Congressional committee passes resolution calling for human rights reforms in Viet Nam

The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed a resolution on April 26 that calls upon the Vietnamese government to implement human rights reforms, according to the Pasadena Star-News. The resolution was sponsored by Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.).

The case of Father Nguyen Van Ly, who was sentenced to eight years in prison last month, exemplifies the country’s shameful human rights record, according the article. Six other dissidents were indicted along with Ly, including Nguyen Phong, who received six years for establishing the Viet Nam Party of Progress, which opposes the ruling Communist Party,.

Ly, who has spent almost 14 years of his life in prison for promoting freedoms, has said: “If the United States and other countries truly sympathize with my ill-fated people and truly care about human rights, especially the right to religious freedom, of the Vietnamese people, you must not help the Communist Government prolong its totalitarian rule.”

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