- GENEVA, 16 September 2014 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Speaking at the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva jointly withActing together for Human Rights (Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme), Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) denounced impediments to the recent visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion, Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt (from 21-31 July 2014), in particular those caused by the Vietnamese authorities themselves.
In his preliminary remarks on concluding his visit, Mr. Bielefeldt said that many of his meetings had been “interrupted” because people he wanted to meet had been threatened, intimidated or harassed. He was constantly followed by “undeclared security or police agents” who violated the confidentiality of many private meetings, obliging him to cut them short. The UN Special Rapporteur said Vietnam had violated the terms of reference of in situ visits. He added that no-one should suffer reprisals because of meeting him, and told the Vietnamese authorities that he would closely monitor the situation of all those he met to ensure that this was respected. In brief, he concluded, “grave violations of freedom of religion or belief are a reality in Vietnam”.
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