UN Human Rights Experts Raise Concerns over Discriminatory Treatment of Minorities in Vietnam

UN human rights experts, including the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Nicolas Levrat, issued a joint statement expressing their concern over the discriminatory application of Vietnam’s counter-terrorism law in relation to the Montagnard Indigenous Peoples and Christian religious minorities in the country. In response to attacks on two police stations in June 2023, 100 people were convicted on terrorism-related charges in Vietnam in January 2024. According to the human rights experts, this response to the attacks “appears to involve arbitrary arrests and detention, including inciting civilian vigilantes from a majority ethnic group to hunt down suspects believed to be Montagnard Indigenous Peoples.”

The experts allege that some of those detained were subjected to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Later in 2024, Vietnam also designated the human rights group, Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSF), as a “terrorist organization”.

"To the extent that this designation of MSFJ targets its legitimate activities to defend the human rights of Montagnards in the Central Highlands, it may violate freedoms of expression, assembly, association and religion or belief, the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, and the rights of Christian religious minorities,” they said.

The experts called on Vietnam to address the security situation in the country in a way that complies with human rights standards and does not discriminate against minorities.

The full statement of the human rights experts can be found on the website of the OHCHR.