By Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor at Department of State
I would like to thank all of you who signed
this petition underscoring Americans' concern for human rights in Vietnam
and the United States-Vietnam relationship. As our dialogue with Vietnam
evolves, we are especially cognizant of the views of the Vietnamese community in
the U.S.
The United States will remain diligent in pursuing progress on human rights
in our high-level engagement as we pursue a wide array of security, economic,
and strategic interests with Vietnam. In our discussions with the Vietnamese
government, we emphasize that progress on human rights, including the release of
political prisoners and freedom of religion, is a necessary part of improving
United States-Vietnam relations. Secretary of State Clinton raised our human
rights concerns with President Sang when they met at the November 2011
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. U.S.
Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear has raised similar concerns in all of his
high-level meetings since arriving in Vietnam last August, and he and the
Mission regularly engage Vietnamese government officials, nongovernmental
organizations, and other individuals as part of our Government's commitment to
promote greater respect for human rights in Vietnam.
During the annual United
States-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue meeting in November, I, along with
Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook and
other high-level officials, urged Vietnam to release all political prisoners,
strengthen religious freedom, ratify and implement the Convention Against
Torture, and take other steps to protect and promote universal human rights.
My colleague, Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs, underscored these concerns directly with Vietnamese officials
during his most recent visit to Hanoi on February 2. Read
a transcript of his press conference in Hanoi here (PDF).
In addition, our engagement with Vietnam on trade, including through its
interest in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and its participation in
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, has provided opportunities to
raise these issues. Both GSP and TPP include commitments to labor rights
protections, including freedom of association.
The Obama Administration is committed to an ongoing dialogue with the
Vietnamese American community. On March 5, 2012, my colleagues and I
participated in a briefing
held by the White House Office of Public Engagement for 165 Vietnamese
Americans from 30 states who work across diaspora communities in order to
promote human rights, global partnerships, and opportunities for Vietnamese
abroad. During the meeting, we stressed that human rights issues are a key
component of ongoing discussions with Vietnam and that the United States
continuously engages Vietnam on human rights through many different channels,
including the annual United States-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue.
I encourage everyone involved in this petition to continue to express your
views and concerns to the Administration, and most importantly to the Vietnamese
government. I also encourage you to follow our work on http://www.humanrights.gov.
(Also, see the State Department's 2010
Human Rights Report for Vietnam and the latest
International Religious Freedom Report for Vietnam).
We look forward to meaningful dialogue and partnerships with your community
in the future.
Check
out this response on We the People.
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