US watchdog group expresses concern over religious freedom in Vietnam

Published: 2008-08-26

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A U.S. watchdog group released a report expressing concern over persistent religious freedom violations in Vietnam. Religious freedom "in Vietnam continues to be mixed, with improvements for some religious communities but not for others, progress in some provinces but not in others, reforms of laws at the national level that are not fully implemented or are ignored at the local level, and still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious freedom affecting most of Vietnam's diverse religious communities," said the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in a 32-page report released Aug. 25. The report includes findings from the commission's 2007 trip to Vietnam. The commission is an independent, bipartisan federal agency mandated by Congress to review international religious freedom and recommend to the U.S. secretary of state which countries should be designated as "countries of particular concern." "The U.S. government still needs to press Vietnam's leaders to make immediate improvements to end religious freedom abuses, ease restrictions and release prisoners," said Felice Gaer, a commissioner, in an Aug. 25 press release.

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