(Ủy Ban Đối Ngoại Hạ Viện Hoa Kỳ thông qua dự luật Nhân
Quyền Việt Nam)
Smith bill would link non-humanitarian aid to human rights progress
The widespread and ongoing human rights abuses by the
Vietnamese Government are the focus of “The Vietnam Human Rights Act,” a
bill passed today by the full House Foreign Affairs Committee, said U.S.
Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), author of the bill.
"It is imperative that the United States Government send an unequivocal
message to the Vietnamese regime that it must end its human rights abuses
against its own citizens,” said Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee who chairs its human rights subcommittee. “Despite
assertions by some that increased trade with Vietnam would lead to greater
freedom and democracy, the Vietnamese people instead are suffering from more
repression and denial of their fundamental human rights. We know that
religious, political and ethnic persecution continue and in many cases is
increasing, and that Vietnamese officials are still laying out the welcome mat
for forced labor and sex traffickers.” Click here to read Smith’s opening
remarks.
The legislation was approved unanimously in a voice
vote on an amendment in the nature of a
substitute. The bill prohibits any increase in non-humanitarian
assistance to the Government of Vietnam above Fiscal Year 2011 levels unless
the government makes substantial progress in establishing a democracy and
promoting human rights, including:
- Respecting the freedom of religion and releasing all religious prisoners;
- Respecting rights to the freedom of expression, assembly and association, and releasing all political prisoners, independent journalists, and labor activists;
- Repealing and revising laws that criminalize peaceful dissent, independent media, unsanctioned religious activity, and nonviolent demonstrations, in accordance with international human rights standards;
- Respecting the human rights of members of all ethnic groups; and
- Taking all appropriate steps, including prosecution of government officials, to end any government complicity in human trafficking.
Smith noted that “the bill would not prevent increased funding to the
Vietnamese Government for certain humanitarian assistance, such as food,
medicine, Agent Orange remediation, and activities to combat human trafficking.
This prohibition of increased assistance could be waived for any year in
which the President determines that increased non-humanitarian assistance to
the Vietnamese Government would promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam or
would otherwise be in the national interest of the United States.” To watch the webcast of the hearing,
clicker here. (Advance the counter to the start of the
hearing).
Smith, a longtime human rights advocate in Congress, introduced H.R. 1410 in April 2011.
He chaired a related hearing of the House
Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee in January 2012 that
featured leaders in human rights in Vietnam, including Anh “Joseph”
Cao, former Member of the U.S. Congress and the first Vietnamese-born American
ever elected to Congress. Also testifying were Boat People SOS, the Montagnard
Human Rights Organization; a victim of human trafficking, and Human Rights
Watch.
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