Earlier this month, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, wrapped up a six-day working trip to Vietnam in anticipation of a rumored visit by Pope Francis later in the year.
But Vietnam has been accused of flagrantly violating the rights of religious organizations and groups, especially congregations of the country’s ethnic minorities, who are adherents of various Buddhist sects, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as a number of religions deemed illegal by the communist government.
Earlier this year, a rights campaign group leaked Directive 24, a “national security” document produced by the Communist Party’s Politburo that analysts have said shows the authorities’ desire to increase repression of institutions and ideas that could be influenced by foreign governments.
“The sad fact is the European Union and most of its member states have been asleep at the switch when it comes to standing up for religious freedom in Vietnam,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division.
“The EU should be making common cause with the US and other like-minded countries to demand the Vietnamese government lift its restrictive administrative controls over religion, and let religious leaders and their followers practice without constant interference,” he added.
“We now very much hope that, in parallel to the growing partnership in economic and political terms, EU stakeholders’ continuous insistence will result in significant improvements in human rights compliance in Vietnam,” he added.
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