ICC Note:

On November 18th Vietnam passed the Law on Belief and Religion. Although it is still unknown what the final revision of the law contains, many are expecting it to be a step in the wrong direction for religious freedom. There is speculation it contains stringent requirements for registration with the government and close oversight by government agencies. A joint statement by over 50 organizations including Christian Solidarity Worldwide, calls on the Vietnamese government to not require registration and to clarify ambiguous parts of the law which may be used to persecute Christian groups. Vietnam is a Communist country which has oppressed the practice of religion. Many Christians fear renewed, state-sanctioned, oppression under the new law.

11/28/2016 Vietnam (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) – On 18 November 2016 Vietnam’s 14th National Assembly passed the nation’s first ever Law on Belief and Religion, amid concerns that multiple drafts of the Bill did not conform to international standards on freedom of religion or belief.

Although the final text has not yet been made public, it is not expected to have altered significantly from previous drafts. The text of the law has been revised numerous times. Some improvements to the draft were made during the revision process, possibly in response to the feedback offered by religious communities. However, these improvements, and the inclusion of basic guarantees of the right to freedom of religion or belief, were undermined by onerous registration requirements and excessive State interference in the internal affairs of religious organisations.

In a joint statement published prior to the passing of the law, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), together with over 50 civil society organisations and Vietnamese religious groups called upon the Vietnamese Government to ensure that registration is not a pre-requisite for the exercise of freedom of religion or belief.

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