This joint submission responds to the call for input by the Chief of Rule of Law and Democracy Section of the Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was collectively prepared by Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and Vietnam…

Contact: forb@bpsos.org Boat People SOS (BPSOS), along with 8 of our partners, has released a report on “Disinformation: Threat to Religious and Indigenous Communities and to Human Rights Defenders in Vietnam.” “The report is an important contribution to analyzing and addressing the threats that our religious and indigenous communities face,” says Dr. Thang Nguyen, CEO…

Undocumented Hmong and Montagnard Christians in Vietnam fight for their voting right Press Release, April 27, 2021 Contact: forb@bpsos.org Earlier this month, hundreds of Hmong Christians in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam collectively petitioned government authorities for the issuance of temporary ID cards so they may participate in the next quintennial general elections, to be held…

Webinar: Monday October 26, 2020  9:00 am – 10:30 am EDT / 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Vietnam time  Register: tinyurl.com/BPSOS-cybersecurity  Follow on livestream: facebook.com/VNAdvocacy  On October 26, BPSOS will host a webinar on the policies of the Vietnamese government limiting and preventing the right to freedom of expression on the Internet, in regards to the following topics:   Harassing, punishing and arresting journalists, bloggers, and…

September 28, 2020  The Honorable Mike Pompeo  Secretary   Department of State  2201 C Street NW  Washington, DC 20520  Religious freedom and human rights advocates call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nguyễn Bắc Truyển  Dear Secretary Pompeo:  We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, are writing to call on the Department of State to press for…

Contact: csdi@bpsos.org BPSOS, September 29, 2020 Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, is scheduled to present this year’s intimidation and reprisal report (Report No. A/HRC/45/36) at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The presentation, tentatively set to start at 4:30pm (Geneva) on September 30, will be webcasted at: http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/. This year,…

The Honorable Mike Pompeo Secretary Department of State  2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520  Dear Secretary Pompeo:  We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, are writing to recommend that the Department of State apply sanctions in response to the egregious violations of religious freedom in Vietnam, which in most ways are getting progressively worse.  The US Commission on International Religious Freedom…

Press Release of BPSOS, September 11, 2020Contact: forb@bpsos.org We are gravely alarmed by the ongoing violence campaign by Vietnamese authorities against not only individuals who observed the August 22 International Day commemorating victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief, but also their family members. On September 10, the police in Ba Ria…

Press Release, August 19, 2020 Contact: forb@bpsos.org Subject: Vietnam’s first Multi-faith Prayer Commemorating Victims of Persecution Based on Religion or Belief Event: August 23, 8pm – 9pm (Vietnam), 9am – 10am (EDT) Register: http://tiny.cc/VADPrayer In observance of this year’s International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, clergy members of…