REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 2016-2017

Vietnam Human Rights Network, May 21, 2017

The year 2016 was marked with a number of political and social events of note that affect the human rights situation in Vietnam. First of all, on the part of the government, the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in January and the elections of the National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels in May reinforced the ruling party’s tough and conservative stance.  Secondly, the Vietnamese communist government’s persistent policy mistakes and corrupt administration more than ever have pushed the people’s indignation to the highest pitch.

On the other hand, thanks to global expansion of the social media revolution, people have more opportunities to access information and express their views on their problems and those of the country. They also have more opportunities to connect with each other; as a result, their voices became more and more collective.

To safeguard the monopoly of the ruling party and the interests of the cadres, the Vietnamese communist government does everything in its power to stifle the flow of information, and ruthlessly suppresses all dissent and counter-opinions. The human rights situation in 2016, therefore, has worsened; especially, the oppression of activists and human rights defenders has become more severe.

This report on human rights in Vietnam for the period 2016-2017 aims to present with accuracy and integrity the Vietnamese government’s implementation of its human rights obligations as de-scribed in the International Bill of Human Rights, specifically in the following areas:

– The right to life, the right to liberty and security of person

– The right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal

– The right to participate in national political life

– The right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech

– The right to freedom of religion and worship

– The right to work and to enjoy the fruits of labor

– The right to equal treatment without discrimination

– The right to have social security.

The report was prepared by the Vietnam Human Rights Network in cooperation with several hu-man rights activists in Vietnam. All information used in this report can be verified through open sources.

With this report, the VNHRN wishes both to alert the world community to the deplorable human rights situation in Vietnam today and to call on the Vietnam government to end its repeated violations throughout many years. At the same time, we demand that Vietnam deliver just compensations for the damages inflicted on its population and various communities. The VNHRN also calls on freedom-loving and democratic governments and international human rights organizations to confront Vietnam with its unacceptable record on human rights; and especially to prevent Vietnam from abusing its UN Human Rights Council membership.

For further reading: http://www.vietnamhumanrights.net/english/documents/ReportVNHRN2016-17-Net.pdf