EP Resolution on Vietnam & Laos

Last Updated: 02/12/2009

Friday, 27 November 2009

In light of the scant attention paid to the sufferings of disenfranchised peoples in Vietnam, the UNPO welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of the resolution calling for an end to all political repression in Vietnam particularly addressing cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Today 27 November 2009, the members of the European Parliament voted for a landmark Resolution stressing that the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must fully respect its own people’s human rights in accordance with international standards and norms. However UNPO notes that the Resolution fails to cite grave human rights violations that specifically target the indigenous people of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom and the Montagnards. The UNPO believes that in order to have tangible improvements in the lives of 1,300,000 Khmer-Krom and 1,000,000 Montagnards living in Vietnam and put an end to the cyclical discrimination and violence that they endure, the European Parliament must also call for tangible steps to be taken to address human rights violations against the most vulnerable minority groups. The UNPO urges the European Parliament to put pressure on Vietnam to: acknowledge the indigenous status of both the Khmer Kampuchea Krom people and the Montagnards and confer upon them the basic human rights that this status provides. abrogate the Vietnamese legislation dispositions persecuting any dissent and the exercise of certain religious activities; cease all threats, intimidations and harassments upon the Khmer Kampuchea Krom and the Montagnards; and allow the establishment of civic, political, human rights and religious associations for the interest of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom and the Montagnard community. The Resolution can be regarded as instrumental to the process of securing a political environment that would protect the basic rights of the Vietnamese people but unless it incorporates specific issues related to the Khmer-Krom and the Montagnards, it can but only partially address the ongoing human rights violations in Vietnam. To read the European Parliament's Resolution, click here.