Progress Towards Religious Freedom?

August 2006 | Risk Summary

The US-Vietnam WTO Coalition, a collection of US firms and organisations supporting Vietnam's entry into the WTO, has praised Vietnam for allowing greater religious freedom in recent years. In 2004 the US State Department listed Vietnam as a 'country of particular concern', prompting the country's government to pursue reforms to allow believers to practice their faith. Unlike the US-Vietnam WTO Coalition, we are unconvinced that this legislation reflects genuine change in the government's attitude. At least 80 people are thought to have been arrested in 2005 for peaceful dissent or unsanctioned religious activity in Vietnam, which remians listed as a

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