12/02/2015

EU signs free trade agreement with Vietnam

Human rights versus economic interest – A missed opportunity for human rights (Press Release)

© ILO in Asia and the Pacific via Flickr

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam, because the treaty does not address the aspect of human rights adequately. “The economic interests clearly have priority over the human rights issues. The EU is trying to get rid of the trade barriers with the economically promising partner country – at all cost. Nobody seems to care about the fact that Vietnam is a totalitarian state in which there is no freedom of the press, no freedom of assembly of religion. Thus, the EU is betraying its own core values,” criticized the STP’s Asia-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Wednesday. “We are especially concerned about the fact that there are no plans for an independent appeals instance for victims of human rights violations to turn to. This is all the more regrettable because the EU is planning to use the agreement as a basis for other free trade agreements as well.”

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström had emphasized the human rights issue during the presentation of the agreement’s general outline on August 4, 2015. Workers’ rights and sustainability were supposed to be considered in the treaty – and it would always be possible to cancel the agreement if there were any breaches of contract, she declared. “But such an exit strategy is neither realistic nor credible,” said Delius. “The agreement will strengthen the one-party rule in Vietnam and is thus to be seen as quite problematic regarding human rights.”

“There’s more to human rights than just protecting workers’ rights, even though this is an important thing,” said Delius. “For example, this agreement ignores the victims of land grabs and expropriation, as well as people who criticize plans for new large-scale projects.” Currently, there are several dozen people detained in Vietnam because they protested against land grab and expropriation. Many of the political prisoners are members of ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples – others tried to resist expropriations of Church land. In April 2014, seven farmers who had taken part in protests against land grabs were arrested and sentenced to prison terms between six and 22 months. Six other farmers who had protested against expropriations were arrested in July 2015. Ho Thi Bich Khuong, a land rights activist and committed protestant, was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2011. She had initiated online campaigns focusing on the protection of land rights.

Critics of major mining projects, such as the human rights activist Cu Huy Ha Vu, have been sentenced to long prison terms as well. At best, they can hope to be expatriated after their prison sentences. Vu, who fought against bauxite mining, was released and expatriated in 2014, after he had served half of his seven-year sentence.


Header Photo: ILO in Asia and the Pacific via Flickr