WASHINGTON: The White House fact sheet issued during President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam weighed in at over 2,600 words. The section on human right...
US President Joe Biden raises a toast with Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, September 11, 2023. REUTERSPIX: The White House fact sheet issued during President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam weighed in at over 2,600 words. The section on human rights contained just 112 words, including a subheading.
Rights advocates fear a lack of focus on human rights, while not unexpected, will not only fail to improve conditions in Vietnam and India, but risk worsening them elsewhere. HRW said on Saturday Vietnam was holding at least 159 political prisoners – people imprisoned for peacefully exercising basic civil and political rights – and at least 22 others were in detention pending eventual trial before a court controlled by the ruling Communist Party.
“This is especially true with Vietnam, where the government does not particularly care about its reputation internationally with respect to rights,” Sifton said, while adding that it was vital to criticise Modi’s rights record publicly as that was the most effective way to push him to change.