Campaign calls for milestones to end torture

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) welcomes the launch today of a report by the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam.

The campaign advocates for humane treatment of detainees and prisoners in Vietnam and the elimination of the practice of torture and other abuses in Vietnamese prisons, jails, police stations, re-education centers, and other places of detention.

The report echoes CSW’s own research, which found that the torture of prisoners, and in particular religious and political prisoners, is still widespread in places of detention in Vietnam. In 2013, the torture of several persons detained in connection with their religion or belief resulted in their deaths in police custody. In many cases, victims of torture were forced to flee to other parts of the country, or to neighbouring countries.

The Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam calls for specific milestones marking the government’s progress in eliminating torture. These include prompt ratification of the Convention against Torture (CAT), the signing and ratification of its Optional Protocol and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 105 (Abolition of Forced Labor), as well as new mechanisms and changes to existing practices and regulations which will promote the abolition of torture in Vietnam.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “In 2013 Vietnam was elected to the UN Human Rights Council and signed the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This year is therefore an opportunity for the government to take steps to challenge practices and reform regulations which allow or perpetuate torture. CSW calls on the government to implement the steps outlined by the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam, to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

Notes to Editors:

1. A press conference to launch the report by the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam, entitled “Torture and Abuse of Political and Religious Prisoners in Vietnam”, is taking place today in Washington D.C.