EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/690

(2004/C 88 E/0709)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0216/04

by Marco Pannella (NI) to the Commission

(30 January 2004)

Subject: Violation of religious freedom in Vietnam

According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2003 produced by the U.S. Department of State, significant restrictions have been imposed in Vietnam on the activities of religious groups not recognised by the government.

The Communist Party has imposed severe restrictions on the hierarchies and clergy of religious groups.

In this respect, the Vietnamese Government has:

1. used judicial methods to control the religious hierarchies and organised religious activities;

2. repressed the religious organisation ‘Assemblies of God’ and forced its members into unemployment, forbidding their children to attend school and confiscating their property;

3. continued to isolate certain religious figures, restricting their movement and exerting pressure on their followers and relatives, as in the case of Thich Huyen Quang, the Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who lived under conditions resembling house arrest between 1982 and March 2003;

4. used a noxious gas to disperse a gathering of Hmong Protestants in Lau Chau province in late December 2002, as a result of which one pregnant woman miscarried and other people required medical attention.

Similarly, the Hmong Protestants Mua Bua Senh and Vang Seo Giao were beaten to death by local officials in July 2002.

Moreover, cases have been recorded of people being convicted under Article 258 of the Penal Code (to up to 3 years in prison) for ‘practising religion illegally’. Some of the judicial measures employed to convict religious prisoners violate international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Religious Affairs Office is violating religious freedom via the actions of government officials and the security forces, who have persecuted and arbitrarily detained people who practise religion.

US embassy officials have informed the government that the lack of progress on religious matters and human rights is an obstacle to the full normalisation of bilateral relations.

The European Commission has urged the Vietnamese Government to show greater respect for political and religious freedom, but has taken no further action against it. Its position on this issue, which is simply to ‘monitor the situation’, therefore differs from the stance adopted by the United States.

In view of the above:

— Has the Commission taken any active measures in relation to respect for political and religious freedom, or in relation to prospective economic and social freedom, since the Joint Statement by the Commission and Member States at the Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi in December 2002?

— Has it given thought to and attempted to stop the abuses and restrictions on the religious freedom of individuals such as Thich Huyen Quang, Thich Quang Do and Father Nguyen Van Ly?

— Has it reflected on the US stance of designating Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act should the government fail to improve conditions?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(25 February 2004)

In the context of its human rights dialogue with the Vietnamese authorities, as well as in other settings, including the EU Troika missions to the Central Highlands – the latest in December 2003 –, the EU has consistently raised the severe restrictions on religious freedom in Vietnam. Specifically, the EU has expressed its serious concerns about the situation of the Protestant communities in the Central Highlands and the measures taken against the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). It has asked for the release of Protestant pastors and followers, and UBCV religious leaders and monks placed in detention, and urged the government to re-launch the dialogue with the UBCV.

The EU has also called for the release of other prisoners and detainees of concern held for the peaceful expression of their personal opinion, in contravention of international legal instruments to which Vietnam is a party. It has voiced its concern on the vagueness and discretionary application of some Vietnamese laws, and called for their revision: these include a number of provisions in the Criminal Code, such as the one that the Honourable Member refers to, as well as decree no. CP/31 which allows citizens to be put under house arrest for up to two years without the intervention of a judge. In the latter context, the EU has suggested that experts from the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention be invited to Vietnam.

The EU has pressed the government for increased transparency in relation to human rights-related issues, referring to the damage that the present lack of openness is causing to Vietnam's international image. In this respect, the EU has called for unrestricted access by independent monitoring missions by UN human rights rapporteurs, notably the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, as well as the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and reputable human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the country, including to the Central Highlands. It has also requested the government to allow diplomats of EU Member States to visit prisoners of concern, and to monitor the trials of dissidents.

The EU will continue to call for improvements of Vietnam's human rights record on all occasions including the Consultative Group meetings, and to offer support through cooperation programmes to contribute to concrete changes on the ground.