnam has made internationally . . . 

11 to protect and promote the right to freedom of ex12 pression’’. 

13 (10) On March 21, 2013, Deputy Assistant 

14 Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, 

15 and Labor Daniel B. Baer testified before the Sub16 committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the 

17 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that 

18 ‘‘in Vietnam we’ve been disappointed in recent years 

19 to see backsliding, particularly on . . . freedom of ex20 pression issues . . . people are being prosecuted for 

21 what they say online under really draconian national 

22 security laws . . . that is an issue that we continue 

23 to raise, both in our human rights dialogue with the 

24 Vietnamese as well as in other bilateral engage25 ments’’. 


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1 (11) Although the Constitution of Vietnam pro2 vides for freedom of religion, the Department of 

3 State’s 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights 

4 Practices maintains that ‘‘Vietnamese who exercise 

5 their right to freedom of religion continued to be 

6 subject to harassment, differing interpretations and 

7 applications of the law, and inconsistent legal protec8 tion, especially at provincial and village levels’’. 

9 (12) Likewise, the United States Commission 

10 on International Religious Freedom 2013 Annual 

11 Report states that ‘‘[r]eligious freedom conditions 

12 remain very poor’’ in Vietnam and the ‘‘Vietnamese 

13 government continues to imprison individuals for re14 ligious activity or religious freedom advocacy’’ using 

15 a ‘‘specialized religious police force . . . and vague 

16 national security laws to suppress independent Bud17 dhist, Protestant, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai activities, 

18 and seeks to stop the growth of ethnic minority 

19 Protestantism and Catholicism via discrimination, 

20 violence and forced renunciations of their faith’’. 

21 (13) The 2013 Annual Report notes that in 

22 2004 the United States designated Vietnam as a 

23 country of particular concern for religious freedom 

24 pursuant to section 402(b)(1) of the International 

25 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 6442(b)(1)), and that Vietnam responded at that 

2 time by releasing prisoners, prohibiting the policy of 

3 forced renunciations of faith, and expanding protec4 tions for religious groups, and that ‘‘[m]ost religious 

5 leaders in Vietnam attributed these positive changes 

6 to the [country of particular concern] designation 

7 and the priority placed on religious freedom con8 cerns in U.S.-Vietnamese bilateral relations’’. 

9 (14) However, the 2013 Annual Report con10 cludes that since the designation as a country of 

11 particular concern was lifted from Vietnam in 2006, 

12 ‘‘religious freedom conditions in Vietnam remain 

13 mixed’’, and therefore recommends to the Depart14 ment of State that Vietnam should be redesignated 

15 as a country of particular concern. 

16 (15) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Baer 

17 likewise testified that ‘‘[i]n Vietnam the right to reli18 gious freedom, which seemed to be improving several 

19 years ago, has been stagnant for several years’’. 

20 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN INDIVID21 UALS WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN HUMAN 

22 RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST NA23 TIONALS OF VIETNAM OR THEIR FAMILY 

24 MEMBERS. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN; IMMIGRATION LAWS; NA2 TIONAL; SPOUSE.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’, ‘‘alien’’, 

3 ‘‘immigration laws’’, ‘‘national’’, and ‘‘spouse’’ have 

4 the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Finance, the Com10 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af11 fairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, 

14 the Committee on Financial Services, and the 

15 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

16 Representatives. 

17 (3) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—The 

18 term ‘‘Convention against Torture’’ means the 

19 United Nations Convention against Torture and 

20 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

21 Punishment, done at New York on December 10, 

22 1984. 

23 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

24 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 


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1 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law2 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

3 United States; or 

4 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

5 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

6 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

7 such an entity. 

8 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Except as provided 

9 in subsections (e) and (f), the President shall impose the 

10 sanctions described in subsection (d) with respect to each 

11 individual on the list required by subsection (c)(1). 

12 (c) LIST OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN

13 CERTAIN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

16 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com17 mittees a list of individuals who are nationals of 

18 Vietnam that the President determines are complicit 

19 in human rights abuses committed against nationals 

20 of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of 

21 whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam. 

22 (2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

23 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 an updated list under paragraph (1) as new inforVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 14, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S929.IS S929

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1 mation becomes available and not less frequently 

2 than annually. 

3 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list required 

4 by paragraph (1) shall be made available to the pub5 lic and posted on the Web sites of the Department 

6 of the Treasury and the Department of State. 

7 (4) CONSIDERATION OF DATA FROM OTHER

8 COUNTRIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA9 TIONS.—In preparing the list required by paragraph 

10 (1), the President shall consider data already ob11 tained by other countries and nongovernmental orga12 nizations, including organizations in Vietnam, that 

13 monitor the human rights abuses of the Government 

14 of Vietnam. 

15 (d) SANCTIONS.— 

16 (1) PROHIBITION ON ENTRY AND ADMISSION TO

17 THE UNITED STATES.—An individual on the list re18 quired by subsection (c)(1) may not— 

19 (A) be admitted to, enter, or transit 

20 through the United States; 

21 (B) receive any lawful immigration status 

22 in the United States under the immigration 

23 laws, including any relief under the Convention 

24 Against Torture; or 


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1 (C) file any application or petition to ob2 tain such admission, entry, or status. 

3 (2) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS.—The President 

4 shall freeze and prohibit all transactions in all prop5 erty and interests in property of an individual on the 

6 list required by subsection (c)(1) if such property 

7 and interests in property are in the United States, 

8 come within the United States, or are or come with9 in the possession or control of a United States per10 son. 

11 (e) EXCEPTIONS TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL

12 AGREEMENTS.—The President may, by regulation, au13 thorize exceptions to the imposition of sanctions under this 

14 section to permit the United States to comply with the 

15 Agreement between the United Nations and the United 

16 States of America regarding the Headquarters of the 

17 United Nations, signed June 26, 1947, and entered into 

18 force November 21, 1947, and other applicable inter19 national agreements. 

20 (f) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require21 ment to impose or maintain sanctions with respect to an 

22 individual under subsection (b) or the requirement to in23 clude an individual on the list required by subsection 

24 (c)(1) if the President— 


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1 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na2 tional interest of the United States; and 

3 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

4 committees a report describing the reasons for the 

5 determination. 

6 (g) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The provisions of 

7 this section shall terminate on the date on which the Presi8 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate congres9 sional committees that the Government of Vietnam has— 

10 (1) unconditionally released all political pris11 oners; 

12 (2) ceased its practices of violence, unlawful de13 tention, torture, and abuse of nationals of Vietnam 

14 while those nationals are engaging in peaceful polit15 ical activity; and 

16 (3) conducted a transparent investigation into 

17 the killings, arrest, and abuse of peaceful political 

18 activists in Vietnam and prosecuted those respon19 sible. 

20 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DESIGNATION OF VIET21 NAM AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CON22 CERN WITH RESPECT TO RELIGIOUS FREE23 DOM. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) the relationship between the United States 

2 and Vietnam cannot progress while the record of the 

3 Government of Vietnam with respect to human 

4 rights and the rule of law continues to deteriorate; 

5 (2) the designation of Vietnam as a country of 

6 particular concern for religious freedom pursuant to 

7 section 402(b)(1) of the International Religious 

8 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)) would 

9 be a powerful and effective tool in highlighting 

10 abuses of religious freedom in Vietnam and in en11 couraging improvement in the respect for human 

12 rights in Vietnam; and 

13 (3) the Secretary of State should, in accordance 

14 with the recommendation of the United States Com15 mission on International Religious Freedom, des16 ignate Vietnam as a country of particular concern 

17 for religious freedom. 

Æ 


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