IV
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 216
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding human rights in Vietnam.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 1994
Mr. GILMAN submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding human rights
in Vietnam.
Whereas President Clinton on October 19, 1992, promised to
the American/Vietnam community ‘‘it is my firm belief
that the issue of human rights should be a part of the
discussion when addressing the issue of normalization
with Vietnam’’;
Whereas the ‘‘road map’’ established between the United
States Government and the Government of Vietnam did
not mention provisions for human rights or democracy as
a precondition for lifting the embargo and normalizing
relations with Vietnam;
Whereas Vietnam remains one of the last communist coun-
tries in the world and maintains one of the most repres-
•HCON 216 IH
sive political and social systems and the Vietnamese peo-
ple are deprived of their basic human rights;
Whereas Vietnam has released from labor camps large num-
bers of persons suspected of disloyalty or having ties to
the 
South 
Vietnamese 
government, 
and 
yet 
has
rearrested and incarcerated some of these former pris-
oners and many other individuals for nonviolent political
and religious advocacy;
Whereas one of the most repressed people in Vietnam are the
ethnic minorities known as the Montagnards whose tradi-
tions, culture, and religious beliefs continue to be eradi-
cated through policies such as the destruction of tribal
villages comprised of ethnic Vietnamese migrants for the
purposes of forced assimilation;
Whereas free expression is denied in Vietnam (for example,
independent radio and television stations, newspapers,
performing artists, book publishers, writers, artists, and
journalists are forced to conform to government approval
or censorship);
Whereas the poet Nguyen Chi Thien, a recognized Amnesty
International Prisoner of Conscience in northern Vietnam
for the past 27 years, is still denied the right of expres-
sion and remains under close government surveillance;
Whereas most South Vietnamese writers and poets have been
denied the right to publish or compose since 1975;
Whereas the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution still designates
the Communist Party as the ‘‘force leading the state and
society’’;
Whereas Vietnam’s criminal law is used to punish nonviolent
advocates of political pluralism, through charges such as
•HCON 216 IH
‘‘attempting to overthrow the people’s government’’ or
‘‘antisocialist propaganda’’;
Whereas participants in independent democratic parties and
movements have been subjected to harsh repression (for
example, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, the leader of the Non-
Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam; Profes-
sor Doan Viet Hoat of the Freedom Forum; and Nguyen
Dinh Huy of the Movement to Unite the People and
Build Democracy);
Whereas even nonviolent political movements for democracy
consisting of former National Liberation Front members
such as the League of Former Revolutionaries have been
repressed and its leaders, Nguyen Ho and Ta Ba Tong,
remain under house arrest;
Whereas prominent leaders from the Buddhist, Catholic, Cao
Dai, Hoa Hao, and Protestant faiths are in prison or
under house arrest for expressing their religious beliefs;
Whereas 4 monks of the Unified Buddhist Church were tried
and convicted on charges of instigating public disorder on
November 15, 1993, in relation to a massive demonstra-
tion in Hue protesting police detention and harassment
of major church leaders;
Whereas Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, head of the United
Buddhist Church, is under house arrest and under strict
surveillance by security police; and
Whereas Catholic and Protestant clerics and lay people are
imprisoned for conducting unauthorized religious activi-
ties, including religious education classes and social pro-
grams: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
•HCON 216 IH
(1) the Department of State, in its formal
human rights dialogue with Vietnam (which was an-
nounced by the United States and Vietnam on Janu-
ary 10, 1994), should place a high priority on seek-
ing—
(A) the release of all nonviolent political
prisoners, and
(B) reforms in Vietnam’s legal procedures
and practices to bring them into conformity
with international human rights standards;
(2) the Secretary of State should submit a
progress report on this dialogue to the Congress
within 6 months of the date on which this resolution
is adopted by the Congress;
(3) the United States should actively support
resolutions at the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights expressing concern about the impris-
onment of nonviolent political and religious dis-
sidents in Vietnam;
(4) the United States should urge the Govern-
ment of Vietnam to invite international humani-
tarian organizations to provide their confidential hu-
manitarian services to prisoners in Vietnam, as a
step towards improving their treatment and the poor
condition of imprisonment; and
•HCON 216 IH
(5) the United States should consult with its al-
lies, including Japan, Australia, Canada, and the
European Community, to coordinate international
public and private appeals for improvement in
human rights in Vietnam, drawing attention to the
statement issued by the World Bank-convened do-
nors’ conference in Paris on November 10, 1993,
that notes that economic and social development in
Vietnam require ‘‘more attention to democratization
and the promotion of human rights’’ by the Govern-
ment of Vietnam.
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