With less than a week to go before Emmanuel Macron visits Vietnam, four international human rights organisations – the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Global Witness – are calling on the French President to place human rights at the heart of his diplomatic agenda.
In a letter addressed to the President, the NGOs expressed their deep concern about the growing crackdown on Vietnamese civil society. Vietnam currently has more than 200 prisoners of conscience, including journalists, lawyers, researchers, and environmental and labour rights defenders. Among them are the emblematic cases of Pham Doan Trang, Dang Dinh Bach, and Pham Chi Dung.
The organisations urge Emmanuel Macron to demand the immediate and unconditional release of arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and to call for the withdrawal of repressive legislation, starting with the restrictive laws adopted in 2024. For instance, Decree 126 subjects associations to total control by the Communist Party of Vietnam, in violation of the right to freedom of association. Decree 147 imposes censorship and systematic surveillance of online content, threatening freedom of expression.
In a complaint filed in February 2025 with the European Commission on Vietnam’s violations of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the NGOs listed 40 cases of defenders and civil society representatives imprisoned for documenting the negative impacts of investment projects or working on issues of sustainable development, civil society participation, energy transition or labour conditions.
'We are very concerned. The purpose of this visit is mainly economic. But the President must not forget France’s founding values, which include human rights,' said Penelope Faulkner, President of VCHR. 'Raising the issue of fundamental freedoms and calling for the release of prisoners of conscience is not ‘just for show’. It is a matter of respect for the laws and international commitments of Vietnam, the European Union, and France.'
The organisations call on Emmanuel Macron to urge the Vietnamese authorities to repeal the articles of the Penal Code used to criminalise defenders; to create a legal framework that respects freedom of association and expression; and to take into account civil society’s demands on social, environmental and climate justice issues.