103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 216

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas President Clinton on October 19, 1992, promised to

the American/Vietnam community ‘‘it is my firm belief

that the issue of human rights should be a part of the

discussion when addressing the issue of normalization

with Vietnam’’;

Whereas the ‘‘road map’’ established between the United

States Government and the Government of Vietnam did

not mention provisions for human rights or democracy as

a precondition for lifting the embargo and normalizing

relations with Vietnam;
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Whereas Vietnam remains one of the last communist countries in the world and maintains one of the most repressive political and social systems and the Vietnamese people are deprived of their basic human rights;

Whereas Vietnam has released from labor camps large numbers of persons suspected of disloyalty or having ties to

the South Vietnamese government, and yet has

rearrested and incarcerated some of these former prisoners and many other individuals for nonviolent political

and religious advocacy;

Whereas one of the most repressed people in Vietnam are the

ethnic minorities known as the Montagnards whose traditions, culture, and religious beliefs continue to be eradicated through policies such as the destruction of tribal

villages comprised of ethnic Vietnamese migrants for the

purposes of forced assimilation;

Whereas free expression is denied in Vietnam (for example,

independent radio and television stations, newspapers,

performing artists, book publishers, writers, artists, and

journalists are forced to conform to government approval

or censorship);

Whereas the poet Nguyen Chi Thien, a recognized Amnesty

International Prisoner of Conscience in northern Vietnam

for the past 27 years, is still denied the right of expression and remains under close government surveillance;

Whereas most South Vietnamese writers and poets have been

denied the right to publish or compose since 1975;

Whereas the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution still designates

the Communist Party as the ‘‘force leading the state and

society’’;
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Whereas Vietnam’s criminal law is used to punish nonviolent

advocates of political pluralism, through charges such as

‘‘attempting to overthrow the people’s government’’ or

‘‘antisocialist propaganda’’;

Whereas participants in independent democratic parties and

movements have been subjected to harsh repression (for

example, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, the leader of the NonViolent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam; Professor Doan Viet Hoat of the Freedom Forum; and Nguyen

Dinh Huy of the Movement to Unite the People and

Build Democracy);

Whereas even nonviolent political movements for democracy

consisting of former National Liberation Front members

such as the League of Former Revolutionaries have been

repressed and its leaders, Nguyen Ho and Ta Ba Tong,

remain under house arrest;

Whereas prominent leaders from the Buddhist, Catholic, Cao

Dai, Hoa Hao, and Protestant faiths are in prison or

under house arrest for expressing their religious beliefs;

Whereas 4 monks of the Unified Buddhist Church were tried

and convicted on charges of instigating public disorder on

November 15, 1993, in relation to a massive demonstration in Hue protesting police detention and harassment

of major church leaders;

Whereas Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, head of the United

Buddhist Church, is under house arrest and under strict

surveillance by security police; and

Whereas Catholic and Protestant clerics and lay people are

imprisoned for conducting unauthorized religious activities, including religious education classes and social programs: Now, therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the Department of State, in its formal

4 human rights dialogue with Vietnam (which was an5 nounced by the United States and Vietnam on Janu6 ary 10, 1994), should place a high priority on seek7 ing—

8 (A) the release of all nonviolent political

9 prisoners, and

10 (B) reforms in Vietnam’s legal procedures

11 and practices to bring them into conformity

12 with international human rights standards;

13 (2) the Secretary of State should submit a

14 progress report on this dialogue to the Congress

15 within 6 months of the date on which this resolution

16 is adopted by the Congress;

17 (3) the United States should actively support

18 resolutions at the United Nations Commission on

19 Human Rights expressing concern about the impris20 onment of nonviolent political and religious dis21 sidents in Vietnam;

22 (4) the United States should urge the Govern23 ment of Vietnam to invite international humani24 tarian organizations to provide their confidential hu25 manitarian services to prisoners in Vietnam, as a
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1 step towards improving their treatment and the poor

2 condition of imprisonment;

3 (5) the United States should consult with its al4 lies, including Japan, Australia, Canada, and the

5 European Community, to coordinate international

6 public and private appeals for improvement in

7 human rights in Vietnam, drawing attention to the

8 statement issued by the World Bank-convened do9 nors’ conference in Paris on November 10, 1993,

10 that notes that economic and social development in

11 Vietnam require ‘‘more attention to democratization

12 and the promotion of human rights’’ by the Govern13 ment of Vietnam; and

14 (6) in United States bilateral relations with the

15 Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the President should

16 place a high priority on the following concerns, and

17 should assess the progress that has occurred on

18 them before taking steps to complete the full nor19 malization of relations with Vietnam—

20 (A) whether article 4 of the Vietnamese

21 constitution and any other articles concerning

22 ‘‘democratic centralism’’ and ‘‘the leading role

23 of the communist party’’ (guaranteeing the per24 manent rule of the Communist Party of Viet25 nam) are repealed;
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1 (B) whether article 69 of the Vietnamese

2 constitution which strictly controls all religious

3 activity including each individual’s right to wor4 ship, teach and publish religious materials is re5 pealed, and all Vietnamese regulations, codes,

6 and constitutional provisions prohibiting free

7 expression, or denying the freedoms of associa8 tion or religious worship, are eliminated; and

9 (C) whether the Vietnamese Government

10 and the Communist Party of Vietnam make for11 mal commitments to permit free and fair elec12 tions, so that the citizens of the country may

13 determine the future leadership and orientation

14 of their government.

Passed the House of Representatives October 5,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 216

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding human

rights in Vietnam.