The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Powell:

On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (the Commission), I am writing to urge you to raise the protection of religious freedom in Vietnam prominently at the 57th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and with Vietnamese officials during your upcoming trip to that country in July.

Despite the increase in religious practice among the Vietnamese people in the last 10 years, the Vietnamese government suppresses organized religious activities forcefully and monitors and controls religious communities. The government prohibits religious activity by those not affiliated with one of the six officially recognized religious organizations. Individuals have been detained, fined, imprisoned, and kept under close surveillance by security forces for engaging in "illegal" religious activities. In addition, the government uses the recognition process to monitor and control officially sanctioned religious groups: restricting the procurement and distribution of religious literature, controlling religious training, and interfering with the selection of religious leaders.

The Commission has looked closely at religious freedom and U.S. policy in Vietnam in the last year. In February 2001, the Commission held a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on Vietnam, and heard testimony from representatives of a number of Vietnamese religious communities, as well as experts on Vietnam and its relations with the United States. In addition, the Commission and its staff have met or otherwise communicated with representatives of the Vietnamese government, Vietnamese religious communities, and human rights organizations with expertise in Vietnam (including Vietnamese-American organizations), as well as academic experts and U.S. government officials. Although the Vietnamese government last year told us that it "welcomed" a visit by the Commission, it later informed us that Vietnam's Commission on Religious Affairs should host such a visit and that they would be unable to do so until at least May - the month when Commission membership changes and a trip is almost impossible.

The Commission invited Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic priest based near Hue, Vietnam, to testify at its February hearing and Fr. Ly submitted written testimony. Fr. Ly has been a persistent public critic of the Vietnamese government's failure to protect religious freedom-activity that led to his imprisonment for close to a decade. On March 5, 2001, the Vietnamese official media confirmed that the government has placed Fr. Ly under administrative detention (i.e. house arrest) for "publicly slandering" the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) and "distorting" the government's policy on religion. ¹ Although it is not clear that this action was taken against Fr. Ly because of his written submission to the Commission, the Commission remains deeply concerned that the Vietnamese government may be punishing Fr. Ly for his response to the Commission's invitation. The action of the Vietnamese government is clearly a demonstration of the government's continued suppression, not only of religious freedom, but of other fundamental human rights as well. Moreover, the Commission believes that the United States has the moral responsibility to support those Vietnamese citizens, including Fr. Ly, who have the courage to speak out in the pursuit of ideals that we share.

The Commission will make a number of recommendations on U.S. policy in Vietnam in its second annual report that will be released on May 1, 2001. However, in light of the start of the UNCHR session and the Vietnamese government's actions against Fr. Ly, the Commission is writing to you now to urge that you raise religious freedom and the circumstances of Fr. Ly both in Geneva and during your trip in July. The Commission believes that until religious freedom significantly improves in Vietnam, the U.S. government should initiate or support a resolution to censure Vietnam at the annual meeting of the UNCHR and should engage in a sustained campaign to convince other governments to support it. In addition, the Commission respectfully urges you to use the opportunity of your trip in July to engage the Vietnamese government in serious discussions of religious freedom in Vietnam, and recommends that you impress upon Vietnamese officials that the promotion of religious freedom is indispensable to the continuation of healthy and increasingly close relations between Vietnam and the United States.

Thank you for your consideration of the Commission's recommendations.
Respectfully,

Elliott Abrams
Chairman

cc: Honorable Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State John Duncan, Acting Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Legislative Affairs Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

¹Associated Press, "Vietnam detains Catholic priest for testimony against U.S. trade pact," March 5, 2001; Steve Kirby, "Vietnam punishes priest who dared to speak out to US freedoms panel," Agence France Presse, March 4, 2001.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2001

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WHAT:The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will testify at a joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights and the Subcommittee on Africa regarding its new recommendations for promoting religious freedom in Sudan. Commissioner Michael K. Young will testify on the Commission's behalf at the hearing titled "America's Sudan Policy: A New Direction?"

WHEN:Wednesday, March 28, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172

BACKGROUND:The Commission released its 2001 report on Sudan on March 21. Repeating its view that Sudan is "the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief," the Commission is calling on the Bush administration and Congress to step up efforts to help end that country's 18-year civil war. The fighting has killed approximately 2 million people and displaced 4 million others.

Since May 2000, the government of Sudan has intensified the deliberate air raids on civilian and humanitarian targets. While the Clinton administration did take some steps to address the situation, including successfully working to prevent Sudan from taking a seat at the UN Security Council and earmarking aid to communities in southern Sudan and to the political opposition - the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - these actions fell well short of the comprehensive, sustained campaign that the Commission believes is commensurate with the Sudanese government's abuses. The Commission is urging the Bush administration to mount such a campaign. Copies of the report can be obtained by contacting the Commission's communications department at (202) 523-3240. The report can also be found on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." 

Hon. Elliott Abrams,Chair

• Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh,Vice Chair, Rabbi David Saperstein, Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. Bolton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles Z. Smith, Ambassador Robert Seiple, Ex-Officio, Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2001

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

The delegation of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) completed its visit to Egypt on Saturday, March 24 and travels to Saudi Arabia and then to Israel and the Occupied Territories. Three members of the Commission visited Egypt: Elliott Abrams, chairman of the Commission, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Commission vice-chairman, and Commissioner Dr. Laila Al-Marayati. They will report to the rest of the nine-member Commission about the visit. No findings or conclusions can or will be made by the Commission until all Commission members have been informed about the trip.

"The Commission wishes to thank the Government of Egypt and the officials with whom we met: Sheikh Tantawi, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, as well as other clergy who spoke with us; and the academics, journalists, and experts who helped us better understand the state of religious freedom in this important country," commented Elliott Abrams, head of the delegation and chairman of the Commission. "We had been planning for this trip since last summer and it was most informative." The Commission set its travel agenda for the year 2001 shortly after the release of its first report on May 1, 2000.

"The goal of our trip here was to learn firsthand from the Egyptian government, Muslim and Christian clergy and laity, intellectuals, academics, and other experts," Abrams explained. "Under U.S. Law the Commission advises the President, Secretary of State, and the U.S. Congress, not the Egyptian or any other foreign government. Our job is to think about the effects of U.S. foreign policy on religious freedom in various countries. This visit has been very useful to us in performing that job, and we are very grateful to Ambassador Kurtzer and the staff of the U.S. Embassy for helping us achieve it."

The USCIRF is mandated to advise the U.S. government on how to promote religious freedom for persons of all faiths. Its Web site (www.uscirf.gov) reflects the Commission's efforts on behalf of religious liberty around the world, including India, China, Nigeria, and Vietnam.