The Foreign Ministry of Canada invited the Free Vietnam Alliance to attend a human rights conference on Feb. 19 and 20 in the capital city of Ottawa. This conference was organized to help the Canadian government gather information for its human rights report at the United Nations meeting from March 16-24 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The advisory conference focusing on human rights of 37 nations had the participation of nearly 130 NGOs. Topics included civil and political rights; the right to development; economic, social and cultural rights; religious intolerance; racism; effect of illicit dumping of toxic wastes; and impunity.
Among the 245 representatives of 130 organizations and delegations attending the conference, the Vietnam delegation included: Lam Thu Van of the Federation of Vietnamese in Canada; Dang Thi Thanh Chi of the Free Vietnam Alliance; John Lorinc of PEN; and Eileen Tkachyk of Amnesty International.
The Vietnam delegation cited cases of religious and political persecution and harassment and the Hanoi regime's Administrative Detention decree 31/CP.
John Lorinc representing PEN Canada mentioned the well-known cases of Professor Doan Viet Hoat and Venerable Thich Quang Do as examples of Hanoi's violations of press and religious freedom. Eileen Tkachytry of Canada invited the Free Vietnam Alliance to attend a human rights conference on Feb. 19 and 20 in the capital city of Ottawa. This conference was organized to help the Canadian government gather information for its human rights report at the United Nations meeting from March 16-24 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The advisory conference focusing on human rights of 37 nations had the participation of nearly 130 NGOs. Topics included civil and political rights; the right to development; economic, social and cultural rights; religious intolerance; racism; effect of illicit dumping of toxic wastes; and impunity.
Among the 245 representatives of 130 organizations and delegations attending the conference, the Vietnam delegation included: Lam Thu Van of the Federation of Vietnamese in Canada; Dang Thi Thanh Chi of the Free Vietnam Alliance; John Lorinc of PEN; and Eileen Tkachyk of Amnesty International.
The Vietnam delegation cited cases of religious and political persecution and harassment and the Hanoi regime's Administrative Detention decree 31/CP.
John Lorinc representing PEN Canada mentioned the well-known cases of Professor Doan Viet Hoat and Venerable Thich Quang Do as examples of Hanoi's violations of press and religious freedom. Eileen Tkachyk called on the Canadian government to caution Hanoi on its violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which the regime is a signatory.
The FVA representative emphasized the need to condition bilateral trade between Canada and Vietnam on the respect of human and civil rights. Cases of worker rights violations, especially of women and child labor in joint-ventures, were cited.
The delegation recommended the Canadian government to raise these human rights concerns at the coming UN meeting, and urge nations to use their diplomatic and trade pressures with Hanoi for the release of political prisoners, the respect of basic human rights and the end to regime's control over mass media.
Villia M. Jefremovas, an official from the section of the Foreign Ministry dealing with Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos and a presiding panel member, applauded the Vietnam delegation's effort. She asked to be supplied with more details and documents regarding civil and worker rights violations in Vietnam, especially those against women and children.