September 6, 2001 (202) 225-1492

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA-11^th) today applauded House passage of H.R. 2833, the Viet Nam Human Rights Act, legislation he cosponsored that will link future increases in non-humanitarian foreign aid to Hanoi to progress on human rights issues. The legislation passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 410-1. Davis offered the following statement on the House floor during debate on the issue:

"I believe passage of the Viet Nam Human Rights will send a strong message – to the Hanoi regime and to its victims – that expansion of trade relations does not imply approval of or complacency about the continuing pattern of severe human rights violations in Viet Nam.

"As an ardent supporter of human rights and a strong proponent of free trade, I want to stress that the Viet Nam Human Rights Act is about aid, not trade. This legislation sends a clear message to Hanoi, and also to other interested observers including the Vietnamese-American community, that the U.S. is serious about our commitment to the principles of free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of religious exercise.

"As a founding member of the Congressional Dialogue on Vietnam and a member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, I am acutely aware of the Vietnamese government’s human rights violations, including religious persecution, and indefinite criminal sentences for political prisoners. On May 12^th of this year, I attended a hearing that addressed the issue of religious suppression and persecution in Viet Nam. My colleagues and I heard testimony from many Vietnamese-American religious leaders who shared their perspectives on this important issue. Many of them had suffered personally at the hands of the Vietnamese government. In July, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell before he went to Vietnam, asking him to raise these very issues with the government.

"The Vietnam Human Rights Act sets a framework for an honest and detailed assessment of the human rights situation in Vietnam. It accurately identifies violations by the Vietnamese government against the rights of the Vietnamese people to exercise their freedom of expression, association, and religion, and the rights of workers, as well as persecution of religious figures and ethnic minorities including the Montagnards and people associated with the U.S. prior to 1975.

"In addition, H.R. 2833 summarizes the history of U.S. policy toward Vietnamese refugees and of ‘normalization’ of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic and trade relations. This legislation concludes that Congress and the American people are united in their belief that expansion of trade relations SHOULD NOT and MUST NOT be construed as approval of the Vietnamese government’s human rights violations. Furthermore, we, the government and the American people, seriously believe that the promotion of freedom and democracy must be central to U.S. foreign policy.

"This legislation makes conditional any increases in foreign assistance (other than humanitarian assistance) to the Vietnamese government on a finding by the President that they have made ‘substantial progress’ toward meeting certain human rights benchmarks, which include:

1. the release of all political and religious prisoners from all forms of detention including imprisonment and house arrest;
2. respect by the Vietnamese government towards the right to freedom of religion, including the right to participate in religious organizations not connected to the Vietnamese government;
3. respect for the rights of members of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands and elsewhere; and
4. an end to government complicity in severe forms of trafficking in human beings, in particular, women and children.

"This legislation seeks to ensure that U.S. educational and cultural exchange programs promote American values. H.R. 2833 will require the U.S. State Department to take steps to make sure that U.S. cultural and exchange programs are open to people who share our values–not just to Vietnamese government and Communist Party officials and persons close to them.

"It’s important to note that this legislation does not affect existing aid or any form of humanitarian assistance, nor does it limit assistance that is provided through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Essentially, the Viet Nam Human Rights Act will require the Vietnamese government to make substantial progress towards the release of political and religious prisoners, and an end to religious persecution, respect for the rights of ethnic minorities, and elimination of trafficking in human beings before receiving any further increases in government-to-government U.S. aid. It is my strong belief that this is the least we can do for all those being oppressed by the Communist Government."

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