I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6432 

To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2010 

Mr. CAO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

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 Democracy Promotion Act of 2010’’. 

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. 

TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY 

IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 101. Authorization of assistance. 

Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations. 


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TITLE II—UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND REFUGEE 

POLICY 

Sec. 201. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam. 

Sec. 202. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with Vietnam. 

Sec. 203. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam. 

TITLE III—CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN 

ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

Sec. 301. Conditions. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Effective date. 

TITLE IV—ANNUAL REPORT ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN 

VIETNAM 

Sec. 401. Annual report. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

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 countries 

7 reaching more than $15,200,000,000 in 2008. 

8 (2) The transition of the Government of Viet9 nam toward greater economic activity and trade has 

10 not been matched by greater political freedom and 

11 substantial improvements in basic human rights for 

12 the citizens of Vietnam, including freedom of reli13 gion, expression, association, and assembly. 

14 (3) The United States Congress agreed to Viet15 nam becoming an official member of the World 

16 Trade Organization in 2006, amidst assurances that 


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1 the Government of Vietnam was steadily improving 

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

3 (4) Despite assurances that Vietnam’s accession 

4 to the World Trade Organization would be met with 

5 greater respect for human rights, the Government of 

6 Vietnam has continued to strictly regulate some reli7 gious practices and to imprison or put under house 

8 arrest an undetermined number of individuals for 

9 their peaceful advocacy of political views or religious 

10 beliefs, including Father Nguyen Van Ly, Tran 

11 Huynh Duy Thuc, Nguyen Tien Trung, Le Thang 

12 Long, Tran Duc Thach, Tran Anh Kim, Pham Van 

13 Troi, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Nguyen Van Tuc, 

14 Nguyen Manh Son, Nguyen Manh Tinh, Ngo 

15 Quynh, Nguyen Kim Nhan, Truong Minh Duc, 

16 Nguyen Van Hai, Vu Hung, Tran Khai Thanh 

17 Thuy, and Pham Thanh Nghien, and human rights 

18 lawyers, Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Van Dai, and Le 

19 Thi Cong Nhan. Others arrested during 2010 are 

20 being held incommunicado, including Cu Huy Ha 

21 Vu, Pham Minh Hoang, Phan Thanh Hai, and Vi 

22 Duc Hoi. 

23 (5) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled 

24 and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam, 


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1 which continues to deny the right of citizens to 

2 change their government. 

3 (6) Although in recent years the National As4 sembly of Vietnam has on occasion played a role as 

5 a forum for highlighting local concerns, corruption, 

6 and inefficiency, the National Assembly remains sub7 ject to the direction of the Communist Party of Viet8 nam and that party maintains control over the selec9 tion of candidates in national and local elections. 

10 (7) The Government of Vietnam forbids public 

11 challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state, re12 stricts freedoms of opinion, the press, assembly, and 

13 association, and tightly limits access to the Internet 

14 and telecommunication. Cyberattacks originating 

15 from Vietnam-based servers have disabled dissident 

16 websites and the Government of Vietnam introduced 

17 new restrictions on public internet shops while con18 tinuing to restrict access to numerous overseas and 

19 domestic blogs, news sites, and other websites per20 ceived to carry content critical of the Government of 

21 Vietnam. 

22 (8) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

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

24 and otherwise restrict individuals for the peaceful 

25 expression of dissenting political or religious views, 


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1 including democracy and human rights activists, 

2 independent trade union leaders, non-state-sanc3 tioned publishers, journalists, bloggers, members of 

4 ethnic minorities, and unsanctioned religious groups. 

5 (9) The Government of Vietnam has also failed 

6 to improve labor rights, continues to harass, arrest, 

7 and imprison workers rights activists, including 

8 Doan Huy Chuong, Do Thi Minh Hanh, and 

9 Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and restricts the right 

10 to organize independently. 

11 (10) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

12 limit freedom of religion, pressure all religious 

13 groups to come under the control of government14 and party-controlled management boards, and re15 strict the operation of independent religious organi16 zations, including the Unified Buddhist Church of 

17 Vietnam and members of unsanctioned Mennonite, 

18 Cao Dai, Theravada Buddhist, and Hoa Hao Bud19 dhist religious groups and independent Protestant 

20 house churches, primarily in the central and north21 ern highlands. Religious leaders who do not conform 

22 to the Government’s demands are often harassed, 

23 arrested, imprisoned, or put under house arrest. 

24 (11) As noted in the October 2009 report of the 

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1 gious Freedom, ‘‘[T]here continue to be far too 

2 many serious abuses and restrictions of religious 

3 freedom in the country. Individuals continue to be 

4 imprisoned or detained for reasons related to their 

5 religious activity or religious freedom advocacy; po6 lice and government officials are not held fully ac7 countable for abuses; independent religious activity 

8 remains illegal; and legal protection for government9 approved religious organizations are both vague and 

10 subject to arbitrary or discriminatory interpretations 

11 based on political factors. In addition, improvements 

12 experienced by some religious communities are not 

13 experienced by others, including the Unified Bud14 dhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), independent Hoa 

15 Hao, Cao Dai, and Protestant groups, and some eth16 nic minority Protestants and Buddhists. Also, over 

17 the past year, property disputes between the govern18 ment and the Catholic Church in Hanoi led to deten19 tion, threats, harassment, and violence by ‘contract 

20 thugs’ against peaceful prayer vigils and religious 

21 leaders.’’. 

22 (12) Despite reported progress in church open23 ings and legal registrations of religious venues, the 

24 Government of Vietnam has halted most religious re25 forms since the Department of State lifted the 


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1 ‘‘country of particular concern’’ for religious freedom 

2 violations designation for Vietnam in November 

3 2006. 

4 (13) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant 

5 congregations suffer severe abuses because of actions 

6 by the Government of Vietnam, which have included 

7 forced renunciations of faith, pressure to join gov8 ernment-recognized religious groups, arrest and har9 assment, the withholding of social programs pro10 vided for the general population, destruction of 

11 churches and pagodas, confiscation and destruction 

12 of property, and subjection to severe beatings. 

13 (14) During peaceful Catholic prayer vigils call14 ing for the return of government-confiscated church 

15 properties during 2008 at the Thai Ha Church in 

16 Ha Noi, protestors were dispersed after being har17 assed, some were detained, and some of the church 

18 property was destroyed. Similar incidents happened 

19 at Bau Sen, Loan Ly, and Tam Toa parishes in cen20 tral Vietnam and more recently at Dong Chiem par21 ish in Hanoi, where religious statues and a crucifix 

22 were destroyed and parishioners and clergies were 

23 physically harmed, and at Con Dau parish, where 

24 police forcibly dispersed a Catholic funeral ceremony 

25 in May 2010 to a cemetery located on disputed land. 


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1 Afterwards, police and members of the civilian de2 fense forces arrested and interrogated dozens of Con 

3 Dau parishioners, with one parishioner dying from 

4 injuries sustained during a beating in July 2010 by 

5 civilian defense forces and two women suffered mis6 carriages resulted from police tortures. Catholics 

7 continue to face some restrictions on selection of 

8 clergy, the establishment of seminaries and seminary 

9 candidates, and restrictions on individual cases of 

10 travel and church registration. Dissident clerics such 

11 as Father Phan Van Loi and Father Nguyen Van 

12 Ly are currently under house arrest. 

13 (15) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 

14 suffers persecution as the Government of Vietnam 

15 continues to restrict contacts and movement of sen16 ior clergy for refusing to join the state-sponsored 

17 Buddhist organizations, the Government restricts ex18 pression and assembly, and the Government con19 tinues to harass and threaten monks, nuns, and 

20 youth leaders of the Unified Buddhist Church of 

21 Vietnam. The Supreme Patriarch of Unified Bud22 dhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Quang Do, is cur23 rently under house arrest. 

24 (16) The Bat Nha Buddhists monastery in 

25 Lam Dong province was attacked by government 


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1 thugs in October 2009. About 400 monks and nuns 

2 were physically abused and forcibly evicted from the 

3 monastery. 

4 (17) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

5 suppress the activities of other religious adherents, 

6 including Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Mennonites, and 

7 Montagnard Christians belonging to churches that 

8 lack official recognition or have chosen not to affil9 iate with the state-sanctioned groups, including 

10 through the use of detention and imprisonment. 

11 (18) During Easter weekend in April 2004, 

12 thousands of Montagnard Christians in the Central 

13 Highlands gathered to protest their treatment by the 

14 Government of Vietnam, including the confiscation 

15 of tribal lands and ongoing restrictions on religious 

16 activities. Credible reports indicate that the protests 

17 were met with violent response as many demonstra18 tors were arrested or went into hiding, that many 

19 were injured, and that some were killed. At least 

20 200 of these Montagnard Christians are still serving 

21 long sentences for their involvement in peaceful dem22 onstrations in 2001 and 2004. Government officials 

23 continue to severely restrict movement by the 

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1 prisoned and otherwise mistreated for their involve2 ment in demonstrations in 2008. 

3 (19) Ethnic minority Hmong in the Northwest 

4 Highlands of Vietnam also suffer restrictions, 

5 abuses, and persecution by the Government of Viet6 nam, and although the Government is now allowing 

7 some Hmong Protestants to organize and conduct 

8 religious activity, some government officials continue 

9 to deny or ignore additional applications for reg10 istration. 

11 (20) In 2007, the Government of Vietnam ar12 rested and expelled at least 20 ethnic Khmer Bud13 dhist monks in Soc Trang province from the monk14 hood and imprisoned 5 monks in response to a 

15 peaceful religious protest in February 2007. In July 

16 2010, authorities in Tra Vinh arrested and pur17 ported to defrock Khmer Krom Buddhist abbot 

18 Thach Sophon, sentencing him in September to a 9- 

19 month suspended sentence. He remains under house 

20 arrest. 

21 (21) The Government of Vietnam controls all 

22 print and electronic media, including access to the 

23 Internet, jams the signals of some foreign radio sta24 tions, including Radio Free Asia, and has detained 

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1 lished, sent, or otherwise distributed democracy-re2 lated materials. 

3 (22) People arrested in Vietnam because of 

4 their political or religious affiliations and activities 

5 and charged with vaguely defined national security 

6 crimes are not accorded due process of law. During 

7 the pre-trial investigatory phase of their detention, 

8 religious and political prisoners are often held in9 communicado without access to legal counsel and 

10 family members. They are routinely tortured during 

11 interrogation to force them to confess to crimes they 

12 did not commit or to falsely denounce others. Their 

13 trials are usually closed to international press and 

14 diplomats and members of the public. 

15 (23) Vietnam continues to be a source country 

16 for the commercial sexual exploitation and forced 

17 labor of women and girls and for men and women 

18 legally entering into international labor contracts 

19 who subsequently face conditions of debt bondage or 

20 forced labor, and is a destination country for child 

21 trafficking and continues to have internal human 

22 trafficking. 

23 (24) Labor export companies partly or wholly 

24 owned by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and 

25 Social Affairs, and other agencies of the Government 


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1 of Vietnam have frequently been identified as par2 ticipants in human trafficking. There are a number 

3 of well-documented cases in which these state enter4 prises have misled workers by promising specific 

5 wages and working conditions, often in the form of 

6 signed contracts, only to require the workers to sign 

7 different contracts immediately before leaving for 

8 their foreign destinations. When workers have pro9 tested debt bondage or slavery-like conditions in the 

10 foreign workplaces to which these Vietnamese state 

11 enterprises have sent them, officials of the Ministry 

12 of Labor have traveled from Hanoi to threaten the 

13 trafficking victims with ‘‘punishment under the laws 

14 of Vietnam’’ if they do not cease their protests. 

15 Workers who have returned to Vietnam after being 

16 exploited by their foreign employers have reported 

17 being harassed and intimidated by public security 

18 forces, who typically accuse them of being liars, col19 laborating with reactionary forces overseas, and hav20 ing betrayed their country. 

21 (25) United States refugee resettlement pro22 grams, including the Humanitarian Resettlement 

23 Program, the Orderly Departure Program, the Re24 settlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees 

25 Program, general resettlement of boat people from 


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1 refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, the 

2 Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, and the pri3 ority one refugee resettlement category have helped 

4 resettle nationals of Vietnam who have suffered per5 secution on account of their associations with the 

6 United States as well as nationals of Vietnam who 

7 have been persecuted because of race, religion, na8 tionality, political opinion, or membership in a par9 ticular social group. 

10 (26) While previous programs have served their 

11 purposes well, a significant number of eligible refu12 gees from Vietnam were unfairly denied or excluded, 

13 including Amerasians and Montagnards, in some 

14 cases by vindictive or corrupt officials of Vietnam 

15 who controlled access to the programs, and in others 

16 by United States personnel who imposed unduly re17 strictive interpretations of program criteria. In addi18 tion, the Government of Vietnam has denied pass19 ports to persons whom the United States has found 

20 eligible for refugee admission. 

21 (27) Congress has passed numerous resolutions 

22 condemning human rights violations in Vietnam, in23 dicating that although there has been an expansion 

24 of relations with the Government of Vietnam, it 

25 should not be construed as approval of the ongoing 


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1 and serious violations of fundamental human rights 

2 in Vietnam, particularly those enshrined in the 

3 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 

4 of which Vietnam is a signatory. 

5 (28) Enhancement of relations between the 

6 United States and Vietnam has provided an oppor7 tunity for a human rights dialogue, but is unlikely 

8 to lead to future progress on human rights issues in 

9 Vietnam unless the United States makes clear that 

10 such progress is an essential prerequisite for further 

11 enhancements in the bilateral relationship. 

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of this Act is to promote freedom and 

14 democracy in Vietnam. 

15 TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO PRO16 MOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOC17 RACY IN VIETNAM 

18 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE. 

19 The President is authorized to provide assistance, 

20 through appropriate nongovernmental organizations and 

21 the Human Rights Defenders Fund, for the support of 

22 individuals and organizations to promote freedom and de23 mocracy in Vietnam. 


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1 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to the President to carry out section 101 

4 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 and 2012. 

5 (b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Amounts appropriated 

6 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under sub7 section (a)— 

8 (1) are authorized to remain available until ex9 pended; and 

10 (2) are in addition to amounts otherwise avail11 able for such purposes. 

12 TITLE II—UNITED STATES PUB13 LIC DIPLOMACY AND REF14 UGEE POLICY 

15 SEC. 201. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIETNAM. 

16 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol17 icy of the United States to take such measures as are nec18 essary to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by 

19 the Government of Vietnam. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

22 appropriated to the Broadcasting Board of Gov23 ernors to carry out the policy under subsection (a) 

24 $12,5000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and $2,500,000 

25 for fiscal year 2012. 


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1 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Amounts appro2 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropria3 tions under paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) are authorized to remain available 

5 until expended; and 

6 (B) are in addition to amounts otherwise 

7 available for such purposes. 

8 SEC. 202. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 

9 EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIETNAM. 

10 It is the policy of the United States that programs 

11 of educational and cultural exchange with Vietnam should 

12 actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy 

13 in Vietnam by providing opportunities to Vietnamese na14 tionals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 

15 to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by en16 suring that Vietnamese nationals who have already dem17 onstrated a commitment to these values are included in 

18 such programs. 

19 SEC. 203. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF 

20 VIETNAM. 

21 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol22 icy of the United States to offer refugee resettlement to 

23 nationals of Vietnam (including members of the 

24 Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for 

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1 tarian Resettlement (HR) Program, the Resettlement Op2 portunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) Program, 

3 the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other 

4 United States refugee program and who were deemed in5 eligible due to administrative error or who for reasons be6 yond the control of such individuals (including insufficient 

7 or contradictory information or the inability to pay bribes 

8 demanded by officials of the Government of Vietnam) were 

9 unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance 

10 with deadlines imposed by the Department of State. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—Of the amounts au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of State 

13 for Migration and Refugee Assistance for each of the fiscal 

14 years 2011 and 2012, such sums as may be necessary are 

15 authorized to be made available for the protection (includ16 ing resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refu17 gees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards and eth18 nic Khmer in Cambodia and Thailand. 

19 TITLE III—CONDITIONS ON IN20 CREASED NONHUMANI21 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 

22 GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

23 SEC. 301. CONDITIONS. 

24 (a) CONDITIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the United States Government may not 

3 provide nonhumanitarian assistance to the Govern4 ment of Vietnam during any fiscal year in an 

5 amount that is greater than the amount of non6 humanitarian assistance provided by the United 

7 States Government to the Government of Vietnam 

8 during fiscal year 2010. 

9 (2) EXCEPTION.—The United States Govern10 ment may provide nonhumanitarian assistance to the 

11 Government of Vietnam during any fiscal year in an 

12 amount that is greater than the amount of non13 humanitarian assistance provided by the United 

14 States Government to the Government of Vietnam 

15 during fiscal year 2010 but is not greater than twice 

16 the amount of nonhumanitarian assistance provided 

17 by the United States Government to the Government 

18 of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010 if— 

19 (A) the President certifies to Congress that 

20 the United States Government has provided as21 sistance, in addition to assistance authorized 

22 under section 102, supporting the creation and 

23 facilitation of human rights training, civil soci24 ety capacity building, noncommercial rule of law 

25 programming, and exchange programs between 


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1 the Vietnamese National Assembly and the 

2 United States Congress during the 12-month 

3 period ending on the date of the certification in 

4 an amount that is not less than the amount of 

5 nonhumanitarian assistance provided by the 

6 United States Government to the Government 

7 of Vietnam during the 12-month period ending 

8 on the date of the certification; and 

9 (B)(i) with respect to fiscal year 2011, the 

10 President certifies to Congress, not later than 

11 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act, that the requirements of paragraphs (1) 

13 through (7) of subsection (b) have been met 

14 during the 12-month period ending on the date 

15 of the certification; and 

16 (ii) with respect to subsequent fiscal years, 

17 the President certifies to Congress, in the most 

18 recent annual report submitted pursuant to sec19 tion 401, that the requirements of paragraphs 

20 (1) through (7) of subsection (b) have been met 

21 during the 12-month period covered by the re22 port. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this sub24 section are the following: 


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1 (1) The Government of Vietnam has made sub2 stantial progress toward releasing all political and 

3 religious prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, 

4 and other forms of detention. 

5 (2) The Government of Vietnam has made sub6 stantial progress toward— 

7 (A) respecting the right to freedom of reli8 gion, including the right to participate in reli9 gious activities and institutions without inter10 ference, harassment, or involvement of the Gov11 ernment, for all of Vietnam’s diverse religious 

12 communities; and 

13 (B) returning estates and properties con14 fiscated from the churches and religious com15 munities. 

16 (3) The Government of Vietnam has made sub17 stantial progress toward respecting the right to free18 dom of expression, assembly, and association, includ19 ing the release of independent journalists, bloggers, 

20 and democracy and labor activists. 

21 (4) The Government of Vietnam has made sub22 stantial progress toward repealing or revising laws 

23 that criminalize peaceful dissent, independent media, 

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1 national standards and treaties to which Vietnam is 

2 a party. 

3 (5) The Government of Vietnam has made sub4 stantial progress toward allowing Vietnamese nation5 als free and open access to United States refugee 

6 programs. 

7 (6) The Government of Vietnam has made sub8 stantial progress toward respecting the human rights 

9 of members of all ethnic and minority groups. 

10 (7) Neither any official of the Government of 

11 Vietnam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly 

12 owned by the Government of Vietnam was complicit 

13 in a severe form of trafficking in persons, or the 

14 Government of Vietnam took all appropriate steps to 

15 end any such complicity and hold such official, agen16 cy, or entity fully accountable for its conduct. 

17 (8) The Government of Vietnam treats govern18 ment officials and military personnel of the former 

19 Government of South Vietnam with dignity and 

20 equality. 

21 (c) EXCEPTION.— 

22 (1) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE IN THE NA23 TIONAL INTEREST.—Notwithstanding the failure of 

24 the Government of Vietnam to meet the require25 ments of paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection 


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1 (b), the President may waive the application of sub2 section (a) for any fiscal year if the President deter3 mines that the provision of increased nonhumani4 tarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam 

5 would promote the purpose of this Act or is other6 wise in the national interest of the United States. 

7 (2) EXERCISE OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

8 President may exercise the authority under para9 graph (1) with respect to— 

10 (A) all United States nonhumanitarian as11 sistance to Vietnam; or 

12 (B) one or more programs, projects, or ac13 tivities of such assistance. 

14 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

16 (1) NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The 

17 term ‘‘nonhumanitarian assistance’’ means— 

18 (A) any assistance under the Foreign As19 sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under 

20 title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relat21 ing to the Overseas Private Investment Cor22 poration), other than— 

23 (i) disaster relief assistance, including 

24 any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 

25 that Act; 


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1 (ii) assistance which involves the pro2 vision of food (including monetization of 

3 food) or medicine; 

4 (iii) assistance for refugees; and 

5 (iv) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, 

6 including any assistance under section 

7 104A of that Act; and 

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

9 the Arms Export Control Act. 

10 (2) SEVERE FORM OF TRAFFICKING IN PER11 SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per12 sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8) 

13 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

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

15 7102(8)). 

16 SEC. 303. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 The prohibition on the amount of nonhumanitarian 

18 assistance to the Government of Vietnam during a fiscal 

19 year under section 301 applies with respect to fiscal year 

20 2011 and subsequent fiscal years. 


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1 TITLE IV—ANNUAL REPORT ON 

2 FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY 

3 IN VIETNAM 

4 SEC. 401. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

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

7 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Con8 gress a report on the following: 

9 (1) The determination and certification of the 

10 President that the requirements of paragraphs (1) 

11 through (7) of section 301(b) have been met, if ap12 plicable. 

13 (2) Steps taken to carry out section 301(a)(1), 

14 if applicable. 

15 (3) Efforts by the United States Government to 

16 secure transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in 

17 countries in close geographical proximity to Vietnam 

18 in accordance with section 201(a). 

19 (4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet20 nam promote the policy set forth in section 202 and 

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

22 Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996 regard23 ing participation in programs of educational and cul24 tural exchange. 


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

2 section 203(a). 

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

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

5 otherwise persecuted by the Government of Vietnam 

6 due to their pursuit of internationally recognized 

7 human rights. In compiling such lists, the Secretary 

8 shall exercise appropriate discretion, including con9 cerns regarding the safety and security of, and ben10 efit to, the persons who may be included on the lists 

11 and their families. In addition, the Secretary shall 

12 include a list of such persons and their families who 

13 may qualify for protections under United States ref14 ugee programs. 

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

16 of law in Vietnam, including— 

17 (A) progress toward the development of in18 stitutions of democratic governance; 

19 (B) processes by which statutes, regula20 tions, rules, and other legal acts of the Govern21 ment of Vietnam are developed and become 

22 binding within Vietnam; 

23 (C) the extent to which statutes, regula24 tions, rules, administrative and judicial deci25 sions, and other legal acts of the Government of 


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1 Vietnam are published and are made accessible 

2 to the public; 

3 (D) the extent to which administrative and 

4 judicial decisions are supported by statements 

5 of reasons that are based upon written statutes, 

6 regulations, rules, and other legal acts of the 

7 Government of Vietnam; 

8 (E) the extent to which individuals are 

9 treated equally under the laws of Vietnam with10 out regard to citizenship, race, religion, political 

11 opinion, or current or former associations; 

12 (F) the extent to which administrative and 

13 judicial decisions are independent of political 

14 pressure or governmental interference and are 

15 reviewed by entities of appellate jurisdiction; 

16 and 

17 (G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam 

18 are written and administered in ways that are 

19 consistent with international human rights 

20 standards, including the requirements of the 

21 International Covenant on Civil and Political 

22 Rights. 

23 (b) CONTACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In 

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

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


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•HR 6432 IH

1 nongovernmental organizations and human rights advo2 cates (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights 

3 advocates in Vietnam), including receiving reports and up4 dates from such organizations and evaluating such re5 ports. The Secretary shall also seek to consult with the 

6 United States Commission on International Religious 

7 Freedom for appropriate sections of the report. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS