13th European Union-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) today publishes a new briefing paper, ahead of the 13th European Union (EU)-Vietnam human rights dialogue, which is scheduled to be held on 21 July 2025 in Hanoi.

Fédération Internationale des Droits Humains

July 17, 2025

© FIDH

The briefing paper, jointly produced with the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), highlights key political and human rights developments since the previous European Union-Vietnam human rights dialogue, which was held in July 2024.

Such developments include the alarming trend of arrests, unfair trials, and harsh prison sentences against members of civil society, including human rights defenders, bloggers, as well as environmental and worker rights advocates.

According to FIDH-VCHR’s documentation, between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 21 individuals, (including four women), were arrested on politically motivated charges. During the same period, at least 17 were sentenced to prison terms of up to 12 years on such charges. They include some of Vietnam’s most prominent dissidents.

In addition to these arbitrary arrests, over the past year, the Vietnamese government has continued to adopt extensive legislation that limits the exercise of key civil and political rights, in violation of its binding obligations as a state party to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Read the briefing paper here.

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