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Human Rights Advocacy Groups Call on EU to Pressure Vietnam to End Prosecution of Activists

Eight human rights advocacy groups, including Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, which manages The Vietnamese Magazine and Luat Khoa Magazine, published a joint statement on July 4 calling on the European Union (EU) to pressure Vietnam to amend its abusive laws and cease prosecuting activists and human rights defenders. The letter was released during the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels on the same day.

The EU and Hanoi have conducted a human rights dialogue for over a decade. They are a platform for both sides to exchange experiences and align their commitment to upholding human rights with the UN Human Rights mechanisms. However, according to the statement, Vietnam continues to “severely restrict human rights,” especially freedom of expression and assembly. The Global Expression Report 2024 of ARTICLE 19, one of the signatories, showed that the one-party state’s human rights are “in crisis” because of the relentless restriction on freedom of expression.