From correspondents in Hanoi
Agence France-Presse
VIETNAM is making a mockery of its obligations under the UN Human Rights Council, an international rights group said.
The communist country has rejected a raft of recommendations to improve its rights record raised during a periodic review by the UN Human Rights Council that ended this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.
"Vietnam - a member of the UN Security Council - has made a mockery of its engagement at the UN Human Rights Council," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of the New York-based organisation.
"Vietnam rejected even the most benign recommendations based on the international covenants it has signed, such as allowing people to promote human rights or express their opinions."
Hanoi rejected 45 recommendations from UN member states, HRW said, including lifting internet and blogging controls on privately owned media, allowing groups and individuals to promote human rights, abolishing the death penalty and releasing peaceful prisoners of conscience.
Of the 93 recommendations accepted by the Vietnamese Government, many consisted only of broad statements of intent to "consider" proposals by member states, HRW said.
"Shockingly, Vietnam denied to the Human Rights Council that it has arrested and imprisoned hundreds of peaceful dissidents and independent religious activists," said Ms Pearson.
"Yet in just the four months since Vietnam's last appearance at the council, it has arrested scores more."
Vietnam said during the Human Rights Council review process that it had no "so-called 'prisoners of conscience'", that no one was arrested for criticising the Government and denied torturing offenders.
"Like China, Vietnam has rebuffed the Human Rights Council in an effort to sanitise its abysmal rights record," said Ms Pearson.
"The UN's rights review offers proof to the world that despite international concern, Vietnam has no real intention of improving its record."
The UN Human Rights Council made its recommendations after one of its regular examinations of a state's human rights records.
More than 10 people have been arrested recently in Vietnam for spreading "propaganda against the state". HRW highlighted the case of Huynh Ba, a land rights activist and member of the Khmer Krom ethnic minority who led protests by farmers in the Mekong Delta over confiscation of their land who was arrested on May 30.
More than 1000 members of the largely Christian Montagnards community fled to Cambodia after security forces put down demonstrations in the Central Highlands in 2001 against land confiscation and religious persecution.
Vietnam has strongly denied a 2006 accusation by Human Rights Watch that it detained and tortured Montagnards who returned home under a tripartite agreement after fleeing to Cambodia.
The communist country has rejected a raft of recommendations to improve its rights record raised during a periodic review by the UN Human Rights Council that ended this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.
"Vietnam - a member of the UN Security Council - has made a mockery of its engagement at the UN Human Rights Council," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of the New York-based organisation.
"Vietnam rejected even the most benign recommendations based on the international covenants it has signed, such as allowing people to promote human rights or express their opinions."
Hanoi rejected 45 recommendations from UN member states, HRW said, including lifting internet and blogging controls on privately owned media, allowing groups and individuals to promote human rights, abolishing the death penalty and releasing peaceful prisoners of conscience.
Of the 93 recommendations accepted by the Vietnamese Government, many consisted only of broad statements of intent to "consider" proposals by member states, HRW said.
"Shockingly, Vietnam denied to the Human Rights Council that it has arrested and imprisoned hundreds of peaceful dissidents and independent religious activists," said Ms Pearson.
"Yet in just the four months since Vietnam's last appearance at the council, it has arrested scores more."
Vietnam said during the Human Rights Council review process that it had no "so-called 'prisoners of conscience'", that no one was arrested for criticising the Government and denied torturing offenders.
"Like China, Vietnam has rebuffed the Human Rights Council in an effort to sanitise its abysmal rights record," said Ms Pearson.
"The UN's rights review offers proof to the world that despite international concern, Vietnam has no real intention of improving its record."
The UN Human Rights Council made its recommendations after one of its regular examinations of a state's human rights records.
More than 10 people have been arrested recently in Vietnam for spreading "propaganda against the state". HRW highlighted the case of Huynh Ba, a land rights activist and member of the Khmer Krom ethnic minority who led protests by farmers in the Mekong Delta over confiscation of their land who was arrested on May 30.
More than 1000 members of the largely Christian Montagnards community fled to Cambodia after security forces put down demonstrations in the Central Highlands in 2001 against land confiscation and religious persecution.
Vietnam has strongly denied a 2006 accusation by Human Rights Watch that it detained and tortured Montagnards who returned home under a tripartite agreement after fleeing to Cambodia.
5 comments:
This is a vietnamese government way, they oppress and kill khmer krom since they have been presening in khmer krom land, but they always deny and deny...
vietnam have killed innocent people, therefore vietnam is no better than animal.
The Vietnamese people must resist this communist head for freedom.
The world must understand how the communist work including China. They will never change. Only, democratic countries thought they do.
Now, democratic countries like US, Canada, England, France, Australia .... are in trouble with the communist strategies. They got the technology, money, arm force and power.
This is a lesson to the countries like US, Canada, England, France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc.. that try to help Vietnamese improving economy in a hope that Vietnam will improve it Human Rights record. Now, the answer already is answered by the Vietnamese communist government.
The VC government knows that it will take another 4 years for them to show up in front of the Human Rights council again, so they have enough tactics to cheat the UN Human Rights system again...
In Asia, people always scare of China, but look at China, China doesn't even complete control other countries, but Vietnam does. Laos and Cambodia are totally under the control of Vietnam.
Vietnam is one of the richest countries in Southeast Asia, but Vietnam keeps receiving FREE financial support from big donors like US, Canada, Japan, Australia.... It shows how smart the VC govermnet knows how to kiss ass big countries, but when the donors ask them to respect Human Rights, Vietnam will say: DON'T INTERFERE WITH MY INTERNAL ISSUES. VIETNAM NEVER ARREST PEOPLE ILLEGALLY. VIETNAM HAS ITS OWN LAW. DONT IMPOSE YOUR OWN LAW ON OUR COUNTRY. The big donors just shut up after hearing that lecture and then stupidly gives money again to Vietnam in another hope to stop China influence in Southeast Asia....
Now, Thailand is in trouble because of protest left and right. It is a time for Vietnam to start sending its people to slowly control Thailand like Cambodia and Laos.
i told you, if you scrutinize vietnam's human rights records, they are one of the worst on the planet. i think cambodia's record is a lot better to tell you the truth, despite opposition group yell this or that at gov't. cambodia is not that bad in comparison to vietnam's and more. of course, cambodia could do much more, but expect an overnight change, though, nevertheless, cambodia is much better and is getting better and better all the time, really! god bless cambodia.
ps: in cambodia people who don't know about khmer way, often mistake cambodia's different culture to human rights abuse or oppression, suppression and so forth. in reality, it probably has more to do with local customs and etiquette and culture and tradtion, etc... which khmer people, in way, demand higher standard in this. that's all.
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