Strongly opposed the Vietnam authorities to run for the UN Human Rights Council

UNHRC2006Since ruling so far, the Vietnam authorities constantly persecuted those who dissent, appropriating land farmers, suppressing of land petitioners, curbing intellectual class. Vietnam becomes the prison of those who dare to criticize the government and demand fundamental freedoms.

The government proved increasingly brazen, despite the efforts of the international human rights organizations, despite the legitimate voice of the people, they use the security forces, police and army as harassment, threat tools to human rights defenders. Moreover, a series of assault, attack the dissidents, bloggers and their family members showed the direction of the security forces and police.

Since early 2012 alone, based on vague charges of the Penal Code, Article 88, “conducting propaganda against the state”, Article 79 “conspiring to overthrow the state”, Article 258 “abusing democratic freedoms ” and Article 87 ” undermining the unity policy “, the authorities have sentenced at least 37 people with a total of 154 years in prison, in addition to dozens of other prisoners have not brought to trial yet. All they have no crime at all under the UN human rights standards. What they do, say or write just exercise their fundamental rights peacefully, in that they have the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of religion.

In the extreme oppression on blogger Ta Phong Tan family, mother Dang Thi Kim Lieng set herself on fire. Images show her hands up to the sky, screaming in flames explicitly say that under the injustice and abuse of this regime we have no longer the way to live.

Please see the full situation of human rights violations in 2011 in Vietnam here.

By human rights record of abuse, discrimination and repression, whether the Vietnam authorities are worthy of representing Vietnam as a country with respect for human rights in the UN Human Rights Council? Whether the Vietnam authorities are an eligible member understanding and fully respecting for the human rights to arbitrate the human rights violations in other countries?

ASEAN Charter, Chapter 1, Article 2, item (i) specifies the principles of respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights and the promotion of social justice. However, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly on 28 September, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers voiced their support to the Vietnam authorities’ candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council is contrary to its principle of promoting respect for human rights and ignore countlessly the dissidents have been either harassed, threatened, suppressed or silenced in prison.

In 2006 the UN Commission on Human Rights was dissolved because it let members with bad human rights records join. Thus in the resolution of establishing the United Nations Human Rights Council on Mar 15, 2006 it emphasized that members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.

We are either the victims of human rights violations in our own country or to live in exile outside Vietnam as a result of the fierce crackdown that the authorities show no mercy. We strongly condemn the Vietnam authorities to attempt joining the UN Human Rights Council without progress in respect for and compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, a serious infringement of fundamental freedoms and human rights that the authorities have committed to signing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

To have an eligible candidate as well as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, we demand the authorities to immediately change the way they treat their own people first, namely respecting for freedom of expression; ending harassment and arrests of bloggers; releasing immediately and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience, including religious and political prisoners.

On Oct 16, 2012

Organizations and groups voicing:

 

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