Vietnam Human Rights Network and Defend the Defenders ask Vice President Harris to raise human rights issues with the Vietnamese government’s representatives

CALIFORNIA, USA, August 6, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In a joint open letter to Vice President Kamala D. Harris in advance of her upcoming trip to Vietnam and Singapore, two non-profit advocacy organizations have come together to urge the Vice President to demonstrate strong leadership in the promotion of human rights, as the highest-ranking U.S. official on the trip and the first vice president to ever visit Vietnam. The state of California alone has over 800,000 Vietnamese-Americans, who will be watching this historic visit with great interest and hope as the United States works to promote and protect human rights and democracy worldwide.

The Vietnam Human Rights Network (VNHRN) and Defend the Defenders (DTD) reference a 2020-2021 Report on Human Rights in Vietnam, which highlights a sustained pattern of discrimination, arbitrary arrest and detention, and the restriction of fundamental rights and freedoms by the Vietnamese government against its citizens. These egregious actions resulted in a significant number of arrests and detentions; as of May 31, 2021, 288 prisoners of conscience were held in harsh physical conditions in clear violation of their human rights.

In response to these violations, the VNHRN and DTD call for the Biden-Harris administration to take a number of specific and meaningful actions, including asking the Vietnamese government to pursue significant human rights reform, to end the arbitrary detention of peaceful dissidents, and to immediately release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.

Vice President Harris is also strongly encouraged to meet with prisoners and families to demonstrate advocacy and compassion to people who have acted in good faith and made personal sacrifices to advance the just and meaningful cause of promoting and upholding fundamental human rights.

In support of this critically important visit, VNHRN and DTD stand ready to offer expert advice, references, and timely and relevant information to support the protection of human rights activists in Vietnam, which is of paramount importance to defenders of equality and fairness everywhere.

The mission of the Vietnam Human Rights Network is to defend and promote human rights, civil liberties, and all other fundamental freedoms for all Vietnamese citizens set forth by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human rights instruments. Defend the Defenders is Vietnam’s independent non-profit organization that promotes human and civil rights in the Southeast Asian nation. It has a network of dozens of human rights defenders across the country who report human rights abuse in their areas.
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If you would like more information about this topic, please call Tung Nguyen at (714) 657-9488 or email vnhrnet@vietnamhumanrights.net. Or visit their website at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Human_Rights_Network and
vietnamhumanrightsdefenders.net

Tung Nguyen
Vietnam Human Rights Network
+1 714-657-9488
vnhrnet@vietnamhumanrights.net

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