05/02/2019 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – On Monday, a U.S. bipartisan commission called on State Department to place Vietnam on the blacklist of the world’s worst abusers of religious freedoms.

Although the country was removed from the list 13 years ago, the communist country has not eased its violations of religious liberty. At the time, the State Department removed Vietnam from its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) in 2006 amid improving diplomatic relations. However, “the government of Vietnam has continued to persecute religious individuals and organizations,” according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) 20th annual report.

Besides Vietnam, USCIRF also calls on U.S. State Department to redesignate the following 10 countries as “countries of particular concern,” (CPCs): China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – along with five other countries suggested to receive the same designation: the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Uzbekistan.

Religious freedom conditions “trended negative” last year, as 244 prisoners of conscience at year-end included “some who advocated for freedom of religion or belief, and others who simply professed or practiced their faith.”

“Local authorities continued to seize property from Catholic churches, Buddhist temples, and other religious groups for economic development projects without providing just compensation,” said the report. Land disputes between Hanoi and the churches are not uncommon – the state often forcibly confiscates church property without due process.

In addition, religious leaders of different faiths are harassed by the police for attending religious or human rights conferences overseas or for meeting with foreign diplomats.

“Based on these systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, USCIRF again finds that Vietnam merits designation in 2019 as a ‘country of particular concern,’ or CPC, under the Religious Freedom ACT (IRFA), as it has recommended every year since 2002,” USCIRF suggested.

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