VietnamUPR | 5/8/2014
5/8/2014 – On 01 August 2014, one of our members, Pham Le Vuong Cac – a Saigon-based human rights defender – was detained and questioned at Tan Son Nhat International Airport by the security police upon his return to Vietnam. This 24-hour detention once again brings to light Vietnam’s pattern of neglecting its human rights obligations.
Pham Le Vuong Cac’s relatives and friends protesting at the Tan Son Nhat airport in the evening of August 1.
In June 2014, as an independent blogger and legal advocate, Cac joined a delegation of Vietnamese human rights activists to represent 10 in-country civil society organizations to voice concerns about Vietnam’s grave human rights situation during the adoption of Vietnam’s UPR recommendations at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
During this trip, he met with various representatives of the UN working bodies, Delegates from the European Union, the Polish and Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and numerous international human rights organizations in order to raise awareness of Vietnam’s human rights issues and to share his experiences as a human rights advocate working inside the country.
The detention of Pham Le Vuong Cac not only infringes on Vietnamese laws but also fails to uphold international standards, to which Vietnam is bound. Cac’s rights as a citizen were violated because there was no issuance of either a notice or a decision by a responsible government agency to address this incident.Cac’s flight from Manila, Philippines landed in Ho Chi Minh City at 12:20am on 01 August 2014, but until late evening, his family and friends were still waiting for him in front of the airport’s security gate. He was released and escorted home by the police without notice to his family in the early morning on the next day.
Most significantly, the detention indicates signs of torture as the security police reportedly employed unlawful methods, including using threats during the extensive hours of questioning in order to extract information from Cac.
Vietnam became a member of the Human Rights Council in January 2014 and underwent its second cycle under the UPR in February 2014. However, contrary to these developments, earlier this year, fellow activist Bui Tuan Lam was similarly detained and questioned for long hours at Tan Son Nhat airport upon arriving from his trip to Geneva for his UPR-related activities. On being released, Lam’s passport was confiscated on grounds of “national security”.
As the UPR provides that States must respect and facilitate civil society’s participation in the UPR process, Vietnam’s treatment of Lam and Cac are evident of the big gap between the Vietnamese government’s statements in the international arena and its conduct at home.
On another note, a Vietnamese pro-democracy scholar who also joined Cac in the UPR Delegation to Geneva, Dr. Nguyen Quang A, just returned to his hometown in Hanoi on 04 August. Although he and Cac are now safe at home, we are still concerned about their personal security and freedom of movement since exit bans have increasing been imposed on Vietnamese activists to bar them from participating in international advocacy.
The Vietnam UPR Delegation are concerned that other human rights activists will face similar or even more severe methods of repression in the future for their activities. This once again demonstrates that the Vietnamese government has little or no goodwill in fulfilling its human rights commitments. As recent as 20 June 2014, under the UPR process, Vietnam accepted 182 of the 227 recommendations given by member states. Notably among the accepted recommendations is the responsibility to “give individuals, groups and organs of society the legitimacy and recognition to promote human rights and to express their opinions or dissent publicly.”
In regards to the Vietnamese government’s obligations under both national and international laws, we request a termination of harassment on local human rights activists and due prosecution of those who are responsible for such misconduct.
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August 6, 2014
Statement by the Vietnamese UPR delegation on the return of its members
by Nhan Quyen • Nguyen Quang A, Pham Le Vuong Cac
VietnamUPR | 5/8/2014
Pham Le Vuong Cac’s relatives and friends protesting at the Tan Son Nhat airport in the evening of August 1.
In June 2014, as an independent blogger and legal advocate, Cac joined a delegation of Vietnamese human rights activists to represent 10 in-country civil society organizations to voice concerns about Vietnam’s grave human rights situation during the adoption of Vietnam’s UPR recommendations at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
During this trip, he met with various representatives of the UN working bodies, Delegates from the European Union, the Polish and Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and numerous international human rights organizations in order to raise awareness of Vietnam’s human rights issues and to share his experiences as a human rights advocate working inside the country.
The detention of Pham Le Vuong Cac not only infringes on Vietnamese laws but also fails to uphold international standards, to which Vietnam is bound. Cac’s rights as a citizen were violated because there was no issuance of either a notice or a decision by a responsible government agency to address this incident.Cac’s flight from Manila, Philippines landed in Ho Chi Minh City at 12:20am on 01 August 2014, but until late evening, his family and friends were still waiting for him in front of the airport’s security gate. He was released and escorted home by the police without notice to his family in the early morning on the next day.
Most significantly, the detention indicates signs of torture as the security police reportedly employed unlawful methods, including using threats during the extensive hours of questioning in order to extract information from Cac.
Vietnam became a member of the Human Rights Council in January 2014 and underwent its second cycle under the UPR in February 2014. However, contrary to these developments, earlier this year, fellow activist Bui Tuan Lam was similarly detained and questioned for long hours at Tan Son Nhat airport upon arriving from his trip to Geneva for his UPR-related activities. On being released, Lam’s passport was confiscated on grounds of “national security”.
As the UPR provides that States must respect and facilitate civil society’s participation in the UPR process, Vietnam’s treatment of Lam and Cac are evident of the big gap between the Vietnamese government’s statements in the international arena and its conduct at home.
On another note, a Vietnamese pro-democracy scholar who also joined Cac in the UPR Delegation to Geneva, Dr. Nguyen Quang A, just returned to his hometown in Hanoi on 04 August. Although he and Cac are now safe at home, we are still concerned about their personal security and freedom of movement since exit bans have increasing been imposed on Vietnamese activists to bar them from participating in international advocacy.
The Vietnam UPR Delegation are concerned that other human rights activists will face similar or even more severe methods of repression in the future for their activities. This once again demonstrates that the Vietnamese government has little or no goodwill in fulfilling its human rights commitments. As recent as 20 June 2014, under the UPR process, Vietnam accepted 182 of the 227 recommendations given by member states. Notably among the accepted recommendations is the responsibility to “give individuals, groups and organs of society the legitimacy and recognition to promote human rights and to express their opinions or dissent publicly.”
In regards to the Vietnamese government’s obligations under both national and international laws, we request a termination of harassment on local human rights activists and due prosecution of those who are responsible for such misconduct.