The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Prof. Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt, was invited by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to a country visit from 21 to 31 July 2014. After visiting some religious groups in Hanoi, Tuyen Quang Province, Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh Long the Special Rapporteur interrupted his travel on July 28, 2014, due to reason “that  some individuals whom I wanted to meet with had been either under heavy surveillance, warned, intimidated, harassed or prevented from travelling by the police. Even those who successfully met with me were not free from a certain degree of police surveillance or questioning. Moreover, I was closely monitored of my whereabouts by undeclared “security or police agents”, while the privacy and confidentiality of some meetings could have been compromised. All these incidents are in clear violation of the terms of reference of any country visit.”

SR Heiner-Bielefeldt at press conference on July 31, 2014 in Hanoi

SR Heiner-Bielefeldt at press conference on July 31, 2014 in Hanoi

At the press conference in Hanoi on July 31, 2014, the Special Rapporteur concluded that Vietnam has violated the right to freedom of religion or belief according to article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam is a State party. He recommended that Vietnam should consider “the registration of religious groups as an offer rather than a legal requirement”. Furthermore religious “communities should have easily accessible and reliable options to obtain legal personality status in order to build an appropriate infrastructure. Another obvious priority concerns the availability of effective and accessible legal recourse needed to rectify possible infringements on the freedom of religion or belief of individuals or groups.”

Read more:

• Press Statement on the visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (July 31, 2014)