II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2784 

To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mrs. DOLE, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

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 Human Rights Act of 2004’’. 

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. 

TITLE I—CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN 

ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

Sec. 101. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance. 
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TITLE II—ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND 

DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 201. Assistance. 

TITLE III—UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

Sec. 301. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam. 

Sec. 302. United states educational and cultural exchange programs with Vietnam. 

TITLE IV—UNITED STATES REFUGEE POLICY 

Sec. 401. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam. 

TITLE V—ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM 

AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 501. Annual report. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a one4 party State, ruled and controlled by the Communist 

5 Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to deny 

6 the right of citizens to change their government. Al7 though in recent years the National Assembly of 

8 Vietnam has played an increasingly active role as a 

9 forum for highlighting local concerns, corruption, 

10 and inefficiency, the National Assembly remains sub11 ject to CPV direction. The CPV maintains control 

12 over the selection of candidates in national and local 

13 elections. 

14 (2) The Government of Vietnam permits no 

15 public challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party 

16 State. It prohibits independent political, labor, and 

17 social organizations and continues to detain and im-
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1 prison persons for the peaceful expression of dis2 senting religious and political views, including Pham 

3 Hong Son, Tran Dung Tien, Father Nguyen Van 

4 Ly, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Nguyen Vu Binh, Pham 

5 Que Duong, and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, 

6 among others. 

7 (3) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

8 commit serious human rights abuses. In January 

9 2004, the Department of State reported to Congress 

10 that, during the previous year, the Government of 

11 Vietnam had made ‘‘no progress’’ toward releasing 

12 political and religious activists, ending official re13 strictions on religious activity, or respecting the 

14 rights of indigenous minorities in the Central and 

15 Northern Highlands of Vietnam. 

16 (4) The Government of Vietnam limits freedom 

17 of religion and restricts the operation of religious or18 ganizations other than those approved by the State. 

19 While officially sanctioned religious organizations 

20 are able to operate with varying degrees of auton21 omy, some of those organizations continue to face 

22 restrictions on selecting, training, and ordaining suf23 ficient numbers of clergy and in conducting edu24 cational and charitable activities. The Government 

25 has previously confiscated numerous churches, tem-
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1 ples, and other properties belonging to religious or2 ganizations, most of which have never been returned. 

3 (5) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant 

4 congregations in the Northwest and Central High5 lands of Vietnam suffer severe abuses, which have 

6 included forced renunciations of faith, the closure 

7 and destruction of churches, the arrest and harass8 ment of pastors, and, in a few cases, there have been 

9 credible reports that minority religious leaders have 

10 been beaten and killed. 

11 (6) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 

12 (UBCV), one of the largest religious denominations 

13 in Vietnam, was declared illegal in 1981. The Gov14 ernment of Vietnam confiscated its temples and per15 secuted its clergy for refusing to join the state-spon16 sored Buddhist organizations. For more than 2 dec17 ades, the Government has detained and confined 

18 senior UBCV clergy, including the Most Venerable 

19 Thich Huyen Quang, the Most Venerable Thich 

20 Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Tue Sy, and others. 

21 (7) The Catholic Church in Vietnam continues 

22 to face significant restrictions on the training and 

23 ordination of priests and bishops, resulting in an in24 sufficient number of priests and bishops to support 

25 the growing Catholic population in Vietnam. Al-
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1 though recent years have brought a modest easing of 

2 government control in some dioceses, officials in 

3 other areas strictly limit the conduct of religious 

4 education classes and charitable activities. Father 

5 Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, who was convicted in a 

6 closed trial in 2001 after publicly criticizing religious 

7 repression by the Government of Vietnam, remains 

8 in prison. 

9 (8) The Government of Vietnam continues to 

10 suppress the activities of other religious believers, in11 cluding Cao Dai, Baha’i, and Hoa Hao who lack of12 ficial recognition or have chosen not to affiliate with 

13 the State-sanctioned groups, including through the 

14 use of detention and imprisonment. 

15 (9) The Government of Vietnam significantly 

16 restricts the freedoms of speech and the press, par17 ticularly with respect to political and religious 

18 speech. Government and Communist Party-related 

19 organizations control all print and electronic media, 

20 including access to the Internet. The Government 

21 blocks web sites that it deems politically or culturally 

22 inappropriate, and it jams some foreign radio sta23 tions, including Radio Free Asia. The Government 

24 has detained, convicted, and imprisoned individuals 
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1 who have posted or sent democracy related materials 

2 via the Internet. 

3 (10) Indigenous Montagnards in the Central 

4 Highlands of Vietnam continue to face significant 

5 repression. The Government of Vietnam restricts the 

6 practice of Christianity by those populations, and 

7 more than 100 Montagnards have been sentenced to 

8 prison terms of up to 13 years for claiming land 

9 rights, organizing Christian gatherings, or attempt10 ing to seek asylum in Cambodia. 

11 (11) The Government of Vietnam uses the sep12 aratist agenda of a relatively small number of ethnic 

13 minority leaders as a rationale for violating civil and 

14 political rights in ethnic minority regions. 

15 (12) The Government of Vietnam arrested or 

16 detained nearly 300 Montagnards during 2003 and, 

17 since then, many hundreds of Montagnards have 

18 gone into hiding, fearing arrest, interrogation, or 

19 physical abuse by government authorities. 

20 (13) During Easter weekend in April 2004, 

21 thousands of Montagnards gathered to protest their 

22 treatment by the Government of Vietnam, including 

23 the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restric24 tions on religious activities. Credible reports indicate 

25 that the protests were met with a violent response 
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1 and that many demonstrators were arrested, injured, 

2 or are in hiding, and that others were killed. 

3 (14) Government officials continue to restrict 

4 access to the Central and Northwest Highlands of 

5 Vietnam by diplomats, nongovernmental organiza6 tions, journalists, and other foreigners, making it 

7 difficult to verify conditions in those areas. 

8 (15) United States refugee resettlement pro9 grams for Vietnamese nationals, including the Or10 derly Departure Program (ODP), the Resettlement 

11 Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese (ROVR) 

12 program, the Priority One (P1) program and the re13 settlement of boat people from refugee camps 

14 throughout Southeast Asia, were authorized by law 

15 in order to rescue Vietnamese nationals who have 

16 suffered persecution on account of their wartime as17 sociations with the United States, as well as those 

18 who currently have a well-founded fear of persecu19 tion on account of race, religion, nationality, political 

20 opinion, or membership in a particular social group. 

21 (16) While these refugee resettlement programs 

22 have served their purposes well, a significant number 

23 of eligible refugees have been unfairly denied or ex24 cluded, in some cases by vindictive or corrupt Gov25 ernment of Vietnam officials who controlled access 
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1 to the programs, and in other cases by United 

2 States personnel who imposed unduly restrictive in3 terpretations of program criteria. 

4 (17) The Department of State has agreed to ex5 tend the September 30, 1994, registration deadline 

6 for former United States employees, ‘‘re-education’’ 

7 survivors, and surviving spouses of those who did 

8 not survive ‘‘re-education’’ camps to sign up for 

9 United States refugee programs, as well as to re10 sume the Vietnamese In-Country Priority One Pro11 gram in Vietnam to provide protection to victims of 

12 persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, 

13 political opinion, or membership in a particular so14 cial group who otherwise have no access to the Or15 derly Departure Program. 

16 (18) The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

17 Services of the Department of Homeland Security 

18 has agreed to resume the processing of former 

19 United States employees under the U11 program, 

20 which had been unilaterally suspended by the United 

21 States Government, as well as to review the applica22 tions of Amerasians, children of American service23 men left behind in Vietnam after the war ended in 

24 April 1975, for resettlement to the United States 

25 under the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988. 
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1 (19) Congress and the people of the United 

2 States are united in their determination that the ex3 pansion of relations with Vietnam should not be con4 strued as approval of or complacency about the seri5 ous violations of fundamental human rights engaged 

6 in by the Government of Vietnam. The promotion of 

7 freedom and democracy around the world is and 

8 must continue to be a central objective of United 

9 States foreign policy. Congress remains hopeful 

10 about, and willing to recognize improvement in, the 

11 future human rights practices of the Government of 

12 Vietnam, which is the motivating purpose behind 

13 this Act. 

14 TITLE I—CONDITIONS ON IN15 CREASED NONHUMANI16 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 

17 GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM 

18 SEC. 101. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—United States nonhumani21 tarian assistance may not be provided to the Govern22 ment of Vietnam in an amount exceeding the 

23 amount so provided for fiscal year 2004— 

24 (A) for fiscal year 2005, unless not later 

25 than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
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1 this Act, the President determines and certifies 

2 to Congress that the requirements of subpara3 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2) have 

4 been met during the 12-month period ending on 

5 the date of the certification; and 

6 (B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless 

7 the President determines and certifies to Con8 gress in the most recent annual report sub9 mitted pursuant to section 501 that the re10 quirements of subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

11 of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12- 

12 month period covered by the report. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this 

14 paragraph are that— 

15 (A) the Government of Vietnam has made 

16 substantial progress toward releasing all polit17 ical and religious prisoners from imprisonment, 

18 house arrest, and other forms of detention; 

19 (B) the Government of Vietnam has made 

20 substantial progress toward— 

21 (i) respecting the right to freedom of 

22 religion, including the right to participate 

23 in religious activities and institutions with24 out interference by or involvement of the 

25 Government; and 
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1 (ii) returning estates and properties 

2 confiscated from the churches; 

3 (C) the Government of Vietnam has made 

4 substantial progress toward allowing Viet5 namese nationals free and open access to 

6 United States refugee programs; 

7 (D) the Government of Vietnam has made 

8 substantial progress toward respecting the 

9 human rights of members of ethnic minority 

10 groups in the Central Highlands and elsewhere 

11 in Vietnam; and 

12 (E) neither any official of the Government 

13 of Vietnam nor any agency or entity wholly or 

14 partly owned by the Government of Vietnam 

15 was complicit in a severe form of trafficking in 

16 persons, unless the Government of Vietnam 

17 took all appropriate steps to end any such com18 plicity and hold such official, agency, or entity 

19 fully accountable for its conduct. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

21 (1) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE IN THE NA22 TIONAL INTEREST.—Notwithstanding the failure of 

23 the Government of Vietnam to meet the require24 ments of subsection (a)(2), the President may waive 

25 the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year 
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1 if the President determines that the provision to the 

2 Government of Vietnam of increased United States 

3 nonhumanitarian assistance would promote the pur4 poses of this Act or is otherwise in the national in5 terest of the United States. 

6 (2) EXERCISE OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

7 President may exercise the authority under para8 graph (1) with respect to— 

9 (A) all United States nonhumanitarian as10 sistance to Vietnam; or 

11 (B) one or more programs, projects, or ac12 tivities of such assistance. 

13 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) SEVERE FORM OF TRAFFICKING IN PER15 SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per16 sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8) 

17 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

18 (22 U.S.C. 7102(8)). 

19 (2) UNITED STATES NONHUMANITARIAN AS20 SISTANCE.—The term ‘‘United States nonhumani21 tarian assistance’’ means— 

22 (A) any assistance under the Foreign As23 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), 

24 including programs under title IV of chapter 2 

25 of part I of that Act (22 U.S.C. 2169 et seq.), 
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1 relating to the Overseas Private Investment 

2 Corporation), other than— 

3 (i) disaster relief assistance, including 

4 any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 

5 that Act (22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.); 

6 (ii) assistance which involves the pro7 vision of food (including monetization of 

8 food) or medicine; and 

9 (iii) assistance for refugees; and 

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

11 the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 

12 et seq.). 

13 TITLE II—ASSISTANCE TO SUP14 PORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND 

15 DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

16 SEC. 201. ASSISTANCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

18 provide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental 

19 organizations, for the support of individuals and organiza20 tions to promote democracy and internationally recognized 

21 human rights in Vietnam. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry 

24 out subsection (a) $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

25 2005 and 2006. 
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1 TITLE III—UNITED STATES 

2 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

3 SEC. 301. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIETNAM. 

4 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol5 icy of the United States to take such measures as are nec6 essary to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by 

7 the Government of Vietnam, including securing the use 

8 of broadcast facilities in close geographic proximity to 

9 Vietnam. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi11 tion to such amounts as are otherwise authorized to be 

12 appropriated for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, 

13 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 

14 policy under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 

15 2005 and $1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2006. 

16 SEC. 302. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 

17 EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIETNAM. 

18 It is the policy of the United States that programs 

19 of educational and cultural exchange with Vietnam should 

20 actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy 

21 in Vietnam by— 

22 (1) providing opportunities to Vietnamese na23 tionals from a wide range of occupations and per24 spectives to witness freedom and democracy in ac25 tion; and 
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1 (2) ensuring that Vietnamese nationals who 

2 have already demonstrated a commitment to these 

3 values are included in such programs. 

4 TITLE IV—UNITED STATES 

5 REFUGEE POLICY 

6 SEC. 401. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF 

7 VIETNAM. 

8 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol9 icy of the United States to offer refugee resettlement to 

10 nationals of Vietnam, including members of the 

11 Montagnard ethnic minority groups— 

12 (1) who were eligible for the Orderly Departure 

13 Program (ODP), Resettlement Opportunities for Vi14 etnamese Returnees (ROVR), or any other United 

15 States refugee program; and 

16 (2) who— 

17 (A) were deemed ineligible due to adminis18 trative error; or 

19 (B) were unable or failed to apply for such 

20 programs in compliance with deadlines imposed 

21 by the Department of State for reasons beyond 

22 the control of such individuals, including insuf23 ficient or contradictory information or the in24 ability to pay bribes demanded by officials of 

25 the Government of Vietnam. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—Of the amounts au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of State 

3 for Migration and Refugee Assistance for each of the fiscal 

4 years 2005, 2006, and 2007, such sums as may be nec5 essary are authorized to be made available for the protec6 tion (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Viet7 namese refugees and asylum seekers, including 

8 Montagnards in Cambodia. 

9 TITLE V—ANNUAL REPORT ON 

10 PROGRESS TOWARD FREE11 DOM AND DEMOCRACY IN 

12 VIETNAM 

13 SEC. 501. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

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

16 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Con17 gress a report on the following: 

18 (1) The determination and certification of the 

19 President that the requirements of subparagraphs 

20 (A) through (D) of section 101(a)(2) have been met, 

21 if applicable. 

22 (2) The determination of the President under 

23 section 101(b), if applicable. 

24 (3) Efforts by the United States Government to 

25 secure transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in 
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1 countries in close geographical proximity to Vietnam 

2 in accordance with section 301. 

3 (4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet4 nam promote the policy set forth in section 302 and 

5 section 102 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and 

6 Other Foreign Relations Provisions Act of 1996 (22 

7 U.S.C. 2452 note) with respect to participation in 

8 programs of educational and cultural exchange. 

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

10 section 401(a). 

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

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

13 otherwise persecuted by the Government of Vietnam 

14 due to their pursuit of internationally recognized 

15 human rights. In compiling such lists, the Secretary 

16 shall exercise appropriate discretion, including con17 cerns regarding the safety and security of, and ben18 efit to, the persons who may be included on the lists 

19 and their families. In addition, the Secretary shall 

20 include a list of such persons and their families who 

21 may qualify for protection under United States ref22 ugee programs. 

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

24 of law in Vietnam, including, but not limited to— 
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1 (A) progress toward the development of in2 stitutions of democratic governance; 

3 (B) processes by which statutes, regula4 tions, rules, and other legal acts of the Govern5 ment of Vietnam are developed and become 

6 binding within Vietnam; 

7 (C) the extent to which statutes, regula8 tions, rules, administrative and judicial deci9 sions, and other legal acts of the Government of 

10 Vietnam are published and are made accessible 

11 to the public; 

12 (D) the extent to which administrative and 

13 judicial decisions are supported by statements 

14 of reasons that are based upon written statutes, 

15 regulations, rules, and other legal acts of the 

16 Government of Vietnam; 

17 (E) the extent to which individuals are 

18 treated equally under the laws of Vietnam with19 out regard to citizenship, race, religion, political 

20 opinion, or current or former associations; 

21 (F) the extent to which administrative and 

22 judicial decisions are independent of political 

23 pressure or governmental interference and are 

24 reviewed by entities of appellate jurisdiction; 

25 and 
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1 (G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam 

2 are written and administered in ways that are 

3 consistent with international human rights 

4 standards, including the requirements of the 

5 International Covenant on Civil and Political 

6 Rights. 

7 (b) CONTACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In 

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

9 shall, as appropriate, consult with and seek input from 

10 nongovernmental organizations, human rights advocates 

11 (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights advo12 cates in Vietnam), and the United States Commission on 

13 International Religious Freedom. 

Æ 
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TITLE II—ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND 

DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 201. Assistance. 

TITLE III—UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

Sec. 301. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam. 

Sec. 302. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with Vietnam. 

TITLE IV—UNITED STATES REFUGEE POLICY 

Sec. 401. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam. 

TITLE V—ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM 

AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM 

Sec. 501. Annual report. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a one4 party State, ruled and controlled by the Communist 

5 Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to deny 

6 the right of citizens to change their government. Al7 though in recent years the National Assembly of 

8 Vietnam has played an increasingly active role as a 

9 forum for highlighting local concerns, corruption, 

10 and inefficiency, the National Assembly remains sub11 ject to CPV direction. The CPV maintains control 

12 over the selection of candidates in national and local 

13 elections. 

14 (2) The Government of Vietnam permits no 

15 public challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party 

16 State. It prohibits independent political, labor, and 

17 social organizations and continues to detain and im-