Statement from a network of Vietnamese bloggers: Vietnam should amend law to demonstrate Human Rights Council candidacy commitment

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them. 

As a candidate for the HRC for the 2014-2016 tenure, Vietnam must demonstrate its commitment to cooperating with the HRC and upholding “the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”. 

These obligations and responsibilities do not only apply on the international arena, but also inside Vietnam. The Vietnamese government also needs to review the human rights situation in their own country and the Vietnamese people also have a right to freedom of opinion and expression, including on these matters. 

In order to improve the protection of human rights in Vietnam, we will take HRC's principles as guidelines for our actions, which also comply with Vietnam’s obligations under international human rights law. 

We will:

- Continue to promote and inform the Vietnamese people about their rights by publicly distributing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), organizing public forums to discuss human rights in Vietnam and advocating for necessary improvements of the respect and protection of human rights. 

- Continue to monitor, publicly report and comment on improvement, setbacks, or violations of human rights in Vietnam, with a focus on policy and practice by the Vietnamese authorities that affect human rights. 

In order to fulfill these responsible actions, we call upon the Vietnamese government and the HRC to review Article 258 of the 1999 Penal Code, amended in 2009 - “crime of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens”. 

In May 2013, two bloggers were detained right after they distributed the UDHR and police accused them of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State. Only weeks later, two other bloggers were detained after participating an outdoor picnic to discuss the content of the UDHR. 

Most recently, in May and June 2013, Article 258 was used to arrest blogger Truong Duy Nhat, Pham Viet Dao, and Dinh Nhat Uy forexercising their rights of freedom of expression by peacefully publishing texts on their blogs. 

This article is in breach of the Article 19 of the UDHR: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” 

It would be a great responsibility to serve as a member stateof the Human Rights Council, and an opportunity to promote human rights domestically and abroad. For a successful candidacy, we believe Vietnam must repeal or make amendments to Article 258 to ensure that Vietnamese people are free to educate themselves about and promote human rights. 

We hope that Vietnam will consider the abrogation of Article 258 to demonstrate its commitment and contribution to promoting and protecting human rights, and we hope that the General Assembly members will push Vietnam to do so during the campaigning period. 

We request Vietnam to present its human rights pledges as a candidate well before the election, to enable members of the General Assembly to assess its human rights commitment. The abrogation of Article 258 should be among the pledges. 

As said by Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General - “All victims of human rights abuses should be able to look to the Human Rights Council as a forum and a springboard for action.” As advocates for freedom of expression in Vietnam and victims of human rights violations because of our activism, we view Vietnam's candidacy for the HRC as a platform for constructive human rights discussions in our country. 

1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

InfoDesk@ohchr.org

2. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) 

3. Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) 

4. Human Right Watch 

5. Freedom House 

6. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 

7. International Freedom of Expression Exchange network (IFEX) campaigns@ifex.org

media@ifex.org 

8. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 

9. Civil Rights Defenders 

10. Amnesty International 

11. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) 

12. Human Right Law Network 

13. Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network (SEAHRN) 

14. Southeast Asia Press Alliance(SEAPA) 

15. Swedish International Development Cooporation Agency (SIDA) 

16. Open Society Foundation (OSF) 

17. Front Line Defenders