Through its work at the United Nations, UNPO has brought high-profile and much-needed attention to bear on the treatment of indigenous and minority populations within Vietnam.

UNPO Programme Coordinator Lisa Thomas spoke with news outlets Radio Free Asia and Voice of America recently, responding to inquiries about UNPO’s alternative report on Vietnam for the country’s upcoming review under the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

Highlighting the main messages of the report, Ms. Thomas described the Vietnamese government’s systematic persecution of ethnic minorities, indigenous groups, and non-state-sanctioned religious communities in Vietnam. In particular, UNPO’s report highlighted abuses against Montagnard Christians in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, and Khmer Krom Buddhists in the country’s Mekong Delta region.

UNPO’s report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) outlined violations of at least eight distinct articles and sub-articles of the Convention, including the right to equal treatment before court, the right to security of person, the principle of non-refoulement, the right to property, freedom of expression, religion and peaceful assembly and the right to education in one’s own language.

At the time of this article, UNPO’s alternative report was one of only two listed on the website for the 80th Session CERD review of Vietnam. UNPO’s report on Laos stands completely alone. Compared with the number of alternative reports already submitted for Canada’s review during the same session (20 and growing), the relative dearth of public reporting on Vietnam and Laos reveals the important role UNPO plays in bringing to light abuses in these states.

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The reports (in Vietnamese) can be viewed at the following links:

Voice of America (article):

http://www.voanews.com/vietnamese/news/unpo-vietnam-02-02-2012-138561674.html

Voice of America (video):

http://www.youtube.com/user/VOATiengVietVideo?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/L8xxay0EZUc

Radio Free Asia:

http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/racial-discrimi-still-in-vn-02082012125135.html

To download UNPO’s Alternative Reports to the 80th Session CERD Reviews of Vietnam and Laos:

UNPO Report on Vietnam:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ngos/UNPO_VietNam_CERD80.pdf

UNPO Report on Laos:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ngos/UNPO_Laos80.pdf