May 20, 2009
State Department Authorization Contains Royce Amendment on Religious Freedom
Washington, D.C. — Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, a bill that authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of State. Importantly, this bill contains an amendment offered by Ed Royce calling on the State Department to relist Vietnam as a “Country of Particular Concern” for violations of religious freedom. The amendment was included in the bill after spirited debate in Committee, led by Royce.
“Passage of this bill is an important step to putting the House of Representatives on record as supporting religious freedom in Vietnam. We need to send a message to the State Department that the status quo in Vietnam is unacceptable,” said Royce.
Since 1999, the U.S. State Department has designated countries that “engage in or tolerate particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” as “Countries of Particular Concern.” This annual designation puts the violations of specific countries on record, making it a significant diplomatic tool for advancing human rights.
Due to Vietnam’s egregious human rights violations, the State Department had previously listed it as one of these countries. In 2006, Vietnam was removed from this annual list.
“Some have seen positive steps in Vietnam, but frankly, I don’t see it. Religious freedom remains under attack. The Communist government continues to harass and physically abuse worshipers who don’t follow every last state sanctioned rule,” Royce stated.
Representative Joseph “Anh” Cao joined Representative Ed Royce as an original cosponsor of H.Res.20 the resolution that provided the text for the amendment.
Rep. Ed Royce is a senior member on the Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Subcommittee. Additionally Royce serves on the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam and the Caucus on Human Rights.