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VI. Recommendations

The information documented in this report demonstrates that the Vietnamese government continues to persecute Central Highlanders for their religious and political beliefs. Officials continue to force highland Christians to sign pledges renouncing their religion. Hundreds of highlanders are wasting away in Vietnamese prisons. Authorities have detained, beaten, and threatened returnees from UNHCR sites in Cambodia and people who have families in the United States. Some returnees have been coerced into painting a rosy—and false—picture of their situation for UNHCR monitors.

In light of reports of ongoing persecution, mistreatment, and imprisonment of Central Highlanders, including returnees from Cambodia, Human Rights Watch urges the international community to insist that Vietnam respect the basic human rights of its citizens. UNHCR should suspend its involvement in repatriation of highlanders and terminate or re-negotiate its tripartite agreement with Vietnam and Cambodia, and the United States should maintain its designation of Vietnam as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious persecution.

Specifically, Human Rights Watch recommends the following:

To the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:

Freedom of Religion

• End the restrictions on gatherings of religious groups that are not registered with the government, abolish the practice of forced recantations of faith or pressure to affiliate with officially registered religious organizations, and bring an end to abusive police surveillance and harassment of religious leaders and followers.
• Allow highlanders to belong to or organize independent religious organizations and freely conduct religious activities.
• Invite the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, who visited Vietnam in 1998, for a follow-up visit to Vietnam, with unrestricted access to the Central Highlands and prisons throughout Vietnam.

Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly

• Amend provisions of Vietnam’s Criminal Code that restrict and criminalize the right to peaceful dissent, particularly the provisions on national security.
• Release all highlanders imprisoned for peaceful expression of their political or religious beliefs.
• Permit the right to hold and express political opinions that run counter to state policy, including peaceful advocacy of autonomy and independence.
• End the bans in some parts of the Central Highlands on gatherings of more than four people.
• Conduct an independent investigation as to whether excessive force was used by Vietnamese police and military (and civilians enlisted to act on their behalf) during the suppression of the April 2004 protests and other reported incidents of torture, arbitrary detention, and forced recantation of faith.

Central Highland Prisoners

• Publish a central, public registry of the names and locations of all Central Highlanders held in pretrial detention, as well as any charges against them, and the names, charges, sentences, and locations of those who have been convicted and sentenced. Release information about the status of persons included in Human Rights Watch’s list of 355 Central Highlanders known to be in prison as of May 2006.
• Commit to a timetable for the unconditional release of all persons in the Central Highlands who are being held for the peaceful expression of their political or religious beliefs—including church leaders, land rights activists, and supporters of the highland independence movement.
• Invite the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which visited Vietnam in 1994, to visit Vietnam, with unrestricted access to the Central Highlands and prisons throughout Vietnam.
• Conduct penal, legal, and court proceedings with greater transparency and accountability. Publicly announce trials and charges in advance of trial proceedings, which should be public. Guarantee that any persons charged in connection with the protests in the Central Highlands, the highland political movement, or membership in unregistered churches receive trials in accordance with international fair trial standards set forth in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a party. The trials should be public and open to Vietnamese citizens, international observers, and independent monitors. Those accused should have access to legal counsel of their choosing and the free assistance of an interpreter where necessary, as mandated by both the ICCPR and Vietnam’s Constitution.
• End the arbitrary detention of highlanders who have returned from Cambodia to Vietnam either voluntarily or against their will. Release highlanders who have been sentenced to prison after being arrested and deported from Cambodia or the border areas attempting to seek asylum.
• Repeal the 1997 Administrative Detention Directive 31/CP, which authorizes detention without trial for up to two years for individuals deemed to have violated national security laws.

Torture

• Make a public commitment to end the practice of torture. Appoint a special commission to investigate allegations of torture in the Central Highlands and to recommend appropriate prosecutions and discipline.
• Invite the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Vietnam, with unrestricted access to the Central Highlands and prisons throughout Vietnam.

Freedom to Seek Asylum or Emigrate Abroad

• Authorize the re-opening of an internationally-staffed UNHCR office in Hanoi, and the opening of field offices in Pleiku, Buon Mathuot, and Dak Nong, staffed by international and Vietnamese personnel, to improve the possibilities for more orderly repatriation and resettlement.
• Invite the US Embassy to open a consulate in Pleiku or Buon Ma Thuot to facilitate and expedite family reunification applications.
• Release all highlanders imprisoned on charges of “fleeing abroad” or “assisting others to flee to oppose the Peoples’ Administration” under article 91 of Vietnam’s Penal Code after being arrested and deported from Cambodia or border areas attempting to seek asylum.
• Stop threatening returnees prior to and during UNHCR monitoring missions.
• Allow UNHCR and other international monitors free, unfettered, and private access to returnees.

To the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:

• Do not cease refugee status for Central Highlanders in Cambodia until UNHCR and independent observers have credible evidence that there have been fundamental and enduring changes in the circumstances that caused people to flee the Central Highlands of Vietnam and that protection of and full respect for their human rights have been restored.
• Oppose the forced return of Montagnards to the Central Highlands as long as religious and political persecution of Central Highlanders continues.
• Insist on free, unfettered, unannounced, and in-depth UNHCR monitoring missions to the Central Highlands before, during, and after any repatriation in order to provide independent information to potential returnees and thoroughly monitor their protection upon return. Continue to push for private and confidential access to Central Highland interviewees in a non-coercive environment.
• Guarantee that any repatriation of Central Highland asylum seekers and refugees is based on fully informed and voluntary decisions. Provide asylum seekers and refugees accurate and complete information about the situation in Vietnam so that they can make informed choices about whether to repatriate. They should be provided full information on their rights, as well as access to relevant, accurate, and unbiased information regarding their options and conditions in their home areas in Vietnam.
• Ensure that Central Highland asylum seekers in Cambodia are provided with independent and unbiased legal advice and counseling regarding the appeal process, repatriation, and resettlement. Ensure that they have the opportunity to make free and informed choices regarding these options and for their choices to be respected and upheld.
• Oppose the forced return of Central Highland refugees who refuse third country resettlement.
• Seek funding for UNHCR to establish field offices in Pleiku, Buon Mathuot and Dak Nong, staffed by international and Vietnamese personnel, to improve the possibilities for more orderly repatriation and resettlement.
• Encourage the Vietnamese government to continue to streamline the procedures for family reunification of Central Highlanders in Vietnam who have received authorization from resettlement countries to join family members who have resettled abroad.Insist that the Vietnamese government not persecute and discriminate against Central Highlanders whose families have petitioned for family reunification.

If the January 2005 Memorandum of Understanding between UNHCR and the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam, which expired in July 2005, is re-negotiated, ensure that the revised MoU and its implementation:

• Fully complies with international law, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and accepted standards of refugee protection and guidelines for voluntary repatriation, as reinforced by the UNHCR Executive Committee.
• Strictly adheres to UNHCR guidelines and international law regarding non-refoulement, voluntary repatriation, and effective protection and monitoring of returnees in their countries of origin.
• Includes provisions for independent and unbiased legal advice and counseling to be provided to asylum seekers in Cambodia regarding the appeal process, repatriation, and resettlement.
• Omits references in the current MoU by the Vietnamese government alleging that Central Highland asylum seekers “cross the border without authorization into Cambodia, not because they are oppressed, persecuted or forced to flee.”
• Expands and strengthens safeguards for returnees by guaranteeing that they will not be punished, persecuted, discriminated against, or prosecuted for their religious or political beliefs or for their departure from Vietnam.

To the international community, including intergovernmental organizations:

• Press for revision of the January 2005 tripartite agreement between UNHCR, Vietnam and Cambodia in order that strengthened provisions be included to ensure that (a) refugee decisions on durable solutions are fully informed and voluntary (b) returnees are not punished, discriminated against, or prosecuted for having left Vietnam, or for their religious and political beliefs; nor are they threatened and intimidated prior to visits by international delegations; and c) UNHCR has full and unfettered access to returnees inside Vietnam.
• Encourage the Vietnamese government to continue to streamline the procedures for family reunification of Central Highlanders in Vietnam for those who have received authorization from resettlement countries to join family members who have resettled abroad.Insist that the Vietnamese government not persecute and discriminate against Central Highlanders whose family has petitioned for family reunification.
• Regularly dispatch diplomatic representatives based in Vietnam to travel to the Central Highlands to assess human rights conditions.
• Promote development projects in the Central Highlands that maximize the presence of international actors in the Central Highlands.

To the Royal Government of Cambodia:

• Provide asylum to Central Highland refugees until safe and proper durable solutions become available for them.
• Prevent the involuntary return of any refugee or asylum seeker to Vietnam––including those whose asylum claims may have been initially rejected by UNHCR––until it has been determined that adequate monitoring and protection measures are in place to ensure that returnees can go back voluntarily and in safety and in dignity.
• Honor its obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol not to return refugees to a place where their lives or freedom would be threatened[BF5] .
• Meet its legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture not to return a person to another state where there are substantial grounds to believe that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

To the United States Government:

• Continue Vietnam’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” for its violations of the right to religious freedom until substantial progress is made, specifically by ending the restrictions on gatherings of religious groups that are not registered with the government, abolishing the practice of forced recantations of faith, and bringing to an end abusive police surveillance and harassment of religious leaders and followers.
• Adapt and update for their present circumstances, based on the standards established by the Lautenberg Amendment¹²⁸ and under the Orderly Departure (ODP) and Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) programs,¹²⁹ criteria to establish eligibility for U.S. refugee resettlement for Central Highlanders in Cambodia who have been screened out by UNHCR, who were unable to apply for or complete ODP or ROVR applications and who are in danger of being forcibly returned to Vietnam. Consider such cases without a UNHCR referral.
• Continue to fund development projects in the Central Highlands aimed at reintegrating returnees and opening the region to greater engagement by international humanitarian actors whose presence should improve human rights conditions.