(3)(A) The Government of Viet Nam consist-
ently pursues a policy of harassment, discrimination, 
and intimidation, and sometimes of imprisonment 
and other forms of detention, against those who 
peacefully express dissent from government or party 
policy. This policy includes collectively punishing 
family members of individuals targeted for persecu-
tion. A government decree allows detention without 
trial for 6 months to 2 years. 
(B) Following the United States ratification of 
the Bilateral Trade Agreement with Viet Nam in 
2001, the human rights situation in Viet Nam has 
remained extremely poor. For certain groups, such 
as the Montagnards, and other ethnic minorities in 
Central and North Vietnam, conditions have deterio-
rated dramatically. In late 2002, the Government of 
Viet Nam launched a fresh wave of arrests and 
crackdowns against peaceful critics of the Viet-
namese Government, its policy of repression, and its 
corrupt practices. 
(C) Recent victims of such mistreatment, which 
violates the rights to freedom of expression and as-
sociation recognized in the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights, include Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a 
leading human rights activist who was arrested on
March 17, 2003, and has already served two lengthy 
prison sentences, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, Most 
Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable 
Thich Quang Do, linguist Tran Khue, businessman 
Nguyen Khac Toan, journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, 
publicist Le Chi Quang, writer Hoang Tien, military 
historian Pham Que Duong, Hoang Minh Chinh, 
Tran Dung Tien, Hoang Trong Dung, Nguyen Vu 
Viet, Nguyen Truc Cuong, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Vu Cao 
Quan, Nguyen The Dam, Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, 
Father Chan Tin, author Duong Thu Huong, poet 
Bui Minh Quoc, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tu (Ha Si Phu), 
Dr. Pham Hong Son, Mai Thai Linh, Most Vener-
able Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable Thich 
Quang Do, Father Nguyen Van Ly, Pastor Nguyen 
Lap Ma, Father Phan Van Loi, numerous leaders of 
the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church and of independent 
Protestant churches, and an undetermined number 
of members of the Montagnard ethnic minority 
groups who participated in peaceful demonstrations 
in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam during Feb-
ruary 2001.
(4) The Government of Viet Nam systematically 
deprives its citizens of the fundamental right or or-
ganized religious activities outside the state’s con-
trol. Although some freedom of worship is permitted, 
believers are forbidden to participate in religious ac-
tivities except under circumstances rigidly defined 
and controlled by the Government: 
(A)(i) In April, 1999 the Government 
issued a Decree Concerning Religious Activities, 
which declared in pertinent part that ‘‘[a]ll ac-
tivities using religious belief in order to oppose 
the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, 
to prevent the believers from carrying out civic 
responsibilities, to sabotage the union of all the 
people, and against the healthy culture of our 
nation, as well as superstitious activities, will be 
punished in conformity with the law’’. 
(ii) All public religious activities must be 
approved by the Government in advance. The 
United States Commission on International Re-
ligious Freedom in October 2002 recommended 
that Viet Nam be classified as a country of par-
ticular concern. At its Seventh Plenum in Janu-
ary 2003, the Communist Party’s Central Com-
mittee issued a resolution calling for the estab-
lishment of cells of Communist Party members 
within each of Vietnam’s 6 approved religions 
in order to foil ‘‘hostile forces’’.
(B)(i) The Unified Buddhist Church of 
Viet Nam (UBCV), the largest religious de-
nomination in the country, has been declared il-
legal by the Government, and over the last 27 
years its clergy have often been imprisoned and 
subjected to other forms of persecution. The 
Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church, 85-
year-old Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, 
has been detained for 25 years in a ruined tem-
ple in an isolated area of central Viet Nam. 
(ii) Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the 
Executive President of the Unified Buddhist 
Church, has also been in various forms of de-
tention since 1977, and was recently rearrested 
and placed under house arrest after he had pro-
posed to bring Most Venerable Thich Huyen 
Quang to Saigon for medical treatment. 
(iii) Many other leading Buddhist figures, 
including Thich Hai Tang, Thich Khong Tanh, 
Thich Thai Hoa, Thich Tue Si, Thich Quang 
Hue, Thich Tam An, Thich Nguyen Ly, Thich 
Thanh Huyen, Thich Thong Dat, Thich Chi 
Mau, Thich Chi Thang, Thich Chon Niem, 
Thich Thanh Quang are under tight surveil-
lance. Several members of the UBCV have fled 
to Cambodia. 
(C)(i) The Hao Hoa Buddhist Church was 
also declared to be illegal until 1999, when the 
Government established an organization which 
purports to govern the Hao Hoa. According to 
the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom, ‘‘[t]his organization is made 
up almost entirely of Communist Party mem-
bers and apparently is not recognized as legiti-
mate by the vast majority of Hao Hoas . . . 
[n]evertheless, [this government-sponsored or-
ganization] has sought to control all Hao Hoa 
religious activity, particularly at the Hao Hoa 
village, which is the center of Hao Hoa religious 
life’’. 
(ii)(I) Hao Hoa believers who do not recog-
nize the legitimacy of the government organiza-
tion are denied the right to visit the Hao Hoa 
village, to conduct traditional religious celebra-
tions, or to display Hao Hoa symbols. Many 
have been arrested and subjected to administra-
tive detention, and several Hao Hoa have been 
sentenced to prison terms for protesting these 
denials of religious freedom.
(II) The Government interferes with Hao 
Hoa efforts to conduct charitable works, and 
prohibits public celebration to commemorate the 
founder’s disappearance as well as the distribu-
tion of the founder’s teachings. The Govern-
ment controls greatly the leadership selection 
process of the Cao Dais, another indigenous Vi-
etnamese religion. 
(III) At least the following Hao Hoa be-
lievers are known to be in prison or house de-
tention: Ha Hai, Tran Van Be Cao, Tran 
Nguyen Huon, Phan Thi Tiem, Le Quang 
Liem, Nguyen Van Dien, Le Minh Triet, and 
Vo Van Thanh Liem. 
(D)(i) Independent Protestants, most of 
whom are members of ethnic minority groups, 
are subjected to particularly harsh treatment by 
the Government of Viet Nam. According to the 
United States Commission on International Re-
ligious Freedom, such treatment includes ‘‘po-
lice raids on homes and house churches, deten-
tion, imprisonment, confiscation of religious and 
personal property, physical and psychological 
abuse, and fines for engaging in unapproved re-
ligious activities (such as collective worship,
public religious expression and distribution of 
religious literature, and performing baptisms, 
marriages, or funeral services) . . . [i]n addi-
tion, it is reported that ethnic Hmong Protes-
tants have been forced by local officials to agree 
to abandon their faith’’. 
(ii)(I) According to human rights activists 
in Viet Nam, 2 secret central plans—Plan 
184A and 184B—issued in 1999 by the Com-
munist Party to combat Protestant believers 
were fully implemented throughout the country, 
and led to a crackdown on the Protestant move-
ment, especially in the Central and Northern 
Highland areas. 
(II) An estimated 14,000 Christians fled 
from the North to the Central Highlands in the 
past 5 years. According to the Southern Evan-
gelical Church of Viet Nam, the Government of 
Viet Nam forcibly closed 354 of the 412 
churches in Dak Lak province, 56 pastors from 
the Central Highlands have disappeared, and at 
least 43 evangelical Montagnards have been 
sentenced to prison. Freedom House has re-
ported on the beating death of Hmong Chris-
tian Mua Bua Senh by police authorities.
(E)(i) Other religious organizations, such 
as the Catholic Church, are formally recognized 
by the Government but are subjected to perva-
sive regulation which violates the right to free-
dom of religion. For instance, the Catholic 
Church is forbidden to appoint its own bishops 
without Government consent, which is fre-
quently denied, to accept seminarians without 
specific official permission, and to profess 
Catholic doctrines which are inconsistent with 
Government policy. Government restrictions on 
the seminary process have caused a severe 
shortage of priests. 
(ii) A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van 
Ly, was arrested in March 2001 and remains in 
detention after submitting written testimony to 
the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom. On October 19, 2001, he 
was sentenced to a total of 20 years of impris-
onment and house arrest; the trial in Hue took 
place closed to the public and without a defense 
lawyer. 
(iii) In October 2002, the Vietnamese 
Bishops Conference took an unprecedented step 
when they protested to the National Assembly
about the persecutions endured by Catholic eth-
nic minorities. 
(F) The Government has also confiscated 
numerous churches, temples, and other prop-
erties belonging to religious organizations. The 
vast majority of these properties—even those 
belonging to religious organizations formally 
recognized by the Government—have never 
been returned. 
(5)(A) Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam 
has persecuted veterans of the Army of the Republic 
of Viet Nam and other Vietnamese who had opposed 
the Viet Cong insurgency and the North Vietnamese 
invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution typi-
cally included substantial terms in ‘‘re-education 
camps’’, where detainees were often subjected to tor-
ture and other forms of physical abuse, and in which 
many died. 
(B) Re-education camp survivors and their fam-
ilies were often forced into internal exile in ‘‘New 
Economic Zones’’. Many of these former allies of the 
United States, as well as members of their families, 
continue until the present day to suffer various 
forms of harassment and discrimination, including
denial of basic social benefits and exclusion from 
higher education and employment. 
(6)(A) The Government of Viet Nam has been 
particularly harsh in its treatment of members of 
the Montagnard ethnic minority groups of the Cen-
tral Highlands of Viet Nam, who were the first line 
in the defense of South Viet Nam against invasion 
from the North and who fought courageously beside 
members of the Special Forces of the United States, 
suffering disproportionately heavy casualties, and 
saving the lives of many of their American and Viet-
namese comrades-in-arms. 
(B) Since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have 
been singled out for severe repression, in part be-
cause of their past association with the United 
States and in part because their strong commitment 
to their traditional way of life and to their Christian 
religion is regarded as inconsistent with the absolute 
loyalty and control demanded by the Communist sys-
tem. The Government employs a policy of assimila-
tion and oppression against the Montagnards, forc-
ibly displacing them from their ancestral lands to 
make way for North Vietnamese settlers, coffee 
plantations, and logging operations.
(C) Between February and March 2001, several 
thousand members of the mountain tribes Djarai, 
Bahnar, and Rhade´ from the provinces of Pleiku, 
Gialai, and Daklak took part in a series of peaceful 
demonstrations 
to 
demand 
the 
release 
of 
Montagnard Christians, religious freedom and res-
toration of their confiscated lands. The Government 
responded by closing off the Central Highlands and 
sending in military forces, tanks, and helicopter 
gunships. Hundreds of demonstrators were injured. 
Altogether, more than 200 people, among them 60 
evangelical priests and tribal chieftains, were ar-
rested. Some regions of the Central Highlands re-
main closed to journalists and foreign diplomats. 
(D) Credible reports by refugees who have es-
caped to Cambodia indicate that the Government 
has executed some participants in the demonstra-
tions and has subjected others to imprisonment, tor-
ture, and other forms of physical abuse. 
(E) The Government of Viet Nam has also 
taken steps to prevent further Montagnards from es-
caping, and there are credible reports that Viet-
namese security forces in Cambodia are offering 
bounties for the surrender of Montagnard asylum 
seekers.
(F) According to Human Rights Watch, in De-
cember 2002 ‘‘[The Government] arrested or de-
tained dozens of highlanders and banned Christmas 
church services in order to prevent minority Chris-
tians from gathering. Six highlanders were detained 
during the third week in December in Krong Ana 
and Cu Jut districts, Dak Lak, during Christmas 
prayer services, while another eight were taken into 
custody as they were attempting to cross the border 
to Cambodia. Villagers throughout the Central High-
lands were warned they would face fines and even 
imprisonment if they organized Christmas services. 
In many areas authorities banned gatherings of four 
or more people.’’. 
(7) The Government of Viet Nam has also per-
secuted members of other ethnic minority groups, in-
cluding the Khmer Krom from the Mekong Delta, 
many of whom fought alongside United States mili-
tary personnel during the Viet Nam war and whose 
Hinayana Buddhist religion is not among those rec-
ognized by the Government. 
(8) The Government of Viet Nam also engages 
in or condones serious violations of the rights of 
workers. In August 1997, the United Nations Chil-
dren’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that child labor ex-
ploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of 
thousands of children under 15 years of age being 
subjected to such exploitation. The government’s of-
ficial labor export program also has subjected work-
ers, many of whom are women, to involuntary ser-
vitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse, and 
the reaction of government officials to worker com-
plaints of such abuse has been to threaten the work-
ers with punishment if they do not desist in their 
complaints. The government of Viet Nam has made 
some minor efforts to improve this situation, but en-
forcement of child labor laws remains weak, and the 
child exploitation still persists. 
(9)(A) United States refugee resettlement pro-
grams for Vietnamese nationals, including the Or-
derly Departure Program (ODP), the Resettlement 
Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese (ROVR) 
program, and resettlement of boat people from ref-
ugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, were author-
ized by law in order to rescue Vietnamese nationals 
who have suffered persecution on account of their 
wartime associations with the United States, as well 
as those who currently have a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of race, religion, nationality,
political opinion, or membership in a particular so-
cial group. 
(B) In general, these programs have served 
their purpose well. However, many refugees who 
were eligible for these programs were unfairly denied 
or excluded, in some cases by vindictive or corrupt 
Communist officials who controlled access to the 
programs, and in others by United States personnel 
who imposed unduly restrictive interpretations of 
program criteria. These unfairly excluded refugees 
include some of those with the most compelling 
cases, including many Montagnard combat veterans 
and their families. 
(C) The Department of State has agreed to ex-
tend the September 30, 1994, registration deadline 
for former United States employees, ‘‘re-education’’ 
survivors, and surviving spouses of those who did 
not survive ‘‘re-education’’ camps to sign up for 
United States refugee programs. 
(D) The Department of State has agreed to re-
sume the Vietnamese In-Country Priority One Pro-
gram in Viet Nam to provide protection to victims 
of persecution on account of race, religion, nation-
ality, political opinion, or membership in a particular
social group who otherwise have no access to the Or-
derly Departure Program. 
(E) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigra-
tion Service in the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity has agreed to resume the processing of former 
United States employees under the U11 program, 
which had been unilaterally suspended by the United 
States Government. 
(F) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 
Service has agreed to review the applications of 
Amerasians, children of American servicemen left 
behind in Viet Nam after the war ended in April 
1975, for resettlement to the United States under 
the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988. 
(10) The Government of Viet Nam systemati-
cally jams broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an inde-
pendent broadcast service funded by the United 
States in order to provide news and entertainment 
to the people of countries in Asia whose governments 
deny the right to freedom of expression and of the 
press. 
(11) In 1995 the Governments of the United 
States and Viet Nam announced the ‘‘normaliza-
tion’’ of diplomatic relations. In 1998 then-President 
Clinton waived the application of section 402 of the
Trade Act of 1974 (commonly known as the ‘‘Jack-
son-Vanik Amendment’’), which restricts economic 
assistance to countries with non-market economies 
whose governments also restrict freedom of emigra-
tion. In 1999 the Governments of the United States 
and Viet Nam announced ‘‘an agreement in prin-
ciple’’ on a bilateral trade agreement. This agree-
ment was signed in 2000 and came into effect on 
December 10, 2001. 
(12) The Congress and the American people are 
united in their determination that the extension or 
expansion of trade relations with a country whose 
government engages in serious and systematic viola-
tions of fundamental human rights must not be con-
strued as a statement of approval or complacency 
about such practices. The promotion of freedom and 
democracy around the world—and particularly for 
people who have suffered in large part because of 
their past associations with the United States and 
because they share our values—is and must continue 
to be a central objective of United States foreign 
policy. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to promote the develop-
ment of freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.
TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON NON-
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 
TO 
THE 
GOVERNMENT 
OF 
VIET NAM 
SEC. 101. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 
(a) ASSISTANCE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (b), United States nonhumanitarian assist-
ance may not be provided to the Government of Viet 
Nam—
(A) for fiscal year 2004 unless not later 
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act the President determines and certifies 
to Congress that the requirements of subpara-
graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2) have 
been met during the 12-month period ending on 
the date of the certification; and 
(B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless 
the President determines and certifies to Con-
gress in the most recent annual report sub-
mitted pursuant to section 501 that the re-
quirements of subparagraphs (A) through (E) 
of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-
month period covered by the report.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this 
paragraph are that—
(A) the Government of Viet Nam has made 
substantial progress toward releasing all polit-
ical and religious prisoners from imprisonment, 
house arrest, and other forms of detention; 
(B)(i) the Government of Viet Nam has 
made substantial progress toward respecting 
the right to freedom of religion, including the 
right to participate in religious activities and in-
stitutions without interference by or involve-
ment of the Government; and 
(ii) has made substantial progress toward 
returning estates and properties confiscated 
from the churches; 
(C) the Government of Viet Nam has made 
substantial progress toward allowing Viet-
namese nationals free and open access to 
United States refugee programs; 
(D) the Government of Viet Nam has 
made substantial progress toward respecting 
the human rights of members of ethnic minority 
groups in the Central Highlands or elsewhere in 
Viet Nam; and
(E)(i) neither any official of the Govern-
ment of Viet Nam nor any agency or entity 
wholly or partly owned by the Government of 
Viet Nam was complicit in a severe form of 
trafficking in persons; or 
(ii) the Government of Viet Nam took all 
appropriate steps to end any such complicity 
and hold such official, agency, or entity fully 
accountable for its conduct. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not 
apply for any fiscal year with respect to the provi-
sion of United States nonhumanitarian assistance 
for any program or activity for which such assist-
ance was provided to the Government of Viet Nam 
for fiscal year 2003 in an amount not to exceed the 
amount so provided for fiscal year 2003. 
(2) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE IN THE NA-
TIONAL INTEREST.—Notwithstanding the failure of 
the Government of Viet Nam to meet the require-
ments of subsection (a)(2), the President may waive 
the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year 
if the President determines that the provision to the 
Government of Viet Nam of increased United States 
nonhumanitarian assistance would promote the pur-
poses of this Act or is otherwise in the national in-
terest of the United States. 
(3) EXERCISE
OF
WAIVER
AUTHORITY.—The 
President may exercise the authority under para-
graph (2) with respect to—
(A) all United States nonhumanitarian as-
sistance to Viet Nam; or 
(B) one or more programs, projects, or ac-
tivities of such assistance. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) SEVERE FORM OF TRAFFICKING IN PER-
SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per-
sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8) 
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106–386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 U.S.C. 
7102(8)). 
(2) UNITED
STATES
NONHUMANITARIAN
AS-
SISTANCE.—The term ‘‘United States nonhumani-
tarian assistance’’ means—
(A) any assistance under the Foreign As-
sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under 
title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relat-
ing to the Overseas Private Investment Cor-
poration), other than—
(i) disaster relief assistance, including 
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 
that Act; 
(ii) assistance which involves the pro-
vision of food (including monetization of 
food) or medicine; and 
(iii) assistance for refugees; and 
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under 
the Arms Export Control Act. 
SEC. 
102. 
MULTILATERAL 
NONHUMANITARIAN 
ASSIST-
ANCE. 
(a) HUMAN RIGHTS.—The President shall ensure 
that section 701 of the International Financial Institu-
tions Act (22 U.S.C. 262d), relating to human rights, is 
carried out with respect to Viet Nam. 
(b) RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—The President shall in-
struct the United States Executive Directors at the World 
Bank and the International Monetary Fund to use the 
voice and vote of the United States to oppose any loans 
or other assistance (except loans or assistance for humani-
tarian purposes) to the Government of Viet Nam until the 
President determines that the Government of Viet Nam 
has made substantial progress to protect religious free-
dom.
TITLE II—ASSISTANCE TO SUP-
PORT DEMOCRACY IN VIET 
NAM 
SEC. 201. ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 
provide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental 
organizations, for the support of individuals and organiza-
tions to promote internationally recognized human rights 
in Viet Nam. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry 
out subsection (a) $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2004 and 2005. 
TITLE III—UNITED STATES 
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 
SEC. 301. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIET NAM. 
(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol-
icy of the United States to take such measures as are nec-
essary to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by 
the Government of Viet Nam. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to such amounts as are otherwise authorized to be 
appropriated for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, 
there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
policy under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 
2004 and $1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2005. 
SEC. 302. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIET NAM. 
It is the policy of the United States that programs 
of educational and cultural exchange with Viet Nam 
should actively promote progress toward freedom and de-
mocracy in Viet Nam by providing opportunities to Viet-
namese nationals from a wide range of occupations and 
perspectives to see freedom and democracy in action and, 
also, by ensuring that Vietnamese nationals who have al-
ready demonstrated a commitment to these values are in-
cluded in such programs. 
TITLE IV—UNITED STATES 
REFUGEE POLICY 
SEC. 401. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF 
VIET NAM. 
(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol-
icy of the United States to offer refugee resettlement to 
nationals of Viet Nam (including members of the 
Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for 
the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), Resettlement Op-
portunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) or any 
other United States refugee program and who were 
deemed ineligible due to administrative error or who for
reasons beyond the control of such individuals (including 
insufficient or contradictory information or the inability 
to pay bribes demanded by officials of the Government of 
Viet Nam) were unable or failed to apply for such pro-
grams in compliance with deadlines imposed by the De-
partment of State. 
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—Of the amounts au-
thorized to be appropriated to the Department of State 
for Migration and Refugee Assistance for each of the fiscal 
years 2004, 2005, and 2006, such sums as may be nec-
essary are authorized to be made available for the protec-
tion (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Viet-
namese 
refugees 
and 
asylum 
seekers, 
including 
Montagnards in Cambodia. 
TITLE V—ANNUAL REPORT ON 
PROGRESS 
TOWARD 
FREE-
DOM 
AND 
DEMOCRACY 
IN 
VIET NAM 
SEC. 501. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every 12 months 
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Con-
gress a report on the following: 
(1)(A) The determination and certification of 
the President that the requirements of subpara-
graphs (A) through (D) of section 101(a)(2) have 
been met, if applicable. 
(B) The determination of the President under 
section 101(b)(2), if applicable. 
(2) Efforts by the United States Government to 
secure transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in 
countries in close geographical proximity to Viet 
Nam in accordance with section 301(a). 
(3) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet 
Nam promote the policy set forth in section 302 and 
with section 102 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and 
Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996 regard-
ing participation in programs of educational and cul-
tural exchange. 
(4) Steps taken to carry out the policy under 
section 401(a). 
(5) Actions of the Government of Viet Nam 
which reflect compliance with or violation of human 
rights, in particular, those contained in the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and 
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in-
cluding, but not limited to, effectively affording—
(A) the right to engage in free expression; 
(B) the right to peaceful assembly;
(C) religious freedom, including the right 
to worship, to appoint clergy members, to form 
religious associations and institutions, to par-
ticipate in religious activities, and to conduct 
charity work free of involvement of and inter-
ference by the government; 
(D) the right to establish nongovernmental 
organizations and civic associations; 
(E) the right to liberty of movement and 
freedom to choose a residence within Viet Nam 
and the right to leave from and return to Viet 
Nam; 
(F) the right of a criminal defendant—
(i) to be tried in his or her presence, 
and to defend himself or herself in person 
or through legal assistance of his or her 
own choosing; 
(ii) to be informed, if he or she does 
not have legal assistance, of the right set 
forth in clause (i); 
(iii) to have legal assistance assigned 
to him or her in any case in which the in-
terests of justice so require and without 
payment by him or her in any such case if
he or she does not have sufficient means to 
pay for it; 
(iv) to a fair and public hearing by a 
competent, independent, and impartial tri-
bunal established by the law; 
(v) to be presumed innocent until 
proved guilty according to law; and 
(vi) to be tried without undue delay; 
(G) the right to be free from torture and 
other forms of cruel or unusual punishment; 
(H) protection of internationally recognized 
worker rights; 
(I) freedom from incarceration as punish-
ment for political opposition to the government; 
(J) freedom from incarceration as punish-
ment for exercising or advocating human rights 
(including those described in this section); 
(K) freedom from arbitrary arrest, deten-
tion, or exile; 
(L) the right to fair and public hearings by 
an independent tribunal for the determination 
of a citizen’s rights and obligations; and 
(M) free choice of employment. 
(6) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, 
detained, or placed under house arrest, tortured, or
otherwise persecuted by the Government of Viet 
Nam due to their pursuit of the rights described in 
paragraph (5). In compiling such lists, the Secretary 
shall exercise appropriate discretion, including con-
cerns regarding the safety and security of, and ben-
efit to, the persons who may be included on the lists 
and their families. In addition, the Secretary shall 
include a list of such persons and their families who 
may qualify for protection under United States ref-
ugee programs. 
(7) A description of the development of the rule 
of law in Viet Nam, including, but not limited to—
(A) progress toward the development of in-
stitutions of democratic governance; 
(B) processes by which statutes, regula-
tions, rules, and other legal acts of the Govern-
ment of Viet Nam are developed and become 
binding within Viet Nam; 
(C) the extent to which statutes, regula-
tions, rules, administrative and judicial deci-
sions, and other legal acts of the Government of 
Viet Nam are published and are made acces-
sible to the public; 
(D) the extent to which administrative and 
judicial decisions are supported by statements
of reasons that are based upon written statutes, 
regulations, rules and other legal acts of the 
Government of Viet Nam; 
(E) the extent to which individuals are 
treated equally under the laws of Viet Nam 
without regard to citizenship, race, religion, po-
litical opinion, or current or former associa-
tions; 
(F) the extent to which administrative and 
judicial decisions are independent of political 
pressure or governmental interference and are 
reviewed by entities of appellate jurisdiction; 
and 
(G) the extent to which laws in Viet Nam 
are written and administered in ways that are 
consistent with international human rights 
standards, including the requirements of the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights. 
(8) A description of projects funded by multilat-
eral organizations operating in Viet Nam, including 
projects funded by the World Bank, International 
Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, United 
Nations, and Global Fund.
(b) CONTACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In 
preparing the report under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall, as appropriate, seek out and maintain contacts with 
nongovernmental organizations and human rights advo-
cates (including Vietnamese-Americans, human rights ad-
vocates in Viet Nam), including receiving reports and up-
dates from such organizations and evaluating such re-
ports. The Secretary shall also seek to consult with the 
United States Commission on Religious Freedom for ap-
propriate sections of the report.
Æ