Human Rights Watch has addressed a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of his visit to Vietnam, highlighting concerns over the Vietnamese government’s human rights record. The organization urges Macron to address these issues during his trip and consider the impact on France-Vietnam relations if the situation does not improve.
The letter points out that despite Vietnam’s commitments under the 2020 EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and a joint statement from October 2024 between France and Vietnam, repression has intensified. Human Rights Watch notes that “authorities continue to prohibit independent rights groups, labor unions, media, religious groups, and other organizations seeking to operate outside government control.”
There are reportedly over 170 political prisoners in Vietnam. These individuals are detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression or peaceful activism. The letter states that “Human Rights Watch recently documented how the Vietnamese authorities are increasingly using a vague, overbroad, and abusive provision of the penal code (article 331) on prohibiting the ‘abuse of democratic freedoms.'”
The organization calls on President Macron to press for several actions by Vietnam, including the unconditional release of all persons detained for exercising basic freedoms and implementing labor reforms allowing independent unions. They also urge Vietnam to ratify International Labour Organization Convention No. 87 on freedom of association.
Human Rights Watch emphasizes that continuing relations with Vietnam without addressing these abuses would reward authoritarianism and question the EU’s commitment to promoting human rights through foreign policy.
Benedicte Jeannerod, France Director at Human Rights Watch, and John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch signed off on the letter expressing their highest consideration for President Macron’s attention to these requests.
