All clergy must belong to the official Vietnam Buddhist Church and must obtain government permission to hold meetings or training seminars, operate religious schools, appoint clergy, and repair places of worship. The government similarly regulates Catholic activities through the Catholic Patriotic Association. In the central highlands, the government restricts the Protestant religious affairs of the ethnic Montagnards and has arrested clergy and worshippers. Authorities reportedly restrict exit permits for Muslims seeking to make the Hajj. Local authorities impose internal travel, education, and employment restrictions on ethnic minorities.
Women face violence, as well as social and employment discrimination.
Child prostitution and international trafficking of minors are reportedly increasing. In early 1998, police in southern An Giang province arrested six people on charges of child trafficking. There were also reports in 1998 of women selling their babies at an underground market in Ho Chi Minh City. The UNDP estimates that about half the Vietnamese population lives under the poverty line. All unions must belong to the state-controlled Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and all union leaders are VCP members.