“…the situation in Vietnam for human rights remains discouraging. Government officials repeatedly tell me they seek stability; their actions, however, serve to undermine that goal. Only through affording its citizenry the opportunity to exercise the basic human rights guaranteed in Vietnam’s own constitution and in international norms, can a government be secure. Many in Vietnam are rightly proud of their country’s economic growth over the last two decades. But corruption and inconsistent adherence to legal provisions threaten the ability of the country to attract the kind of investment it needs for sustainable long term growth, and its ability to meet the expectations of budding Vietnamese entrepreneurs. Secretary Clinton is fond of the saying that “sunlight is the best disinfectant” – tackling corruption and rule of law challenges without a free press, without protecting freedom of expression and association is nearly impossible. We will continue to make the point to Hanoi that we care about human rights in Vietnam for many of the same reasons that they should care about them, and do something about them: progress on human rights is necessarily part of the continued progress of Vietnam, and certainly part of the progressive development of our bilateral relationship.”
Full article: assistant-secretary-posner-at-the-tom-lantos-human-rights-commission-hearing-on-vietnam
