US embassy cable - 03HANOI388

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/CRA, DRL/PHD, and EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, ELAB, KDEM, KSEP, XG, VM, HUMANR, ETMIN, TIP 
SUBJECT:  VIETNAM:  USG HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 
 
REF:  STATE 13786 
 
1.  (U)  Ambassador and other Embassy and Consulate General 
officers demarched and spoke with GVN authorities at the 
national, provincial, and local levels numerous times 
throughout the year on various human rights issues including 
religious freedom as well as the status of persons of 
concern detained, imprisoned, harassed, or otherwise abused 
by authorities.  Results include GVN issuance of passports 
to over two dozen Montagnard families, allowing them to take 
advantage of their eligibility for various U.S. refugee 
programs.  Some had been waiting over three years for 
passports.  A Chinese national who had entered Vietnam 
illegally was allowed to depart under a US refugee program 
and join his asylee parents in the U.S.  Other intervention 
resulted in improved GVN treatment of some other persons of 
concern, such as a prominent actor and a controversial Hoa 
Hao monk. 
 
Embassy and Consulate General officers visited political 
activists and leaders of non-government recognized religious 
groups throughout the year, particularly following instances 
of government harassment or as a pre-emptive measure after 
others were harassed or detained.  These visits demonstrated 
that the USG took their welfare seriously and in some cases 
may have delayed or discouraged action against them. 
Beneficiaries included activists Nguyen Dan Que and Nguyen 
Thanh Giang, unregistered Buddhist church leader Thich Huyen 
Quang, and two Mennonite Sunday school teachers.  ConGenoffs 
demonstrated interest in the latter by circling the police 
station where they were detained in the Consul General's 
vehicle -- no flags flying, but with unmistakable diplomatic 
plates.  Police released the teachers the next day. 
 
The Embassy and Consulate General arranged the visits of 
members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious 
Freedom as well as the Ambassador-at-Large for Religious 
Freedom, including formal meetings with a wide variety of 
GVN officials as well as religious leaders.  The Embassy 
also facilitated the visit to the U.S. of GVN religious 
affairs officials and religious leaders. 
 
Embassy officers for the first time ever visited Vietnamese 
prisons -- twice during the year -- to investigate prison 
conditions and demonstrate US interest and concern. 
 
Embassy initiated a mid-level human rights channel with the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs that provided an effective means 
to raise concerns and obtain official information about 
persons of concern, including activist Pham Hong Son. 
 
Department of Labor (DOL), with Embassy assistance, launched 
four projects with human rights dimensions.  While freedom 
of association remained a problem, the GVN agreed to a DOL 
program improving industrial relations through dispute 
prevention and settlement.  It will train representatives of 
seventy enterprises in collective bargaining, problem 
solving, and dispute resolution as well as establish 
industrial relations advisory centers and a national 
training institute.  A second program will improve 
employment opportunities for people with disabilities 
through a review of relevant legislation, remodeling ten 
Employment Service Centers, training their staffs, and 
raising public awareness.  A third project, launched on 
February 19, 2003), will address the prevention, withdrawal, 
and rehabilitation of child labor through strengthening the 
capacity of government agencies.  A fourth, begun in early 
2003, will establish policies to prevent discrimination in 
the workplace against HIV/AIDS positive employees. 
 
The USG-funded Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) 
Project, to facilitate the implementation of the U.S.- 
Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement, includes components aimed 
at promoting transparency and rule of law that benefit human 
rights.  STAR trains lawyers and judges; the project has 
stimulated greater efforts to ensure that new and amended 
laws conform to international treaties and has achieved 
significant concrete results.  Full implementation of the 
BTA will have a substantial impact on Vietnam's system of 
governance.  Required legal reforms specifically mandate 
greater transparency and due process in the legal system. 
Although it will take some time for a reformed legal sector 
to function as a protector of human rights, many of the 
basic components will be put in place as a result of BTA 
compliance. 
 
Post-obtained grant funding from EAP/RSP allowed the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and The Asia 
Foundation to carry out projects to combat trafficking in 
persons.  The IOM project opened a shelter in Ho Chi Minh 
City for underage trafficking victims who have been 
repatriated from brothels in Cambodia and began expansion of 
a reception center for trafficking victims closer to the 
Cambodian border.  The Asia Foundation project, which 
continued through year-end, worked with various government 
and civil society organizations to highlight the dangers of 
trafficking at the community level and provided economic 
alternatives for high-risk groups. 
 
The Mission's Public Affairs Sections sponsored 
International Visitors on human rights-related programs 
including "Grassroots Democracy in the U.S.," "Laws and 
Policies on Persons with Disabilities," and "The Role of the 
Media in Promoting Civil Society."  PAS is sponsoring five 
provincial workshops on grassroots democracy, which include 
developing, publishing, and distributing pamphlets on human 
rights, women's rights, children's rights, and legal rights. 
PAS administered a grant-funded program that provided gender 
education and women's leadership training in three 
provinces.  PAS translated and distributed print and 
electronic journals and documents on human rights themes. 
BURGHARDT