Human Rights Recap for June 14th-June 27th, 2014: Results of Vietnam’s UPR Review at HRC26
On June 20th, during the 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Vietnam’s human rights situation, the Council affirmed Vietnam’s position as a part of the UNHRC.
The UPR Info Twitter feed expressed that ahead of Vietnam’s review, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UNICEF, and the United States had all voiced their concern about dismal social services and harsh freedom of expression laws in Vietnam.
The 88 Project rejects the affirmation of Vietnam’s human rights record but hopes that with increased international attention, positive change will be made.
According to a Voice of America article, Vietnam rejected 45 of the UN’s human rights recommendations, only adopting 182 of the 227 proposed items. Although some recommendations have been adopted, implementing the UNHRC’s recommendations will not necessarily impact the attitudes and prejudices of the Vietnamese government towards political dissent.
A quote from VOA: “Phil Robertson, the Asia Deputy Director for Human Right’s Watch, says that while Hanoi chose to accept most of the recommendations, it rejected those that would dramatically improve human rights in the country.”
Concern was also raised recently for lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, whose case has been taken on by The Law Society (a London-based group). Read the letter they sent to Vietnam’s president, here.
Lastly, in an upsetting trial, the New York Times reports that blogger Truong Duy Nhat’s two-year sentence was upheld yesterday. He was convicted in March of this year for “abusing democratic freedoms,” as his blogging efforts called for the resignation of the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
Act.
Sign Reporters Without Border’s petition to free Vietnam’s imprisoned bloggers. Sign here!
Donate here: Give bloggers and activists the tools they need to succeed and keep safe in Vietnam’s harsh environment.
Tweet at us @The88Project to let us know what you think about #HRC26’s decision and the imprisonment of Truong Duy Nhat and the treatment of lawyer Nguyen Van Dai.
To read more about these stories from their original sources, follow the links within the text (underlined).
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