USCIRF urges government to keep CPC status for Viet Nam

In a letter addressed to Secretary Rice, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged that the State Department continue to recognize Viet Nam as a country of particular concern (CPC). The USCIRF is a bipartisan federal agency that has stressed that given the Religious Freedom Act of 1998, Viet Nam should continue to be designated as a CPC. According to the USCIRF, little has changed since the State Department’s designation of CPC status, with continued detentions of religious prisoners and forced renunciations. Despite some releases, more have been detained, many are under house arrest, and many released remain under constant surveillance. The USCIRF is urging Secretary Rice to keep Viet Nam listed as a CPC, and worries removing this designation could remove much of the incentive that could force the Vietnamese government to change its policies.