Key events:

• Human Rights Watch: Australia Should Pressure Vietnam to Make Progress in Human Rights
• Member of Repressed Pro-Democracy Group Finishes Prison Term
• EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell ‘Briefly’ Mentioned Human Rights in Meeting with Vietnam Representative

Human Rights Watch: Australia Should Pressure Vietnam to Make Progress in Human Rights

As the 19th Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue was scheduled for July 30 in Canberra, New York-based rights advocate Human Rights Watch (HRW) submitted recommendations for Australia so that it could achieve “clear, concrete, and measurable benchmarks for progress” regarding the protection of civil rights in their meetings with Vietnamese representatives. The call has come amid the severe deterioration of the human rights situation in Vietnam and a warmer relationship between Canberra and Hanoi. 

Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, notes that although Canberra had held 18 human rights dialogues with Hanoi in the past two decades, they were fruitless and did not bring any notable progress. “Instead of taking a reactive approach to human rights, the Australian government should press for systemic reforms backed by clear benchmarks,” Gavshon said. The letter also raised concerns over the detention and imprisonment of human rights activists and journalists, with the recent arrest of journalist Huy Duc.