Open Letter to the United Nations’ Human
Rights Council and its Mechanism Concerning Vietnam’s Human Rights Abuses and
The People’s Human Rights Campaign for 2015
10 March 2015
To Excellencies and Ambassadors to the United Nations,
We, the undersigned, citizens of Vietnam and those of
Vietnamese origin living abroad, would like to reiterate what the Special
Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression, Religious Freedom and Arbitrary Detention
have stated in their recent reports. Since Vietnam became a member state of the
Human Rights Council, human rights abuses committed by the State continue
despite the recommendations of the Council and the UN human rights mechanism.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen
Quoc Cuong is leading a Vietnamese delegation to participate in the UN Human
Rights Council’s 28th session, which takes place from March 2 to 27.
We therefore call upon member and observer States to question the government of
Vietnam on its failure to uphold its responsibilities and obligations pursuant
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also respectfully ask
the Council to specifically monitor efforts and progress by Vietnam in
addressing and complying with the recommendations of the Special
Rapporteurs. If there are no measureable improvements when Vietnam’s
2014-2016 tenure in the Human Rights Council is up for re-election, we
earnestly urge member states to vote against Vietnam based on its continuing
rampant violations of the human rights of its own people. It is time for
the Vietnamese government to learn that it can no longer escape accountability
and immunity, and it must bear consequences for its actions.
In the following weeks,
while leaders of the UN and the UN Human Rights Council will hold high-level
segment meetings, dialogues and working sessions on the protection and
promotion of human rights around the globe at the UN 28th Session, we plan to take the following
actions to urge the Vietnamese government to conduct itself with honesty,
accountability, transparency and with integrity, and to uphold its
responsibilities and obligations pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights:
1) After receiving substantial
signatures of support for our open letter to the UN Human Rights Council, ambassadors
to the UN, and embassies in Vietnam, we, Vietnamese people inside and outside
the country, will simultaneously hold hunger strikes, candlelight vigils in
large cities to appeal to the Vietnamese government to:
a. Unconditionally release all
prisoners of conscience; including, to name a few: Ms. Ta Phong Tan, Mr. Việt Khang aka Vo Minh Tri, Mr. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc,
Mr. Tran Vu Anh Binh, Mr Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, Mr Doan Huy Chuong, Ms. Bui
Thi Minh Hang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Mr. Nguyen Van
Lia, Ms.Nguyen
Minh Thuy, Mr. Nguyen Huu
Vinh, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc...
b. Lift all orders of house arrest, surveillance,
harassment, and other administrative restraints such as prohibition to medical
treatment, freedom of mobility, housing and the right to employment etc.,
against former prisoners of conscience such as human rights attorney Le Cong
Dinh, Ms. Pham Thanh Nghien, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Uyen, Mr.
Pham Van Troi, Mr. Nguyen Tien Trung, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuc...
c. Abolish Articles 79, 88, and 258 of the Penal Code
which violate both Vietnam’s Constitution and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
2) Delegations
will be formed in various cities to meet with ambassadors of freedom-loving
countries, UN officials, local government officials, and staff of international
human rights organizations to urge them to support our cause by putting human
rights protection at the forefront and as preconditions in all trade agreements
and diplomatic relations with the Vietnamese government.
3) The above actions will be carried out throughout the
year of 2015 with a Rally for Vietnam’s Human Rights taking place on December
10, 2015, International Human Rights Day. On this day, Vietnamese in both Vietnam
and abroad will show solidarity in white shirts and will take to the streets
peacefully advocating for Freedom, Democracy, Independence and Human Rights for
Vietnam.
We, who live in Vietnam,
suffer substantial deterioration in our human, civil and constitutional
rights. We therefore anticipate that by peacefully implementing the above
three actions, we will face detention, interrogation, imprisonment, harassment,
torture, cruel beatings and various forms of retaliation by the State to silence
us. Thus, we are writing in advance to inform the Human Rights Council
and all ambassadors to the UN, embassies in Vietnam and international human
rights organizations that:
i)
Should
we be subjected to any abuse, attacks, crackdowns, imprisonment, forced
disappearances etc. at the hands of the State, merely because we exercise our
rights to free expression and peaceful assembly, we earnestly ask that you take
this as another live testament of the Vietnamese government’s continuing abuse
of its citizens’ human rights. This is unbecoming of a member state of the UN
Human Rights Council and of a co-coordinator of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the
inter-governmental body. And that when it is time for the UN Human Rights Council’s
membership election, that Vietnam receives a loud and clear message from your
votes that it must bear responsibility for its blatant violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We also respectfully ask that during
our imprisonment, if UN Special Rapporteurs and embassies’ staff in Vietnam
could request to visit us and other existing prisoners of conscience, human
rights activists in prisons, and to advocate for our freedom.
ii)
If it is because of our open
letter forewarning the free world and the United Nations Human Rights Council
of our human rights campaign for 2015 that the Vietnamese government refrains
from cracking down on our peaceful assembly and hunger strikes, please kindly view
the State’s inaction as a strong confirmation of the important and effective
role of the international human rights organizations, and the UN Human Rights
mechanism in protecting human rights in dictatorial regimes. Crimes persist
only in the dark. Once you expose the State’s abuse of human rights and with
the free world watching, you can help save our lives and restore our rights.
We trust that universal human rights will prevail in
every corner of the world, including our homeland, Vietnam, in 2015.
Sincerely,
List of signatures
