Source: Vietnam Committee on Human Righta
JAKARTA, 30 April 2011 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) - In a report made public at the Conference on the Rule of law for human rights in the ASEAN region held by the Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) in Jakarta, Indonesia, today, Mr. Vo Van Ai, President ofQuê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Committee for Human Rights called on Vietnam to urgently reform its legal system and bring domestic legislation into line with international human rights laws. This Conference is one of many activities taking place in Indonesia this year during Indonesia’s charmanship of ASEAN. Speakers included Dr. Param Cumaraswamy, former UN Special Rapporteur for Judicial Independence and Impartiality, David Carden, US Ambassador to ASEAN, Martin Hatfull, UK Ambassador to ASEAN, and many academics, civil society delegates and members of the diplomatic community.
The publication of the report, entitled “The Rule of Law or the Rule by Law: Crime and Punishment in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”, coincides with the 36th anniversary of April 30, 1975, the end of the Vietnam War and Vietnam’s reunification under communist rule. Mr. Vo Van Ai declared:
“36 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the rule of law exists only in theory in Vietnam. The government has incorporated human rights into its 1992 Constitution. Yet it has also adopted a whole arsenal of Laws, Decrees, Ordinances and Decisions which restrict or even nullify the exercise of these rights, in total violation of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam adhered in 1982”.
The report examines provisions in the Vietnamese Constitution, Penal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Press Law, Labour Code, Ordinance on Religion and Belief, and numerous Decisions and Decrees that restrict freedom of expression, opinion, the press, religion, association and assembly, in violation of the ICCPR.
It particularly condemns Vietnam’s use of “vaguely-defined, catch-all national security” provisions in the 1986 Penal Code to detain human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists for the legitimate expression of dissenting views. Ambiguous offenses such as “undermining national solidarity, sowing divisions between religious and non-religious people”, (article 87), “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (Article 88), “abusing democratic freedoms to encroach on the interests of the state” (article 258) carry heavy prison sentences. Seven are punishable by death. Ordinance 44, adopted in 2002, authorizes local security police and People’s Committee’s to detain “suspected national security offenders” for up to two years under house arrest, in “rehabilitation” camps or in psychiatric institutions without any due process of law.
The report notes that Vietnam continues to adopt restrictive legislation whilst receiving millions of dollars from the World Bank, the UNDP, the ADB and a host of donor countries for legal reform programmes such as the Strategy on Development of the Legal System and the Strategy on Judicial Reform.
“The international community should ensure that legal reforms comply with international human rights standards, otherwise funding should be withdrawn. Without guarantees of accountability, tax-payers’ money will help Vietnam to stifle its people’s freedoms and rights. Vietnam is not building the rule of law but the rule by law – the use of the law to suppress legitimate democratic advocacy and reinforce the powers of the one-Party state” said Vo Van Ai.
It gives three profiles of people detained under different aspects of the arbitrary legal system:
“Flawed process, Unfair trial: the case of legal expert Cu Huy Ha Vu” describes the flawed accusations and unfair Court hearing of this prominent defender of political and environmental rights who “sought to use the legal system to demand official accountability and justice for victims of human rights abuses”. The son of a celebrated poet and revolutionary figure, Cu Huy Ha Can was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 3 years house arrest on April 4, 2011 for “anti-Socialist propaganda”.
“Two charges, No crime: the case of blogger Dieu Cay” describes the second charge of “anti-socialist propaganda” imposed on blogger Nguyen Van Hai (pen name Dieu Cay) on the day of his release from prison (19.10.2010) after completing a 30-month sentence for “tax evasion”. His wife has not seen him since then. She has travelled 13 times to the Xuan Loc prison camp in Dong Nai but has been refused the right to visit. Prison authorities would not take the provisions she brought her husband on the grounds that “he refuses to accept them”. She fears that Dieu Cay may have died in detention. “Only dead prisoners refuse food”, she wrote in a letter on April 20, 2011.
“Legal Limbo – 28 years in Prison, Internal Exile and House Arrest: the case of Buddhist leader Thich Quang Do” describes the plight of Buddhist monk and leader of ther banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam who has endured various forms of imprisonment over the past 28 years for “crimes” such as opposing the creation of the State-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church (10 years in internal exile) or organizing an UBCV relief mission for victims of flooding in the Mekong Delta (5 years in prison). He has been under de factohouse arrest at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery since 1998, forbidden to preach, denied citizenship rights and held under continuous surveillance.
In its recommendations, the report called on Vietnam to abrogate Article 4 of the Constitution on the mastery of the Communist Party, which is “the key obstacle to freedom of opinion and expression, and the basis of State discrimination”; to delete from the Constitution, Penal Code, Press Law, Labour Code and other domestic legislation “all articles which subjugate individual rights to the interests and policies of the State” and otherwise limit the exercise of human rights enshrined in the ICCPR; to urgently repeal or revise the “national security laws” as recommended by UN member states at Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review in 2009; to release all prisoners detained under national security laws for the expression of peaceful political views or religious beliefs; bring the Ordinance on Religions and Beliefs into line with freedom of religion as guaranteed in Article 18 of the ICCPR and re-establish the legal status of the UBCV and all other non-recognised religions.
In conclusion, it urged the international community to ensure that all laws adopted under legal reform programmes, including the Strategy on Judicial Reform and the Strategy on the Development of the Legal System comply with international human rights standards, and to withdraw funding if compliance is not met.
The report also called on member states of ASEAN, under this year’s chairmanship of Indonesia to use the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) as platforms to engage Vietnam in a genuine dialogue on human rights violations in its country.
The report is available on: http://www.queme.net/eng/doc/
or: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=
Source: <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/
New York, Apr 11 2011 12:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the urgent need to strengthen the rule of law worldwide, noting that it can assist in tackling some of the key global challenges the international community is currently facing.
Addressing the start of a one-day interactive debate of the General Assembly devoted to the subject, Mr. Ban said that one need look no further than the news headlines to appreciate the
importance of today’s discussion.
“Across the Arab world, people long denied basic rights and freedoms demand justice, dignity and rule of law,” he said. “In Africa, Asia and Europe, we hear the call for good governance… transparency and protections against corruption… effective, trustworthy legal systems… accountability for crimes and violations of civil rights…
“The principle they champion is universal … a bedrock belief in the supremacy of a government of laws, not of men.”
He stressed that the rule of law represents “our best hope for building peaceful, prosperous societies,” while noting that too often, in too many places, “we see the façade of rule of law, without steps to make it fully real.”
In the outcome of the 2005 World Summit, heads of State and government reaffirmed their commitment to an international order based on the rule of law, which is essential for peaceful coexistence and cooperation among States.
They also acknowledged that the rule of law at the national and international levels is essential for sustained economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger.
Mr. Ban highlighted four major challenges in advancing the rule of law – a lack of civilian capacity, a shortage of financial resources, a fragmented community of actors, and political obstacles that need to be overcome.
In this regard, he welcomed the Assembly’s decision to hold a high-level event next year dedicated to the rule of law, which he said will be an opportunity to bring all players to the table and to renew commitment to advancing this important issue.
He added that respect for the rule of law implies respect for human rights and tolerance of differences in culture and religion. Condemning acts such as the recent burning of a Koran in the United States, he stressed that rule of law is grounded in respect and mutual understanding, not the demonization of ‘the other.’
“In the same vein, those who respond to hate speech with violence must also be condemned. The killing of innocent people can never be justified, no matter what the provocation,” he said.
Apr 11 2011 12:10PM
Source: Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International Researcher, Southeast Asia
Hundreds of Rohingyas fleeing systematic persecution in Myanmar require immediate assistance from Thailand, India, and Indonesia.
A group of 91 persons believed to be Rohingyas, who landed on the Andaman Islands, India in early February 2011, claim that the Thai navy put them out to sea in January 2011 in an engineless boat with limited food and water. Thai authorities, however, claim that they returned 91 persons detained in Thailand to Myanmar in late January 2011. Amnesty International called on the government of Thailand to institute a prompt, independent and transparent investigation into how Thai authorities treated this group.
Thai authorities have detained hundreds of individuals claiming to be Rohingyas, including children, since January 2011.
A further 129 persons claiming to be Rohingyas arrived in Aceh, Indonesia on 17 February 2011.
The Rohingyas, who live in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, suffer from systematic persecution, including forced labour, forced eviction, land confiscation, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement. The Myanmar government refuses to grant them citizenship, rendering them stateless, in violation of their international rights. Many Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh, and have tried to seek work in other countries.
In late 2008 and early 2009, Thai security forces pushed hundreds of Rohingyas to sea in unseaworthy boats. Some subsequently died at sea. A number of those rescued were detained and remain with indeterminate status on the Andaman Islands, India without a proper assessment of their protection needs.
Amnesty called on the governments of Thailand, India and Indonesia to act on their obligations under international human rights and customary international law, including by giving persons claiming to be Rohingyas on their territory access to full and fair refugee determination procedures, and to grant the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) access to them.
Amnesty International emphasized that the Rohingyas would be at risk of human rights violations if returned to Myanmar. No Rohingyas, or other asylum seekers, should be returned to Myanmar against their will if they have a well-founded fear of persecution.
Amnesty International has urged Myanmar to stop the systematic persecution of the Rohingyas. Amnesty International has also urged Myanmar’s neighbours to provide the UN Refugee Agency immediate access to all Rohingyas in their territory and to ratify the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and the UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.
Human Right Resource Centre © 2011