The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) is a one-party state controlled by the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). The VCP's constitutionally mandated leading role and the occupancy of nearly all senior government positions by party officials ensures the primacy of Politburo guidelines. The National Assembly, chosen in elections in which all candidates are approved by the party, remains largely subservient to the VCP, as does the judiciary. An effort is underway to reduce party intrusion into government operations, and government officials have more latitude in implementing policies. The Government continued to restrict significantly civil liberties on national security grounds.
Acting under the control of the party and the Government, the Ministry of Interior enforces laws and regulations that significantly restrict individual liberties and violate other human rights. The regime uses the Ministry as well as a system of household registrations and block wardens to monitor the population, concentrating on those suspected of engaging, or being likely to engage, in unauthorized political activities. Some members of the security forces have committed human rights abuses.
The Government's human rights record continued to be poor, and the it continued to repress basic political and some religious freedoms and to commit numerous abuses. It denied citizens the right to change their government and significantly restricted freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, privacy, and religion. It arbitrarily detained people, including for peacefully expressing political and religious objections to government policies, and sometimes denied citizens the right to a fair and expeditious trial. The Government continued its longstanding policy of not tolerating most types of public dissent and of prohibiting independent religious, political, and labor organizations. There were credible reports that security officials beat detainees. Prison conditions remained poor. Societal discrimination and violence against women remained problems.