The United States government is urging Vietnam torelease all political prisoners and end its poortreatment of civil society activists.
US officials made the appeals before PresidentBarack Obama’s first visit to Vietnam. He will travelthere in May.
A State Department official noted “the promotion of human rights remains a crucial part of U.S. foreign policy and is a key aspect of our ongoing dialogue within the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership.”
On Monday, the two nations held their 20th in a seriesof meetings, known as the Human Rights Dialogue. The talks took place in Washington, D.C.
The State Department said the two sides talked about a number of human rights issues during the meeting.These included the importance of continued progress on legal reform efforts, the rule of law, freedom of expression and assembly, and religious freedom.They also talked about labor rights, disability rights, and cooperation between the two countries.
The U.S. government told Vietnamese officials that it is concerned about Nguyen Van Dai, a human rights lawyer who was arrested in December, 2015. He wasdetained as he was preparing to meet withrepresentatives of the European Union. The EU officials were in Hanoi for talks with Vietnamese officials about human rights.
In December, the State Department urged Vietnamese officials to make sure their actions were in agreement with international treaties. It also called on Vietnam to “release unconditionally all prisoners of conscience.”
U.S. officials are also worried about blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh, also known as Anh Ba Sam. He was sentenced to five years in prison for what Vietnamese officials called “abusing rights to freedom and democracy toinfringe upon the interests of the state.”
The State Department noted several concerns about Vietnam in its 2015 Country Report for Human Rights Practices. These problems included“severe government restrictions of citizens’ political rights; limits on citizens’civil liberties; and failing to protect citizens’ rights to due process, including protection against arbitrary detention.”
Vietnamese newspapers and television stations face press and mediarestrictions. But U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country’s human rights policies have improved. He said Vietnam has promised to make sure its laws give the same protections as international human rights laws and treaties.
During a recent visit to Hanoi, Blinken noted that Vietnam had approved theConvention against Torture and the UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities.
He also said that Vietnam was giving permission for independent trade unions to be created “for the first time in modern history.” And he noted that the Vietnamese government is taking steps to talk with religious and civil leaders as it writes a new law on religious freedom.
The United States hopes the law will protect the rights of people of differentfaiths.
I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.
Words in This Story
promotion – n. the activity of helping something to happen, develop orincrease
crucial – adj. extremely important
dialogue – n. (formal) a discussion or series of discussions that two groupsor countries have in order to end a disagreement
comprehensive – adj. including many, most or all things
prisoner of conscience – n. someone who is held in prison because of hisor her political or religious beliefs
blogger – n. a person who writes about personal opinions, activities andexperiences on a website.
infringe – v. to wrongly limit or restrict (something, such as anotherperson’s rights)
due process – n. the official and proper way of doing things in a legal case; the rule that a legal case must be done in a way that protects the rights ofall the people involved
arbitrary detention – n. the jailing of a person without concern for what isfair or right
