IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 20 

Calling on the State Department to list the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 

as a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ with respect to religious freedom. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. CAO, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the State Department to list the Socialist Republic 

of Vietnam as a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ with 

respect to religious freedom. 

Whereas the Secretary of State, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) and its amendment 

in 1999, and under authority delegated by the President, 

designates nations found guilty of ‘‘particularly severe 

violations of religious freedom as ‘Countries of Particular 

Concern’ ’’ (CPC); 

Whereas when the United States designates a nation as a 

CPC, the intent is to place protection and promotion of 

religious freedom as a diplomatic priority in bilateral relations, including taking actions specified in section 405 

(a)(b)(c) of the IRFA; 


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•HRES 20 IH 

Whereas in November 2006, the State Department announced that the CPC designation was lifted from the 

Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 

Whereas in explaining the lifting of the designation, State 

Department officials have stated that Vietnam ‘‘has 

turned a corner . . . and has what looks like religious 

freedom’’ and that Vietnam ‘‘does not meet the criteria 

for a severe violator of religious freedom’’ under terms 

set by the IRFA; 

Whereas the criteria for designating countries as a CPC, as 

set forth in section 3(11) of the IRFA, are for ‘‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom including violations, such as—A) torture or cruel, 

inhuman, or degrading treatment of punishment; B) prolonged detention without charges; C) causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons; and D) other flagrant denial of 

the right of life, liberty, or the security of persons.’’; 

Whereas in 2004, the Vietnamese National Assembly issued 

Directive 21/2004/PL–UBTVQH11 to regulate religious 

activities; 

Whereas this directive contains several articles that seriously 

interfere with religious freedom and impose heavy government control on religious activities; 

Whereas, on September 15, 2004, the State Department 

added Vietnam to the CPC list and Ambassador at Large 

for International Religious Freedom, John Hanford, stated, ‘‘at least 45 religious believers remain imprisoned 

. . . Protestants have been pressured by authorities to 

renounce their faith, and some have been subjected to 

physical abuse.’’; 


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•HRES 20 IH 

Whereas to avoid possible sanctions or other ‘‘commensurate 

actions’’ recommended by section 405 (a)(b) of the 

IRFA, in May 2005 the United States and Vietnam 

reached a ‘‘binding agreement’’ consistent with section 

405 (c) of the IRFA; 

Whereas although the terms of that ‘‘binding agreement’’ 

have never been fully publicized, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2006 Annual 

Report stated that the United States agreed to lift the 

CPC designation if the Government of Vietnam fully implemented legislation on religious freedom and rendered 

previous contradictory regulations obsolete, instructed 

local authorities strictly and completely to adhere to the 

new legislation to ensure compliance, facilitated the process by which religious congregations are able to open 

houses of worship, and gave special consideration to prisoners and cases of concern raised by the United States 

during the granting of prisoner amnesties; 

Whereas the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), 

the Hoa Hao Buddhists, and the Cao Dai groups continue to face unwarranted abuses because of their attempts to organize independently of the Vietnamese Government, including the detention and imprisonment of individual members of these religious communities; 

Whereas over the last 3 years, 18 Hoa Hao Buddhists have 

been arrested for distributing sacred texts or publically 

protesting the religious restrictions placed on them by the 

Vietnamese Government, at least 12 remain in prison, including 4 sentenced in 2007 for staging a peaceful hunger strike; 

Whereas five members of the Cao Dai religious community 

remain in prison for distributing materials in Cambodia 


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•HRES 20 IH 

critical of the Vietnamese Government’s restrictions on 

Cao Dai religious practice, for this action they were sentenced to up to 13 years imprisonment; 

Whereas five Khmer Buddhists were arrested in February 

2007 for organizing peaceful demonstrations opposing 

the restriction of language training and ordination ceremonies for Khmer Buddhist monks; 

Whereas Protestants continue to face beatings and other illtreatment, harassment, fines, threats, and forced renunciations of faith; 

Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, 355 

Montagnard Protestants remain in prison, arrested after 

2001 and 2004 demonstrations for land rights and religious freedom in the Central Highlands; 

Whereas according to the United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom, there are reports that 

some Montagnard Protestants were imprisoned because 

of their religious affiliation or activities or because religious leaders failed to inform on members of their religious community who allegedly participated in demonstrations; 

Whereas according to the United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom 2008 Annual Report, religious freedom advocates and human rights defenders 

Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Fr. Thaddeus 

Nguyen Van Ly are in prison under Article 88 of the 

Criminal Code and Fr. Nguyen Van Loi is being held 

without official detention orders under house arrest; 

Whereas at least 15 individuals are being detained in long 

term house arrest for reasons related to their faith, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:15 Jan 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR20.IH HR20

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•HRES 20 IH 

cluding the most venerable Thich Quang Do and most of 

the leadership of the UBCV; 

Whereas according to United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2008 Annual Report, there 

are still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious 

freedom; 

Whereas UBCV monks and youth groups leaders are harassed and detained and charitable activities are denied, 

Vietnamese officials discriminate against ethnic minority 

Protestants denying medical, housing, and education benefits to children and families, an ethnic minority Protestant was beaten to death for refusing to recant his faith, 

over 600 Hmong Protestant churches are refused legal 

recognition or affiliation, leading to harassment, detentions, and home destructions, and a government handbook on religion instructs government officials to control 

existing religious practice, halt ‘‘enemy forces’’ from 

‘‘abusing religion’’ to undermine the Vietnamese Government, and ‘‘overcome the extraordinary growth of Protestantism.’’; 

Whereas since August 2008, the Vietnamese Government has 

arrested and sentenced at least eight individuals and 

beaten, tear-gassed, harassed, publicly slandered, and 

threatened Catholics engaged in peaceful activities seeking the return of Catholic Church properties confiscated 

by the Vietnamese Government after 1954 in Hanoi, including in the Thai Ha parish; 

Whereas in September 2008, immediately preceding a visit by 

Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, Vietnam 

arrested five journalists and human rights defenders, including two journalists and bloggers reportedly covering 

the prayer vigils held by Catholics in Hanoi; and 


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•HRES 20 IH 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, prominent nongovernmental organizations, and representative associations of VietnameseAmerican, Montagnard-American, and Khmer-American 

organizations have called for the redesignation of Vietnam as a CPC: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly encourages the Department of 

3 State to place Vietnam on the list of ‘‘Countries of 

4 Particular Concern’’ for particularly severe violations 

5 of religious freedom; 

6 (2) strongly condemns the ongoing and egre7 gious violations of religious freedom in Vietnam, in8 cluding the detention of religious leaders and the 

9 long-term imprisonment of individuals engaged in 

10 peaceful advocacy; and 

11 (3) calls on Vietnam to lift restrictions on reli12 gious freedom and implement necessary legal and 

13 political reforms to protect religious freedom. 

Æ 


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