Key events:

• State Department 2023 Report Highlights Vietnam’s Numerous Religious Freedom Violations
• Senators Urge State Department to Prioritize Human Rights in Bilateral Relationship with Vietnam
• China’s Xi Jinping Reminds Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of ‘Shared Destiny’ in Beijing

State Department 2023 Report Highlights Vietnam’s Persistent Restriction of Religious Freedom

Vietnam has restricted the recognition of new religious organizations and introduced new legal decrees to provide new mechanisms for the central government to suspend religious groups and control the foreign funding they receive, according to the U.S. State Department 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom released on June 26.

The report refers to the Vietnamese Constitution, which guarantees all individuals the right to belief and religion. Furthermore, the Law on Belief and Religion contains vague provisions that could restrict freedom of religion due to national security and social unity. This law also allows the authorities to intervene arbitrarily in the operations of new religious groups and places of worship, especially the groups of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands or Northern Highlands.