United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said that he has publicly raised the issue of human rights and the rights of environmental activists during his recent visits to Vietnam and India.
During a press conference last week in Montreal, Canada, on COP15 Biodiversity, Mr. Guterres told the press: “One of the important messages that I have very clearly and also try to convey very clearly is that human rights need to be at the center of all environmental concerns.”
“And one of the aspects that worries me more is the repression of human rights defenders in general including environmental activists,” Guterres continued.
UN Secretary-General Guterres paid an official visit to Vietnam from October 21-22 and had meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.
The Vietnamese state media did not mention Mr. Guterres talking about human rights in Vietnam, but only emphasized his appreciation of Vietnam’s contributions to the international arena. According to Vietnam News Agency, the head of the United Nations “affirms his full support for the main pillars of Vietnam’s development path.”
However, at the latest press conference, when answering reporters’ questions about the situation of human rights repression in India and Vietnam, Mr. Guterres said: “I had the opportunity during the visits that I prepared for the COPS (climate) conferences, in particular in India and Vietnam, I have stated publicly over and over again the importance of ensuring not only the civilian space but also that it is openness, especially in the area of protection of human rights defenders, among human rights defenders and environmental activists.”
Mr. Guterres has said it is unacceptable for these environmental and human rights activists to fall victim to their activities, with some even going to jail.
Ahead of Mr. Guterres’ visit to Vietnam, a group of 14 international and domestic human rights organizations sent an open letter asking him to urge the Vietnamese leadership to release four jailed environmental activists who were convicted of “tax evasion.”
The open letter mentions four environmental and civil society activists convicted of “tax evasion” including: Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, director of the civil society organization Green Innovation Development Center (GreenID), Dang Dinh Bach – director of the Center for Legal Policy Research & Sustainable Development (LPSD), Mai Phan Loi – chairman of the Scientific Council of the Media Education Center (MEC), and Mr. Bach Hung Duong, deputy director of this organization.
They were sentenced to between two and five years in prison in separate trials this year.
According to the letter, these people are political prisoners, victims of a new wave of repression in Vietnam.
Speaking to the press at the latest press conference, Mr. Guterres said that these persecuted environmental activists are victims not only of the government but also of economic interests that are allegedly being thwarted.
EU countries and the US are currently trying to convince Vietnam to accept a funding deal worth about $14 billion to switch energy from coal to environmentally friendly sources, but Vietnam has not yet agreed.
Some human rights organizations argue that the imprisonment of environmental activists in Vietnam shows doubts about Vietnam’s commitment to phasing out coal power.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
