Key Events:
- President To Lam Speaks at UN General Assembly, Emphasizes the Importance of ‘Sustainable Development and Human Integrity’
- Human Rights Organizations Urge President Biden to Focus on Human Rights in Relations with Hanoi
- Hanoi Court Imposes Death Sentence for State Accountant Convicted of ‘Embezzlement’
To Lam Speaks at UN General Assembly, Emphasizes the Importance of ‘Sustainable Development and Human Integrity’
General Secretary and President To Lam highlighted the importance of international cooperation and collaboration in establishing a “peaceful world, sustainable development and human integrity” during his speech at a high-level discussion session of the 79th United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24. The president also raised concerns over the “risks of authoritarianism and egocentric nationalism” in challenging international laws and eroding multilateral institutions and trust in global cooperation.
His speech resonates with Hanoi’s foreign diplomacy principle of multilateralism and support for international institutions such as the UN. He further emphasized the need for “joint efforts and close cooperation” among all countries worldwide to “end war, eliminate all forms of oppression and exploitation, create peace, build a better world and bring happiness to humanity.” To Lam emphasized that Vietnam shares this vision and commitment with the international community.
On Sept. 22, the Communist Party chairman made a similar presentation at the UN Summit of the Future 2024, affirming his commitment to respect and uphold human development, liberation, and interests.
After Lam spoke, around 100 people from Vietnamese overseas communities staged a protest in front of the UN headquarters in New York, voicing their opposition to the Vietnamese government’s suppression of human rights and jailing of activists. Nguyen Van Dai, one of the founding members of the Brotherhood for Democracy, who now lives in exile in Germany, told VOA News that under To Lam’s leadership of the Ministry of Public Security, “almost all opposing and dissenting voices in Vietnam have been completely eliminated.” Dai said he believed these are To Lam’s “human rights achievements” and that the crackdown on activists and critics has not improved up until now.
According to the White House, the Vietnamese general secretary and the president are also scheduled to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of his diplomatic agenda at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25. Last September, during President Biden’s visit to Hanoi upgraded diplomatic relations with Washington to a comprehensive strategic partner, its highest echelon. Just before Lam visited the United States, Vietnam released several political prisoners, including Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Hoang Thi Minh Hong, and Hoang Ngoc Giao, which some analysts see as Vietnam’s political ploy before his visit to show a better record for Vietnam’s human rights.
A day before, state media reported that To Lam met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. During the meeting with President Zelensky, To Lam called for an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and protection of the safety of civilians and essential infrastructure while reiterating the stance of resolving disputes peacefully under the basic principles of international law and the UN Charter.
Human Rights Organizations Urge President Biden to Focus on Human Rights in Relations with Hanoi
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, PEN America called on the Vietnamese authorities to free writers and dissidents imprisoned for exercising their freedom of speech and urged President Joe Biden to focus on human rights in Washington’s diplomatic relations with Hanoi.
“Free expression is essential for a thriving, just society and fosters human rights, accountability, and progress,” the announcement said. “If President To Lam wishes to demonstrate his commitment to global leadership, he must first prioritize and enforce human rights in his own country.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of six nonprofit organizations that represent the overseas Vietnamese communities, including Viet Tan, the Brotherhood for Democracy, and Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), on Sept. 23 sent a petition to President Biden and other Western politicians calling on them to place sanctions on To Lam for committing “gross human rights violations.” The letter said the police general’s leadership in the public security ministry had sent dozens of activists and journalists to prison. It also accused To Lam of his alleged role in kidnapping Trinh Xuan Thanh, a state official, in Berlin in 2017 and other journalists, such as Truong Duy Nhat and Duong Van Thai, after they fled to Thailand to evade government persecution.
California congresswoman Michelle Steel also urged President Biden to “directly address” human rights violations with To Lam in a letter dated Sept. 24. Steel noted that the current general secretary of Vietnam’s rise to power “coincided with a significant increase in human rights abuses by the Vietnamese authorities on its own citizens.” She underscored the urgency for the Biden-Harris Administration to join the efforts in pressuring To Lam to release all prisoners of conscience, end the persecution and crackdown on critics and human rights defenders, guarantee the right of religious minorities to practice their faiths and hold officials who violate these rights accountable.
A former chief accountant at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology received a death sentence after a court in Hanoi on Sept. 24 convicted him of embezzling 152 billion dong ($6.18 million) from the institute’s general funds and using the stolen money on gambling, state media reported.
According to the indictment, Nguyen Hoang, former chief accountant and head of the department of finance at the epidemiology institute, had opened six bank accounts and illicitly withdrawn money from the institute’s funds using checks and false cash withdrawal authorizations between March 2009 and February 2023. Hoang also falsified data on the institute’s financial records between 2009 and 2017 to hide the withdrawals from official audits.
The court also sentenced Dang Duc Anh and Nguyen Tran Hien, the institute’s former director and chief accountant, each to three years of imprisonment due to their “lack of responsibility which results in severe consequences.” Last April, a court in Ho Chi Minh City convicted Truong My Lan, a billionaire tycoon, of “embezzlement” and sentenced her to death. A second phase trial of Lan’s fraudulent activities began on Sept. 19.
Vietnamese courts sentence hundreds of people to death every year, with a majority of those sentences handed down to drug traffickers. Besides homicide crimes, Vietnam still retains capital punishment for offenses related to corruption, state security, and drug trafficking, even though international human rights organizations and EU member states have called on the government to abolish the death penalty for less serious crimes.
Quick Takes
Climate Coalition Welcomes the Release of Hoang Thi Minh Hong
The Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition, which consists of over 30 international and regional environment and climate organizations, welcomed the recent release of environmental defender Hoang Thi Minh Hong in a statement published on Sept. 23. In the announcement, the coalition emphasized the need to advocate for the freedom of other climate activists and leaders who still remain behind bars under “tax evasion” charges, such as environmental justice lawyer Dang Dinh Bach. The statement said that Vietnam had weaponized its vague tax laws to penalize civil society organizations and environmental defenders whose work is essential to the country’s net zero commitment and to help it secure a $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) fund.
Special Rapporteur Surya Deva Mentions Restrictive Laws Utilized to Silence Activists, Lawyers, and Journalists
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development Surya Deva writes in a report dated July 8, which was presented to the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council held between Sept. 9 and Oct. 9. Deva stated that in his report, he received information some national security penal codes, such as Article 117 and 331, have been interpreted and utilized to restrict the rights of ethnic minorities, human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. Meanwhile, he also noted that Vietnam persecuted and imprisoned ethnic minorities with specific laws, such as Articles 109 and 113, which criminalize “subversion” and “committing terrorism against the people’s administration.”
Vietnam’s New Helmsman: What to Expect from To Lam?
Fulcrum/ Nguyen Khac Giang/ Sept. 23
“[To] Lam’s emerging leadership style appears pragmatic rather than ideological, focused on economic development and political stability over doctrinal campaigns. Reading from his public statements, Lam seems to have genuine ambitions to boost Vietnam’s economic and political position, with a strong determination to realise them. This could bode well for Vietnam’s economic prospects, potentially reviving entrepreneurial energy and attracting more foreign investment.
However, challenges abound. Lam’s rapid consolidation of power may ruffle feathers within the party, especially among those who fear a drift away from collective leadership. His background in the security apparatus also raises questions about the future of civil liberties in a country already known for its tight control of dissent. While Lam may push for more economic and administrative reforms, his lack of governance experience causes implementation concerns. As public security minister, he successfully restructured this “super-ministry”, streamlining over 30,000 positions in 2018. Yet he made policy missteps, including an uneven digital transformation of population data and abrupt fire safety regulations that disrupted businesses.”
Vietnam’s New Leader is Same Old Rights Violator
Human Rights Watch/ John Sifton/ Sept. 23
“As minister of public security, [To] Lam oversaw a massive crackdown on dissent, with hundreds of journalists and rights defenders arrested and detained. Among them was environmental activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong, who had attended Columbia University as an Obama Scholar. An outcry within the Columbia community apparently compelled Vietnamese authorities to release Hong on September 20, right before Lam left for New York.
A longstanding political prisoner, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, was also given an amnesty and released, eight months shy of completing his 16-year sentence. Thuc reportedly refused to comply with the amnesty, noting he had not applied for it. “Since I was innocent, there was no reason for me to be amnestied,” he wrote, saying it was done to burnish Lam’s image ahead of his New York trip. In what Thuc decried as “absurd,” guards stormed his cell, saying he had “no right to remain in prison,” and put him on a flight home to Ho Chi Minh City.
Such autocratic absurdity surrounds Lam. In 2021, a video went viral of him eating a US$2,000 gold leaf encrusted steak at a London restaurant. After long-time satirist Bui Tuan Lam posted a parody of the meal on social media, authorities arrested and sentenced him to five and a half years in prison.”