ICC NOTE: Last week 16 Montagnard asylum-seekers returned to Vietnam after a failed attempt to secure asylum in Cambodia. The Montagnard people are historically Christian as they were one of the earliest groups to experience the gospel in Vietnam from French missionaries. They played an integral part during the Vietnam War as allies to the United States and South Vietnam. Due to their historical allegiance to the U.S. and their Christian faith, they have been subjected to constant religious persecution from the Vietnamese government. Many have attempted to flee into neighboring countries, but only few have been successful. Those who fail are forced to return to Vietnam where they will likely experience even harsher consequences. Vietnam remains a country of particular concern according to the latest report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. 

7/20/2016 Vietnam (Cambodia Daily) – A group of 16 Montagnard asylum-seekers who fled to Cambodia from Vietnam over the past two years returned to their home country on Tuesday after failing to secure refugee status in Phnom Penh, an Interior Ministry official said on Wednesday.

The group returned to Vietnam via Ratanakkiri province in the morning under the supervision of an official from the U.N.’s refugee agency (UNHCR), according to Chea Bunthoeun, the deputy provincial police chief in charge of immigration.

“Sixteen Montagnards, including three women and three children, were sent to Vietnam through the O’Yadaw International Checkpoint. It was coordinated by UNHCR officials,” he said. “They agreed to go back to their homeland voluntarily and they were accompanied by a Japanese UNHCR officer.”

Tan Sovichea, director of the Interior Ministry’s refugee department, said the Montagnards, who left their temporary accommodations in Phnom Penh on Monday, included individuals who did not qualify as refugees and those who had not formally applied for asylum.

“One person volunteered to go back, nine people were provided preliminary counseling but did not meet conditions to continue the procedure, and six people could have been eligible for the procedure but did not apply as refugees,” he said.

Vivian Tan, the UNHCR’s regional spokeswoman, confirmed that the asylum-seekers returned to Vietnam on Tuesday but declined to comment further.

Denise Coghlan, head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, said all but one of the Montagnards’ refugee applications had been rejected.

“Of the group, one hadn’t done his process and he asked to go back. The others were refused any further step in the refugee process,” she said by email. “The Cambodian government told them that they would not be accepted refugees in Cambodia.”

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