Legislation introduced on Friday by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) would sanction Vietnamese government officials who are allegedly complicit in abuses of human rights.
The Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act would place travel and financial sanctions against government agents, police officers and others who abuse the human rights of peaceful dissidents.
“(This) legislation bolsters the voices of those who bravely speak out against the communist government in Vietnam,” Royce said. “With human rights abuses on the rise, it is clear the regime is doubling down on repression. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has been silent on these gross human rights abuses. This legislation tells the freedom-seeking people of Vietnam that Congress stands with them.”
The bill would pressure the Vietnamese government by instructing the president to draft a list of Vietnamese government officials who disregard human rights. Those individuals would be prohibited from entering the United States or conducting business with companies based in the United States.
Royce introduced a House resolution last year that called for the State Department to re-list Vietnam as a “country of particular concern” due to its violation of religious freedom.
Last summer, Royce also cosponsored the Vietnam Human Rights Act, which would prohibit increasing non-humanitarian assistance to the country beyond fiscal year 2012 levels unless the president certifies “substantial” progress in the Vietnamese government respecting religious, media and political freedoms.