H. Res. 243 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
May 2, 2007. 
Whereas, on February 18, 2007, Vietnamese police raided 
the parish house of Father Nguyen Van Ly and con-
fiscated computers, telephones, more than 100 mobile 
phone cards, and more than 200 kilograms of documents; 
Whereas the police moved Father Ly to the remote location 
of Ben Cui in central Vietnam, where he is under house 
arrest; 
Whereas Father Ly is a former prisoner of conscience, having 
spent a total of over 13 years in prison since 1983 for 
his advocacy of religious freedom and democracy in Viet-
nam; 
Whereas Father Ly is an advisor of ‘‘Block 8406’’, a democ-
racy movement that started in April 2006 when hundreds 
of people throughout Vietnam signed public petitions call-
ing for democracy and human rights; 
Whereas Father Ly is also an advisor of a new political 
party, the Vietnam Progression Party, and one of the pri-
mary editors of ‘‘Freedom of Speech’’ magazine; 
Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police arrested one 
of Vietnam’s few practicing human rights lawyers, 
Nguyen Van Dai, who has defended individuals arrested 
for their human rights and religious activities, is the co-
•HRES 243 EH 
founder of the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam, 
and is one of the principal organizers of the Block 8406 
democracy movement; 
Whereas, on March 6, 2007, Vietnamese police also arrested 
Le Thi Cong Nhan, a human rights lawyer, a member of 
‘‘Block 8406’’, the principal spokesperson for the Pro-
gression Party, and a founder of the Vietnamese Labor 
Movement; 
Whereas Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, and Le Thi Cong 
Nhan have been charged with disseminating propaganda 
against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under article 
88 of the Penal Code of Vietnam; 
Whereas Father Ly was tried and convicted on March 30, 
2007, and sentenced to 8 years in prison; 
Whereas if convicted, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong each 
could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison; 
Whereas Le Quoc Quan is a lawyer who traveled to the 
United States in September 2006 to research civil society 
development as a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National 
Endowment for Democracy; 
Whereas Le Quoc Quan returned to Vietnam in early March 
2007 and was arrested by Hanoi police on March 8, 
2007; 
Whereas Le Quoc Quan has been charged under Article 79 
of the Penal Code of Vietnam which prohibits activities 
aimed at overthrowing the Government and carries ex-
tremely severe prison terms and even the death penalty; 
Whereas in none of their activities have Father Ly, Nguyen 
Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, or Le Quoc Quan advo-
cated or engaged in violence;
•HRES 243 EH 
Whereas the arrest of and charges against Father Ly, 
Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan 
violate Article 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution, which 
states that ‘‘The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion 
and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be in-
formed and the right to assemble, form associations and 
hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of 
the law’’; 
Whereas Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, 
and Le Quoc Quan have been arrested and charged in 
contravention of the rights enshrined in the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which 
Vietnam is a state party, specifically Article 18 (freedom 
of religion), Article 19 (freedom of expression) and Arti-
cle 22 (freedom of association); 
Whereas Vietnam recently has imprisoned, detained, placed 
under house arrest, or otherwise restricted numerous 
other peaceful democratic and religious activists for rea-
sons related to their political or religious views, including 
Nguyen Binh Thanh, Nguyen Phong, Nguyen Ngoc 
Quang, Nguyen Vu Binh, Huynh Trung Dao, Nguyen 
Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doang Huy Chuong, 
Doan Van Dien, Le Ba Triet, Nguyen Tuan, Bui Kim 
Thanh and Tran Quoc Hien; 
Whereas the United States Congress agreed to Vietnam be-
coming an official member of the World Trade Organiza-
tion (WTO) in 2006, amidst assurances that the Viet-
namese Government was steadily improving its human 
rights record and would continue to do so; 
Whereas the group of Asian countries at the United Nations 
have nominated Vietnam as the sole regional candidate 
for a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security
•HRES 243 EH 
Council for the 2008–2009 biennium, and pursuant to 
the United Nations Charter, Vietnam would be required 
to discharge its duties in accordance with the purposes of 
the United Nations, including the promotion and encour-
agement of respect for human rights and fundamental 
freedoms for all; and 
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the 
human rights of citizens of Vietnam are sources of con-
tinuing, grave concern to Congress, and the arrests of 
Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le 
Quoc Quan are part of a trend toward increasing oppres-
sion of human rights advocates in Vietnam: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the House of Representatives— 
(A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary ar-
rests of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, 
Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan by the Gov-
ernment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and 
calls for their immediate and unconditional release 
and the dropping of all criminal charges, and for 
the immediate and unconditional release of all other 
political and religious prisoners; 
(B) condemns and deplores the violations of 
the freedoms of speech, religion, movement, associa-
tion, and the lack of due process afforded to indi-
viduals in Vietnam;
•HRES 243 EH 
the freedom of religion and expression in order to 
broaden its relations with the United States; 
(E) make clear to the Government of Vietnam 
that the detention of Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, 
Le Thi Cong Nhan, Le Quoc Quan, and other polit-
ical prisoners and prisoners of conscience and other 
human rights violations are not in the best interest 
of Vietnam because they create obstacles to im-
proved bilateral relations and cooperation with the 
United States; 
(F) examine current human rights violations 
by the Vietnamese Government and consider re-im-
posing on Vietnam the ‘‘country of particular con-
cern’’ (CPC) designation, which was removed on 
November 13, 2006, pursuant to the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998; and 
(G) in order to advance these freedoms and 
rights, and to strengthen the long-term relationship 
between the United States and Vietnam, initiate 
new foreign assistance programs to advance the ca-
pacity and networking abilities of Vietnamese civil 
society, including— 
(i) rule of law programs to train Viet-
namese human rights lawyers, judges, aca-
•HRES 243 EH 
demics, and students about international 
human rights law; 
(ii) public diplomacy initiatives to inform 
and teach Vietnamese citizens about inter-
national human rights norms and responsibil-
ities; and 
(iii) projects that support organizations 
and associations that promote the freedom of 
religion, speech, assembly, and association. 
Attest: 
Clerk.