On November 18, 2016, Vietnam’s 14th National Assembly passed a new law on religion. Human rights advocates worldwide quickly denounced the law for its violation of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the Vietnamese government ratified in 1982.
Human Rights Without Frontiers reports that Võ Văn Ái, President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), criticized the new law: “…Instead of adopting legislation to protect and promote the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief as in most civilized countries, Vietnam is once again using the law to increase state control, criminalize independent religious activities and give the authorities a cloak of legality to continue harassing, arresting and convicting its citizens at will.”
In October, 54 religious bodies and civil society organizations led by VCHR and Christian Solidarity Worldwide sent a letter of protest to the National Assembly President Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, detailing many of the problems with the law and calling for an urgent revision of the draft law before it came up for vote.
The open letter complains that provisions in the law allow the authorities to interfere excessively in the internal decisions, appointments, training, teachings and programs of religious organizations. Limitations on the manifestation of freedom of religion or belief are never to exceed in either purpose or scope those permitted in article 18(3) of the ICCPR.
Resources:
- To read the HRWF article, visit http://hrwf.eu/vietnam-vietnam-new-law-contravenes-the-fundamental-right-to-freedom-of-religion-or-belief/.
- For the full text of the open letter to the National Assembly President, see: http://hrwf.eu/vietnam-open-letter-to-the-president-of-the-vietnam-national-assembly-on-vietnams-draft-law-on-belief-and-religion/.
