Four Civil Society Representatives Arrive in Geneva for the HRC’s Plenary Session on Vietnam’s UPR
June 20, 2014 GENEVA, 19/6/2014 - Four Vietnamese civil society activists have arrived in Geneva to begin a two-week campaign in Europe for human rights in Vietnam. Most significantly, the Delegation is scheduled to speak at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Plenary Session on June 20, a first time for independent civil society. The four activists represent 10 independent civil society organizations in Vietnam active in human rights advocacy. The Delegation consists of Dr. Nguyen Quang A (Nguyễn Quang A), an economist and activist; Pham Le Vuong Cac (Phạm Lê Vương Các), a blogger and independent journalist; Nguyen Thi Vy Hanh (Nguyễn Thị Vy Hạnh), a human rights lawyer; and Trinh Huu Long, a human rights lawyer. According to the HRC schedule, Vietnam’s session will last approximately one hour between 15:00-18:00 local time in Geneva. This is a follow-up from Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review on February 5 of this year when the Vietnamese government was presented with 227 recommendations from 106 countries for improving its human rights situation. At this second meeting, Vietnam will state which recommendations it will accept and which it reject. Other countries will have the opportunity to comment, as will NGO and other stakeholders. A final “outcome report” will then be adopted. Dr. Quang A noted that “for the first cycle in 2009, the Vietnamese government only agreed to 96 out of 123 recommendations, and those were the vague general recommendations that were difficult to evaluate. They rejected all recommendations for the release of political prisoners, private ownership of the press, or reform of the legal system.” “It shows a very low level of commitment,” Dr. Quang A said. Blogger Cac, on the other hand, viewed this UPR session in the context of the deteriorating relation between China and Vietnam. Cac expressed that Vietnam’s conduct at this session “will show how the threat from China affects the process of democratization and respect for human rights in Vietnam.” “By following the recommendations that Vietnam approves or rejects, we can measure the effect of the crisis in the East Sea (South China Sea),” Cac stated. The delegation, in addition to Switzerland, will travel to Belgium, Poland, and the Czech Republic to meet with UN agencies, the EU diplomatic missions, along with other governments and international organizations. Attorney Hanh and Long give high importance to international lobbying efforts. Hanh, based in the U.S., considers it “a proactive method in which the Vietnamese community abroad can engage in to assist civil society organizations and the people in Vietnam in their struggle for human rights.” Long, who was a delegate at the UPR working group session in February, stated that “whatever the reaction by the Vietnamese government at this UPR session, we will continue to call on the international community and the community of Vietnamese people in and outside of Vietnam to work more and take more concrete steps to improve human rights in Vietnam.” “It will be a long process,” Long said, “and a one-time commitment by the Vietnamese government, if any, will never be enough.” *** The independent civil society organizations represented in this campaign are: Civil Society Forum, the United Workers-Farmers Organization of Vietnam, the Association of Political & Religious Prisoners of Vietnam, the Brotherhood for Democracy, Bau Bi Tuong Than Association, No-UC FC of Hanoi, No-U FC of Saigon, the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church West branch, the Vietnam Path Movement, and VOICE. For more information please contact: VyHanh Nguyen – Tel: (+41) 76 660 8623 or email vietnamupr@gmail.com.
Vietnam Human Rights Network |