II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1369 

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 8, 2019 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr. RUBIO) 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 of 2019’’. 

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 $36,000,000,000 in 2014. 

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 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

19 Vietnam’s ‘‘most significant human rights problems 

20 . . . were severe government restrictions of citizens’ 

21 political rights, particularly their right to change 

22 their government through free and fair elections; 

23 limits on citizens’ civil liberties, including freedom of 

24 assembly and expression; and inadequate protection 


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1 of citizens’ due process rights, including protection 

2 against arbitrary detention’’. 

3 (5) The Country Reports also state that the 

4 Government of Vietnam ‘‘continued to restrict 

5 speech that criticized individual government leaders; 

6 promoted political pluralism or multi-party democ7 racy; or questioned policies on sensitive matters, 

8 such as human rights, religious freedom, or sov9 ereignty disputes with China’’ and ‘‘sought to im10 pede criticism by monitoring meetings and commu11 nications of political activists’’. 

12 (6) Furthermore, the Department of State doc13 uments that ‘‘arbitrary arrest and detention, par14 ticularly for political activists, remained a problem’’, 

15 with the Government of Vietnam sentencing 29 ar16 rested activists during 2014. Of those, 6 activists 

17 were convicted on national security charges in the 

18 penal code for ‘‘undermining the unity policy’’, 17 

19 for ‘‘causing public disorder’’, and 6 for ‘‘abusing 

20 democratic freedoms’’. 

21 (7) At the end of 2014, the Government of 

22 Vietnam reportedly held more than 125 political 

23 prisoners. 

24 (8) On September 24, 2012, 3 prominent Viet25 namese bloggers—Nguyen Van Hai (also known as 


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

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

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

4 the Government and leaders of Vietnam and the 

5 Communist Party of Vietnam. Nguyen Van Hai 

6 served 2 years of a 12-year prison sentence on 

7 charges of ‘‘conducting propaganda against the 

8 state’’ but was later released and departed from 

9 Vietnam. If he were to return, he would likely have 

10 to complete his prison sentence. 

11 (9) United Nations High Commissioner for 

12 Human Rights Navi Pillay responded to the sen13 tencing of the bloggers on September 25, 2012, stat14 ing that ‘‘[t]he harsh prison terms handed down to 

15 bloggers exemplify the severe restrictions on freedom 

16 of expression in Vietnam’’ and calling the sentences 

17 an ‘‘unfortunate development that undermines the 

18 commitments Vietnam has made internationally . . . 

19 to protect and promote the right to freedom of ex20 pression’’. 

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

22 Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, 

23 and Labor Daniel B. Baer testified before the Sub24 committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the 

25 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that 


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

2 to see backsliding, particularly on . . . freedom of ex3 pression issues . . . people are being prosecuted for 

4 what they say online under really draconian national 

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

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

7 Vietnamese as well as in other bilateral engage8 ments’’. 

9 (11) Although the Constitution of Vietnam pro10 vides for freedom of religion, the Department of 

11 State’s 2013 International Religious Freedom Re12 port maintains, ‘‘Government practices and bureau13 cratic impediments restricted religious freedom. Un14 registered and unrecognized religious groups were 

15 often subject to harassment, as well as coercive and 

16 punitive actions by authorities.’’. 

17 (12) Likewise, the United States Commission 

18 on International Religious Freedom 2015 Annual 

19 Report states, ‘‘The Vietnamese government con20 tinues to control all religious activities through law 

21 and administrative oversight, restrict severely inde22 pendent religious practice, and repress individuals 

23 and religious groups it views as challenging its au24 thority, including independent Buddhists, Hoa Hao, 

25 Cao Dai, Catholics, and Protestants.’’. 


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1 (13) The 2013 Annual Report notes that in 

2 2004 the United States designated Vietnam as a 

3 country of particular concern for religious freedom 

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

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

6 6442(b)(1)), and that Vietnam responded at that 

7 time by releasing prisoners, prohibiting the policy of 

8 forced renunciations of faith, and expanding protec9 tions for religious groups, and that ‘‘[m]ost religious 

10 leaders in Vietnam attributed these positive changes 

11 to the [country of particular concern] designation 

12 and the priority placed on religious freedom con13 cerns in U.S.-Vietnamese bilateral relations’’. 

14 (14) However, the 2013 Annual Report con15 cludes that since the designation as a country of 

16 particular concern was lifted from Vietnam in 2006, 

17 ‘‘religious freedom conditions in Vietnam remain 

18 mixed’’, and therefore recommends to the Depart19 ment of State that Vietnam should be redesignated 

20 as a country of particular concern. 

21 (15) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Baer 

22 likewise testified that ‘‘[i]n Vietnam the right to reli23 gious freedom, which seemed to be improving several 

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


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1 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN INDIVID2 UALS WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN HUMAN 

3 RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST NA4 TIONALS OF VIETNAM OR THEIR FAMILY 

5 MEMBERS. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN; IMMIGRATION LAWS; NA8 TIONAL.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’, ‘‘alien’’, ‘‘immigra9 tion laws’’, and ‘‘national’’ have the meanings given 

10 those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

12 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Finance, the Com16 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af17 fairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

18 of the Senate; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, 

20 the Committee on Financial Services, and the 

21 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

22 Representatives. 

23 (3) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—The 

24 term ‘‘Convention against Torture’’ means the 

25 United Nations Convention against Torture and 

26 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 


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1 Punishment, done at New York on December 10, 

2 1984. 

3 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

4 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

5 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law6 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

7 United States; or 

8 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

9 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

10 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

11 such an entity. 

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

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

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

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

16 (c) LIST OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN

17 CERTAIN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.— 

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

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

20 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com21 mittees a list of individuals who are nationals of 

22 Vietnam that the President determines are complicit 

23 in human rights abuses committed against nationals 

24 of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of 

25 whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam. 


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

2 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

3 an updated list under paragraph (1) as new infor4 mation becomes available and not less frequently 

5 than annually. 

6 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list required 

7 by paragraph (1) shall be made available to the pub8 lic and posted on the websites of the Department of 

9 the Treasury and the Department of State. 

10 (4) CONSIDERATION OF DATA FROM OTHER

11 COUNTRIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA12 TIONS.—In preparing the list required by paragraph 

13 (1), the President shall consider data already ob14 tained by other countries and nongovernmental orga15 nizations, including organizations in Vietnam, that 

16 monitor the human rights abuses of the Government 

17 of Vietnam. 

18 (d) SANCTIONS.— 

19 (1) PROHIBITION ON ENTRY AND ADMISSION TO

20 THE UNITED STATES.—An individual on the list re21 quired by subsection (c)(1) may not— 

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

23 through the United States; 

24 (B) receive any lawful immigration status 

25 in the United States under the immigration 


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1 laws, including any relief under the Convention 

2 against Torture; or 

3 (C) file any application or petition to ob4 tain such admission, entry, or status. 

5 (2) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS.—The President 

6 shall block and prohibit all transactions in all prop7 erty and interests in property of an individual on the 

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

9 and interests in property are in the United States, 

10 come within the United States, or are or come with11 in the possession or control of a United States per12 son. 

13 (3) EXCEPTIONS TO COMPLY WITH INTER14 NATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—The President may, by 

15 regulation, authorize exceptions to the imposition of 

16 sanctions under paragraph (1) to permit the United 

17 States to comply with the Agreement regarding the 

18 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

19 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No20 vember 21, 1947, between the United Nations and 

21 the United States, and other applicable international 

22 agreements. 

23 (4) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

24 GOODS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The requirement to 

2 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop3 erty and interests in property under paragraph 

4 (2) shall not include the authority to impose 

5 sanctions on the importation of goods. 

6 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

7 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

8 man-made substance, material, supply or manu9 factured product, including inspection and test 

10 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

11 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require12 ment to impose or maintain sanctions with respect to an 

13 individual under subsection (b) or the requirement to in14 clude an individual on the list required by subsection 

15 (c)(1) if the President— 

16 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na17 tional interest of the United States; and 

18 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

19 committees a report describing the reasons for the 

20 determination. 

21 (f) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The provisions of 

22 this section shall terminate on the date on which the Presi23 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate congres24 sional committees that the Government of Vietnam has— 


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1 (1) unconditionally released all political pris2 oners; 

3 (2) ceased its practices of violence, unlawful de4 tention, torture, and abuse of nationals of Vietnam 

5 while those nationals are engaging in peaceful polit6 ical activity; and 

7 (3) conducted a transparent investigation into 

8 the killings, arrest, and abuse of peaceful political 

9 activists in Vietnam and prosecuted those respon10 sible. 

11 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DESIGNATION OF VIET12 NAM AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CON13 CERN WITH RESPECT TO RELIGIOUS FREE14 DOM. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the relationship between the United States 

17 and Vietnam cannot progress while the record of the 

18 Government of Vietnam with respect to human 

19 rights and the rule of law continues to deteriorate; 

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

21 particular concern for religious freedom pursuant to 

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

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

24 be a powerful and effective tool in highlighting 

25 abuses of religious freedom in Vietnam and in enVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1369.IS S1369

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1 couraging improvement in the respect for human 

2 rights in Vietnam; and 

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

4 with the recommendation of the United States Com5 mission on International Religious Freedom, des6 ignate Vietnam as a country of particular concern 

7 for religious freedom. 

Æ 


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