Jun 12, 2023

USCIRF Delegation Travels to Vietnam to Assess Religious Freedom Conditions

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie and Commissioner Eric Ueland traveled with staff to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from May 15-19 to meet with government officials, religious communities, and other civil society representatives to discuss religious freedom concerns.

“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss Vietnam’s religious freedom issues with Vietnamese government officials, as well as with both registered and unregistered religious communities,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. “While USCIRF acknowledges the incremental improvements in religious freedom that Vietnam has made over the years, we continue to identify significant and worsening trouble spots. We are particularly concerned about the increased incidents of forced renunciation of faith in the past year, the restrictive nature of the Law on Belief and Religion, its complex and burdensome registration requirements, and the inconsistent and uneven application of the law across the country. We urge the U.S. government to engage its Vietnamese counterpart to encourage amending this law and the implementing decrees to conform to international standards, including by making registration simpler and optional.”

Among other concerns, the Vietnamese government issued two draft religion decrees in June 2022 to implement the Law on Belief and Religion. Experts warn that the two draconian decrees, if passed in their current form, could further restrict religious freedom in Vietnam. Authorities also continue to detain and imprison religious prisoners of conscience—including renowned Hoa Hao Buddhist and religious freedom activist Nguyen Bac Truyen. Former religious prisoners of conscience continue to report poor prison conditions.  

“The United States and Vietnam have made great strides in their bilateral relations over the past two decades, spanning many areas of cooperation including, trade, security, and people-to-people ties. This growing relationship, however, cannot realize its fullest potential without respect for religious freedom under international obligations committed to by the government of Vietnam,” said Commissioner Eric Ueland. “USCIRF urges the U.S. government to press Vietnam to allow relevant U.N. Special Procedures unfettered access to the country to investigate religious freedom violations.”

Since 2002, USCIRF has recommended Vietnam’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, finding that despite some notable areas of improvement, “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom have persisted. In November 2022, the U.S. Department of State placed Vietnam on its Special Watch List for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF also highlighted these concerns in a May 2022 country update.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].