RAISE YOUR VOICE TO SUPPORT OPRESSED ACTIVISTS IN VIETNAM
Published: Jan 21, 2025 Reading time: 2 minutes
People in Need urges the Czech President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Miloš Vystrčil, to voice serious concerns about the situation of human rights in Vietnam during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to the Czech Republic.
People in Need would like to draw the attention of leading politicians in the Czech Republic to the ongoing and heightened human rights violations in Vietnam amidst the visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Vietnam. The Prime Minister’s is an exceptional opportunity for the Czech Republic to demonstrate its commitment to universal human rights protection as one of the core values in its foreign policies.
The Vietnamese government’s restrictive policies are akin to those experienced by the Czech people under the totalitarian regime that ruled the Czech Republic before 1989. During this period, numerous people were arrested and persecuted for simply speaking their minds and opposing the restrictive regime publicly. In Vietnam, the government’s recent crackdown on the country’s last independent NGOs and civil society organizations has left its citizens voiceless. The situation has not improved under the new General Secretary of the Communist Party To Lam, where suppression of journalists and other independent media has continued.
In line with the Czech Republic´s recommendations at the Universal Periodic Review in 2024, People in Need urges the Prime Minister and President of the Czech Republic, as well as the President of the Senate, to speak for silenced Vietnamese civil society. By openly and unequivocally raising the human rights concerns mentioned above, they can demonstrate the Czech Republic’s consistent stance on human rights and democracy and that economic and geopolitical cooperation should never take place at the expense of human rights.
People in Need has been helping human rights defenders and supporting activities leading to the development of civil society for more than 30 years. In addition to direct assistance, it raises awareness of human rights violations in more than 25 countries and regions of the world.
More information is available on our website.
