I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3001 

To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection 

of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule 

of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2021 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. 

KIM of California, Mrs. STEEL, and Mr. CORREA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To advance United States national interests by prioritizing 

the protection of internationally recognized human rights 

and development of the rule of law in relations between 

the United States and Vietnam, 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 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Vietnam Human Rights Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 3. Assistance for political and religious prisoners in Vietnam. 

Sec. 4. Sanctions with respect to human rights violations in Vietnam. 

Sec. 5. Actions to combat online censorship and surveillance in Vietnam. 

Sec. 6. Annual country reports on human rights practices. 

Sec. 7. Prohibition on funding for the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of Vietnam. 

Sec. 8. International religious freedom. 

Sec. 9. United States assistance to support counting of women and girls in 

Vietnam. 

Sec. 10. Annual reports on United States-Vietnam human rights dialogue meetings. 

Sec. 11. Restrictions on nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam. 

Sec. 12. Definitions. 

3 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States to— 

5 (1) prioritize as a matter of strategic impor6 tance the Government of Vietnam’s violations of uni7 versally recognized human rights, fundamental free8 doms, and the rule of law to ensure the long-term 

9 sustainability of the United States-Vietnam strategic 

10 partnership; 

11 (2) embed human rights concerns across the 

12 full spectrum of official interactions between the 

13 Government of the United States and the Govern14 ment of Vietnam and convey during diplomatic en15 gagements that concrete human rights improvements 

16 are key parts of any discussions on trade, security, 

17 humanitarian cooperation, and economic develop18 ment; 


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1 (3) assess Vietnam’s progress toward respecting 

2 the basic rights of workers, as described in each re3 port required by section 702 of the Foreign Rela4 tions Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public 

5 Law 107–228; 22 U.S.C. 2151n note) and in light 

6 of the commitments specified in the United States7 Vietnam Plan for Enhancement of Trade and Labor 

8 Relations, notwithstanding the fact that the Trans 

9 Pacific Partnership did not go into effect; 

10 (4) press for ratification of ILO Conventions 

11 No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of 

12 the Right to Organize) and No. 98 (Right to Orga13 nize and Collective Bargaining) and the recognition 

14 of independent labor unions; and 

15 (5) evaluate future trade negotiations with the 

16 Government of Vietnam in accordance with the cri17 teria set forth for country eligibility under sub18 sections (b)(2) and (c) of section 502 of the Trade 

19 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462), relating to the Gen20 eralized System of Preferences, and in accordance 

21 with the provisions of the Bipartisan Congressional 

22 Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 

23 (title I of Public Law 114–26; 19 U.S.C. 4201 et 

24 seq.). 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRIS2 ONERS IN VIETNAM. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) There are over 170 Vietnamese political and 

5 religious prisoners currently detained in Vietnam, 

6 nearly half of whom were arrested due to expression 

7 or activities online. 

8 (2) Prisoners include human rights defenders, 

9 bloggers, lawyers, religious leaders, trade unionists, 

10 land rights activists, political dissidents, environ11 mental campaigners, and others arrested for exer12 cising their internationally guaranteed rights or to 

13 promote and protect the rights of others. 

14 (b) ASSISTANCE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

16 provide assistance to individuals in Vietnam and ap17 propriate civil society organizations outside Vietnam 

18 that work to secure the release of political and reli19 gious prisoners in Vietnam, and to current and 

20 former political and religious prisoners in Vietnam. 

21 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Assistance required by this 

22 subsection shall include the following activities: 

23 (A) Support for the documentation of 

24 human rights violations with respect to political 

25 and religious prisoners. 


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1 (B) Support for advocacy to raise aware2 ness of issues relating to political and religious 

3 prisoners. 

4 (C) Support for efforts to repeal or amend 

5 laws or regulations used to detain individuals 

6 seeking to exercise internationally recognized 

7 human rights. 

8 (D) Support, including travel costs, legal 

9 fees, and other appropriate expenses, for fami10 lies of religious and political prisoners. 

11 (E) Support for health, including mental 

12 health, and post-incarceration assistance in 

13 gaining access to education and employment op14 portunities or other forms of reparation to en15 able former political and religious prisoners to 

16 resume a normal life. 

17 (c) DISCUSSIONS.—As part of a ‘‘whole of govern18 ment’’ approach to human rights improvements in Viet19 nam, the Secretary of State and other United States offi20 cials, in discussions with the Government of Vietnam, 

21 should seek, as a critical condition of stronger United 

22 States-Vietnam relations, the repeal of laws and regula23 tions used to detain political and religious prisoners and 

24 the immediate and unconditional release of all political 

25 and religious prisoners. 


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1 SEC. 4. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIO2 LATIONS IN VIETNAM. 

3 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

4 United States to regularly assess reporting from intel5 ligence, diplomatic, open source, congressional, and non6 governmental organization sources to identify and impose 

7 travel and financial restrictions on officials of the Govern8 ment of Vietnam and other foreign persons working di9 rectly or indirectly for the Government of Vietnam who, 

10 based on credible evidence— 

11 (1) are— 

12 (A) responsible for, ordered, or are 

13 complicit in the arbitrary detention, torture, en14 forced disappearances of individuals in Vietnam 

15 seeking to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote 

16 internationally recognized human rights; or 

17 (B) responsible for, ordered, or are 

18 complicit in acts of significant corruption, in19 cluding the expropriation of private or public 

20 assets for personal gain, corruption related to 

21 government contracts or the extraction of nat22 ural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or 

23 transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign 

24 jurisdictions; 

25 (2) are responsible for surveillance, censorship, 

26 or detention of individuals in Vietnam for exercising 


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1 the right to the freedom of expression online or 

2 those responsible for forcing United States compa3 nies to censor or reveal personally identifiable infor4 mation of any individual exercising this right; or 

5 (3) are responsible for particularly severe viola6 tions of religious freedom (as such term is defined 

7 in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom 

8 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402). 

9 (b) SANCTIONS.— 

10 (1) GLOBAL MAGNITSKY HUMAN RIGHTS AC11 COUNTABILITY ACT.—The President should impose 

12 sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human 

13 Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) 

14 with respect to any person described in subsection 

15 (a)(1). 

16 (2) DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPER17 ATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS

18 ACT, 2019.—The Secretary of State should impose 

19 sanctions described in section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the 

20 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Re21 lated Programs Appropriations Act, 2019 (division 

22 F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019; 

23 Public Law 116–6) with respect to any person de24 scribed in subsection (a)(2). 


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1 (3) IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—The 

2 Secretary of State should impose the sanctions de3 scribed in section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration 

4 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) to 

5 any foreign person described in subsection (a)(3). 

6 (c) REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

8 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 a report on sanctions imposed on persons described 

10 in subsection (a) under the provisions of law de11 scribed in subsection (b), including information on— 

12 (A) the number of times sanctions were 

13 imposed on such persons under such provisions 

14 of law; 

15 (B) the reasons for imposing such sanc16 tions; and 

17 (C) where appropriate, an identification of 

18 the sanctioned persons. 

19 (2) INCLUSION.—The report required by this 

20 subsection shall be submitted as part of the report 

21 required section 702 of the Foreign Relations Au22 thorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 

23 228; 22 U.S.C. 2151n note) (as amended by section 

24 10 of this Act). 


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1 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO COMBAT ONLINE CENSORSHIP AND 

2 SURVEILLANCE IN VIETNAM. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) Vietnam continues to have one of the 

5 world’s most restrictive internet environments, with 

6 pervasive filtering of content and the frequent ar7 rests of bloggers and others whose only offense is to 

8 advocate online for positions different than those 

9 held by the government. 

10 (2) Since 2013, the Government of Vietnam has 

11 issued laws and decrees, including a cybersecurity 

12 law, that increased its ability to surveil its citizens 

13 without judicial oversight or recourse. The cyberse14 curity law has been used to charge Vietnamese citi15 zens with vague crimes of ‘‘negating revolutionary 

16 achievements’’ and distributing ‘‘misleading informa17 tion among the people’’. Vietnam’s Penal Code and 

18 Decree 15 have also been used to render many legiti19 mate online activities illegal, leading to the arrest 

20 and detentions of political prisoners. 

21 (3) The Government of Vietnam uses the cyber22 security law to require United States companies to 

23 store information in Vietnam, censor social media 

24 posts on demand, and to turn over sensitive personal 

25 information about users. Companies such as 

26 Facebook and Google comply with these requests, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001

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1 cluding through the censorship of social media con2 tent of United States citizens and permanent resi3 dent aliens. 

4 (4) United States companies Facebook and 

5 YouTube have been instrumental in this crackdown, 

6 complying with Vietnam’s request to censor and 

7 ‘‘geoblock’’ content determined to violate local Viet8 namese law, which often contradicts international 

9 law and Vietnam’s treaty obligations. 

10 (5) In the first half of 2020, Facebook in11 creased its content restrictions in Vietnam by 983 

12 percent, a dramatic increase from the second half of 

13 2019. 

14 (6) Facebook complied with 90 percent of Viet15 nam’s censorship requests in 2020 and YouTube 

16 with 95 percent of such requests, a fact the Govern17 ment of Vietnam noted with satisfaction. 

18 (7) The local legal provisions that directly en19 abled Facebook and YouTube’s censorship, Articles 

20 117 and 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, also were 

21 used to imprison most of the 27 prisoners of con22 science who were jailed in 2020. 

23 (8) A free and open internet and the free flow 

24 of news and information— 


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1 (A) are fundamental components of United 

2 States foreign policy because they foster eco3 nomic growth, protect individual liberties, and 

4 advance national security; 

5 (B) are critical to the advancement of both 

6 United States economic interests and inter7 nationally recognized human rights globally; 

8 and 

9 (C) are severely hindered by Vietnam’s cy10 bersecurity law which would allow the Govern11 ment of Vietnam to access private data, spy on 

12 users, require United States businesses to turn 

13 over personally identifiable information or block 

14 content of users, including outside of Vietnam, 

15 and further restrict already limited online 

16 speech. 

17 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

18 United States to— 

19 (1) pursue an open and free internet in Viet20 nam as an issue promoting United States economic 

21 interests and advancing internationally recognized 

22 human rights; 

23 (2) engage all appropriate United States Gov24 ernment agencies to promote the free flow of news 

25 and information in Vietnam; 


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1 (3) use all appropriate United States diplomatic 

2 instruments to pressure the Government of Vietnam 

3 to halt requests to force social media companies to 

4 block accounts and content of individuals whose con5 tent the Government disapproves; 

6 (4) use all available diplomatic instruments 

7 available to pursue trade policies with Vietnam that 

8 expand internet freedom and the information econ9 omy in Vietnam by— 

10 (A) ensuring the free flow of information 

11 across the global network; 

12 (B) promoting stronger international 

13 transparency rules; and 

14 (C) ensuring fair and equal treatment of 

15 online services regardless of country of origin; 

16 and 

17 (5) require companies with contracts with the 

18 United States Government that accede to requests of 

19 the Government of Vietnam to engage in censorship 

20 or to reveal sensitive personal information to report 

21 such requests to the Department of State at the 

22 time such requests occur and to report the nature of 

23 such requests and the companies’ responses publicly. 

24 (c) ACTIONS.—The Office of Internet Freedom of the 

25 United States Agency for Global Media and the Internet 


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1 Freedom and Business and Human Rights Section in the 

2 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the 

3 Department of State shall take such actions as may be 

4 necessary to— 

5 (1) prioritize the immediate distribution of cen6 sorship circumvention tools for computers and smart 

7 phones in Vietnam; and 

8 (2) prioritize projects to ensure the safety and 

9 privacy of bloggers and journalists and human rights 

10 defenders in Vietnam. 

11 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary of State, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of Commerce and the United States 

13 Trade Representative, shall submit to the appropriate con14 gressional committees a report that outlines a strategy 

15 to— 

16 (1) promote internet freedom and the free flow 

17 of news and information in Vietnam; and 

18 (2) promote efforts to assist United States 

19 internet companies to fulfill their stated missions to 

20 promote openness, transparency, and connectivity by 

21 opposing requests by the Government of Vietnam to 

22 remove political speech or content of journalists, es23 pecially when content is removed from the accounts 

24 of users in the United States. 


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1 SEC. 6. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

2 PRACTICES. 

3 (a) REPORT RELATING TO ECONOMIC ASSIST4 ANCE.—Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

5 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(h)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall 

8 include an assessment of freedom of expression with re9 spect to electronic information in each foreign country. 

10 Such assessment shall consist of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov12 ernment authorities in each country inappropriately 

13 attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re14 move nonviolent expression of political or religious 

15 opinion or belief via the internet, including electronic 

16 mail, as well as a description of the means by which 

17 such authorities attempt to block or remove such ex18 pression. 

19 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov20 ernment authorities in each country have persecuted 

21 or otherwise punished an individual or group for the 

22 nonviolent expression of political, religious, or ideo23 logical opinion or belief via the internet, including 

24 electronic mail. 

25 ‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov26 ernment authorities in each country have sought to 


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1 inappropriately collect, request, obtain, or disclose 

2 personally identifiable information of a person in 

3 connection with such person’s nonviolent expression 

4 of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, 

5 including expression that would be protected by the 

6 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

7 ‘‘(D) An assessment of the extent to which wire 

8 communications and electronic communications are 

9 monitored without regard to the principles of pri10 vacy, human rights, democracy, and rule of law. 

11 ‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments for 

12 the purposes of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic 

13 personnel shall consult with human rights organizations, 

14 technology and internet companies, and other appropriate 

15 nongovernmental organizations. 

16 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

17 ‘‘(A) the term ‘electronic communication’ has 

18 the meaning given such term in section 2510 of title 

19 18, United States Code; 

20 ‘‘(B) the term ‘internet’ has the meaning given 

21 such term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communica22 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)); 

23 ‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa24 tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par25 ticular person; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the term ‘wire communication’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in section 2510 of title 18, 

3 United States Code.’’. 

4 (b) REPORT RELATING TO SECURITY ASSISTANCE.— 

5 Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

6 U.S.C. 2304) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) 

8 (relating to child marriage status) as subsection (j); 

9 and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(k)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall 

13 include an assessment of freedom of expression with re14 spect to electronic information in each foreign country. 

15 Such assessment shall consist of the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov17 ernment authorities in each country inappropriately 

18 attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re19 move nonviolent expression of political or religious 

20 opinion or belief via the internet, including electronic 

21 mail, as well as a description of the means by which 

22 such authorities attempt to block or remove such ex23 pression. 

24 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov25 ernment authorities in each country have persecuted 


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1 or otherwise punished an individual or group for the 

2 nonviolent expression of political, religious, or ideo3 logical opinion or belief via the internet, including 

4 electronic mail. 

5 ‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov6 ernment authorities in each country have sought to 

7 inappropriately collect, request, obtain, or disclose 

8 personally identifiable information of a person in 

9 connection with such person’s nonviolent expression 

10 of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, 

11 including expression that would be protected by the 

12 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

13 ‘‘(D) An assessment of the extent to which wire 

14 communications and electronic communications are 

15 monitored without regard to the principles of pri16 vacy, human rights, democracy, and rule of law. 

17 ‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments for 

18 the purposes of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic 

19 personnel shall consult with human rights organizations, 

20 technology and internet companies, and other appropriate 

21 nongovernmental organizations. 

22 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

23 ‘‘(A) the term ‘electronic communication’ has 

24 the meaning given such term in section 2510 of title 

25 18, United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the term ‘internet’ has the meaning given 

2 such term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communica3 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)); 

4 ‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa5 tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par6 ticular person; and 

7 ‘‘(D) the term ‘wire communication’ has the 

8 meaning given such term in section 2510 of title 18, 

9 United States Code.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR THE MINISTRY OF 

11 PUBLIC SECURITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF 

12 VIETNAM. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: — 

14 (1) The Vietnam-based group APT 32, or 

15 OceanLotus Group, is one of the most active cyber 

16 espionage units in the world and has, since 2014, 

17 carried out intrusions into private sector companies 

18 and attempted to both surveil and steal the sensitive 

19 personal information of Vietnamese dissidents living 

20 outside of Vietnam as well as foreign governments. 

21 (2) APT 32 consistently acts in the interests of 

22 the Government of Vietnam, hacking individuals in 

23 Germany, China, Cambodia, and the Philippines and 

24 taking over the websites of Vietnamese Catholics 


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1 and hacking, news services, industrial plants, steel 

2 companies, and other entities. 

3 (3) The military of Vietnam operates a group 

4 of 10,000 ‘‘cybertroops’’, named Force 47, whose 

5 members intimidate and harass Vietnamese citizens 

6 online who speak out against government policies or 

7 otherwise peacefully exercise their human rights in a 

8 way determined by the Government of Vietnam as 

9 unacceptable. 

10 (b) PROHIBITION.—Consistent with section 620M of 

11 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d), 

12 no assistance may be furnished under the Foreign Assist13 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms 

14 Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to assist, 

15 directly or indirectly, any unit of the Ministry of Public 

16 Security of the Government of Vietnam or any other unit 

17 of the Government of Vietnam engaged in cyber-espionage 

18 activities. 

19 (c) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 75 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 of State, in consultation with the Director of Na23 tional Intelligence and the Director of the Federal 

24 Bureau of Investigations, shall submit to the appro25 priate congressional committees a report on the 


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1 extraterritorial activities of entities affiliated with or 

2 employed by the Government of Vietnam to engage 

3 in cyber espionage or surveil and harass Vietnamese 

4 dissidents living outside of Vietnam who are critical 

5 of policies of the Government of Vietnam or who ad6 vocate for internationally recognized human rights. 

7 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report 

8 required by this subsection shall include information 

9 on the steps taken by the United States Government 

10 to address cyber espionage from Vietnam and the 

11 protection of United States companies and United 

12 States citizens and permanent resident aliens. 

13 (3) FORM.—The report required by this sub14 section shall be submitted in unclassified form, by 

15 may include a classified annex with respect to infor16 mation that is sensitive to United States national se17 curity interests, as determined by the Secretary. The 

18 public element of the report may be issued as part 

19 of testimony by the Secretary of State before the 

20 House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate 

21 Foreign Relations Committee. 

22 (4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

24 congressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

2 Committee on Homeland Security, and the Per3 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

6 the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov7 ernmental Affairs, and the Select Committee on 

8 Intelligence of the Senate. 

9 SEC. 8. INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

11 (1) The promotion and protection of the univer12 sally recognized right to the freedom of religion is a 

13 priority of United States foreign policy as stated in 

14 section 402 of the International Religious Freedom 

15 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442) and the Bipartisan 

16 Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability 

17 Act of 2015 (title I of Public Law 114–26; 19 

18 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.) which requires the Administra19 tion to take religious freedom into account when ne20 gotiating trade agreements. 

21 (2) Countries that protect religious freedom are 

22 more prosperous, stable, peaceful and democratic. 

23 Thus, the severe restrictions faced by religious 

24 groups in Vietnam, such as members of the United 

25 Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), Catholics, 


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1 and independent Hoa Hao Buddhists, Cao Dai, and 

2 Protestants groups, are detrimental to the interests 

3 of both the United States and Vietnam. 

4 (3) The Government of Vietnam has reportedly 

5 stepped up its efforts to force Montagnard and 

6 Hmong Christians to renounce their faith, expro7 priate lands and other real properties belonging to 

8 independent religious communities, destroy Hoa Hao 

9 Buddhist and Cao Dai houses of worship, and arrest 

10 and detain religious leaders. Religious leaders and 

11 advocates of religious freedom remain in prison. 

12 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Since the protection of 

13 religious freedom is vital to peace, stability, and pros14 perity, and countries with the highest levels of restrictions 

15 on religious freedom are often those countries seeking to 

16 undermine United States national interests or ignore 

17 international legal norms and standards, it is the policy 

18 of the United States to— 

19 (1) prioritize religious freedom in bilateral rela20 tions, including with the Government of Vietnam, by 

21 fully implementing the provisions of the Frank R. 

22 Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Public 

23 Law 114–281); and 


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1 (2) strategically employ sanctions and other 

2 tools under the International Religious Freedom Act 

3 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.). 

4 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) Vietnam should be designated as a country 

7 of particular concern for religious freedom under 

8 section 402(b) of the International Religious Free9 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)) because there 

10 are a significant number of individuals imprisoned 

11 for their religious activity or advocacy for religious 

12 freedom and for ‘‘systematic, egregious, and ongo13 ing’’ violations of religious freedom; 

14 (2) the President, in making the annual des15 ignations under section 402(b) of such Act, should 

16 take into account the annual report of the United 

17 States Commission on International Religious Free18 dom under section 203 of such Act and the Commis19 sion’s assessment that the designation of Vietnam as 

20 a country of particular concern for religious freedom 

21 from 2004 to 2006 led to tangible improvements in 

22 religious freedom conditions while trade and security 

23 cooperation increased; and 

24 (3) because the Government of Vietnam tightly 

25 controls religious institutions and then persecutes 


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1 those individuals who establish or operate inde2 pendent religious institutions and genuinely non3 governmental organizations, the Secretary of State 

4 should— 

5 (A) use all available diplomatic, develop6 ment, economic assistance, and political tools to 

7 ensure that independent religious and civil soci8 ety organizations can operate freely and without 

9 restriction in Vietnam; and 

10 (B) raise these issues in all appropriate 

11 statements, dialogues, reports, and negotiations 

12 between the United States and Vietnam and in 

13 multi-lateral institutions where the United 

14 States and Vietnam are members. 

15 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT COUNT16 ING OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN VIETNAM. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) Vietnam remains a ‘‘source and, to a lesser 

19 extent, a destination country . . . for sex trafficking 

20 and forced labor.’’. 

21 (2) Vietnamese men and women are subject to 

22 forced labor in ‘‘rehabilitation’’ centers, detention 

23 centers, and prisons and, according to the 2016 An24 nual Report on Trafficking in Persons. 


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1 (3) Vietnamese migrants working in ‘‘state2 owned, private, or joint-stock companies’’ live in 

3 ‘‘situations of exploitation’’ in the construction, fish4 ing, agriculture, mining, logging and manufacturing 

5 sectors in other countries. 

6 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GIRLS COUNT ACT OF

7 2015 IN VIETNAM.— 

8 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (A) Vietnam’s male to female sex-ratio dis10 parity has increased despite the Vietnamese 

11 Government’s ending of its policy limiting mar12 ried couples to 2 children. 

13 (B) Experts believe sex ratio disparities 

14 have critical economic and social ramifications 

15 that effect United States interests, exacerbating 

16 the vulnerabilities of women to trafficking, child 

17 marriage, and reducing the ability of women to 

18 seek employment and participate in educational 

19 opportunities and civil society. 

20 (2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of State 

21 is authorized to establish and support programs to— 

22 (A) monitor and halt bride and sex traf23 ficking of girls and women in Vietnam and 

24 women from other countries in Asia, including 

25 China, as appropriate; and 


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1 (B) address Vietnam’s growing sex-ratio 

2 disparity through economic support and pro3 grams described in section 4(a) of the Girls 

4 Count Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–24; 22 

5 U.S.C. 2151 note). 

6 SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORTS ON UNITED STATES-VIETNAM 

7 HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE MEETINGS. 

8 Section 702 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 

9 Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107–228; 22 U.S.C. 

10 2151n note) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(9) Ending incidents of torture, police beat13 ings, deaths in police custody, and mob or societal 

14 violence targeting religious groups or dissidents. 

15 ‘‘(10) Returning properties of independent reli16 gious communities or organizations that have been 

17 reportedly expropriated by the Government of Viet18 nam or by government-sanctioned religious organiza19 tions. 

20 ‘‘(11) Addressing individual claims by United 

21 States citizens whose properties have been expropri22 ated by the Government of Vietnam without effec23 tive, prompt, and fair compensation. 

24 ‘‘(12) Implementing section 4 of the Girls 

25 Count Act of (Public Law 114–24; 22 U.S.C. 2151 


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1 note) and how such section has been applied in Viet2 nam. 

3 ‘‘(13) Ensuring internet freedom and specific 

4 efforts to ensure the safety and privacy of Viet5 namese bloggers and journalists on the internet or 

6 other forms of electronic communication.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. RESTRICTIONS ON NONHUMANITARIAN ASSIST8 ANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that, except as provided in subsection (b), the Sec11 retary of State should consider restricting certain assist12 ance to the Government of Vietnam unless— 

13 (1) the Government of Vietnam makes substan14 tial progress toward releasing all political and reli15 gious prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, 

16 and other forms of detention; 

17 (2) the Government of Vietnam has made sub18 stantial progress toward— 

19 (A) respecting the right to freedom of reli20 gion, including the right to participate in reli21 gious activities and institutions without inter22 ference, harassment, or involvement of the Gov23 ernment, for all of Vietnam’s diverse religious 

24 communities; and 


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1 (B) returning estates and properties con2 fiscated from the churches and religious com3 munities; 

4 (3) the Government of Vietnam has made sub5 stantial progress toward respecting the right to in6 person and online freedom of expression, assembly, 

7 and association, including the release of independent 

8 journalists, bloggers, and democracy and labor activ9 ists; 

10 (4) the Government of Vietnam has made sub11 stantial progress toward repealing or revising laws 

12 that criminalize peaceful dissent, independent media, 

13 unsanctioned religious activity, and nonviolent dem14 onstrations and rallies, in accordance with inter15 national standards and treaties to which Vietnam is 

16 a party; 

17 (5) the Government of Vietnam has made sub18 stantial progress toward allowing Vietnamese nation19 als free and open access to United States refugee 

20 programs; 

21 (6) the Government of Vietnam has made sub22 stantial progress toward respecting the human rights 

23 of members of all ethnic and minority groups; and 

24 (7) neither any official of the Government of 

25 Vietnam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly 


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1 owned by the Government of Vietnam was complicit 

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

3 Government of Vietnam took all appropriate steps to 

4 end any such complicity and hold such official, agen5 cy, or entity fully accountable for such conduct. 

6 (b) EXCEPTION.—The restriction described in sub7 section (a) should not apply to assistance under the For8 eign Assistance Act of 1961 for the following purposes: 

9 (1) Disaster relief assistance, including any as10 sistance under chapter 9 of part I of such Act (22 

11 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.). 

12 (2) Assistance which involves the provision of 

13 food (including monetization of food) or medicine. 

14 (3) Assistance for environmental remediation of 

15 dioxin-contaminated sites and related health activi16 ties. 

17 (4) Assistance to combat severe forms of traf18 ficking in persons (as such term is defined in section 

19 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

20 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102)). 

21 (5) Assistance to combat pandemic diseases. 

22 (6) Assistance for refugees. 

23 (7) Assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, including 

24 any assistance under section 104A of such Act (22 

25 U.S.C. 2151b–2). 


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1 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘ap5 propriate congressional committees’’ means the 

6 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela8 tions of the Senate. 

9 (2) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘internet’’ has the 

10 meaning given such term in section 231(e)(3) of the 

11 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)). 

12 (3) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA13 TION.—The term ‘‘personally identifiable informa14 tion’’ means data in a form that identifies a par15 ticular person. 

Æ 


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