August 13, 2017
A snapshot of the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in Vietnam in 2017. 25 bloggers, human rights defenders and community organisers have been arrested, issued arrest warrants and exiled since the beginning of the year.
Viet Tan is proud to announce that the 2023 Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award goes to Human Rights Defender Truong Van Dung. The theme of this year’s award is: “75 Years of International Human Rights — Freedom, Equality & Justice for Vietnam.”
Established in 2018, this annual human rights award is named after activist Le Dinh Luong, who made significant efforts to fight for the rights of the people and the sovereignty of the country. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Vietnamese government in August 2018.
On October 30th, the Honorable Judy Sgro in cooperation with Viet Tan hosted a luncheon “Vietnam and Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy” in the Wellington Building in Ottawa attended by parliamentarians and their teams. The event focused on how Canada can engage Vietnam to advance human rights and security in the Indo-Pacific. From addressing climate change to transnational repression to military capacity building.
As Canada pursues this long-term, multi-faceted strategy, it will undoubtedly prioritize certain relationships. Japan, South Korea and Australia certainly. These are all democracies and important economies. But perhaps Vietnam will be considered a strategic partner as well. The question is how Canada can engage Vietnam while furthering its democratic values?
On January 1, 2023, Vietnam joined the United Nations Human Rights Council after an intense lobbying effort within the international community. Some hoped that this would lead to greater respect for human rights by the Vietnamese government, while others raised alarm about the contradicting nature of the situation. In particular, a country notorious for human rights violations is now tasked in the UN with promoting these rights internationally.
