By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Rep. Ahn “Joseph” Cao (R-La) announced today at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that he will introduce legislation that would reinstate Vietnam into the Countries of Particular Concern list.
A Country of Particular Concern is a designation from the State Department indicating that a nation is guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act.
The roots for the new legislation stem from religious freedom violations by the Vietnamese government. According to a statement released by the commission, Vietnam continues to backslide on human rights by discriminating against certain religious practices in the country, detaining some and forcing others to renounce their respective faiths.
Cao said that Vietnam is seeking to create a stronger relationship with the United States. Despite provisions in the Vietnamese Constitution that protect human rights, Cao said that discriminatory actions imposed against certain religions makes creating this relationship a futile effort.
“We have very real concerns about backsliding on issues of human rights and religious freedom issues,” Cao said. “It’s going to be very hard to have that kind of relationship, [and] it cannot happen without the improvements of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam.”
Cao believes that designating Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern would shed light on the situation and help convince the Vietnamese government to sway from discriminating its own people.
New Legislation Could Change U.S.-Vietnamese Relations
Rep. Ahn “Joseph” Cao (R-La) announced today at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that he will introduce legislation that would reinstate Vietnam into the Countries of Particular Concern list.
A Country of Particular Concern is a designation from the State Department indicating that a nation is guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act.
The roots for the new legislation stem from religious freedom violations by the Vietnamese government. According to a statement released by the commission, Vietnam continues to backslide on human rights by discriminating against certain religious practices in the country, detaining some and forcing others to renounce their respective faiths.
Cao said that Vietnam is seeking to create a stronger relationship with the United States. Despite provisions in the Vietnamese Constitution that protect human rights, Cao said that discriminatory actions imposed against certain religions makes creating this relationship a futile effort.
“We have very real concerns about backsliding on issues of human rights and religious freedom issues,” Cao said. “It’s going to be very hard to have that kind of relationship, [and] it cannot happen without the improvements of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam.”
Cao believes that designating Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern would shed light on the situation and help convince the Vietnamese government to sway from discriminating its own people.