The Indigenous World 2024: Vietnam

Written on 20 March 2024. Posted in Vietnam

As a multi-ethnic country, Vietnam has 54 recognized ethnic groups, 53 of which are ethnic minorities. These groups comprise 14%^[1] of the country’s total population of around 100 million.^[2] Each ethnic minority group has its own distinct language, culture and traditions. The term “ethnic minorities” is often used interchangeably with “Indigenous Peoples” by international agencies working in Vietnam.

All ethnic minorities have Vietnamese citizenship and Vietnam’s constitution recognizes that all people have equal rights. There is a higher proportion of peoples living in poverty among ethnic minority communities.

Multidimensional poverty rates in the Northern Mountains and Central Highlands regions, where the majority of ethnic minorities live, is more than double the national average. The proportion of people without education certificates in ethnic minority groups is twice that of the Kinh and Hoa (Chinese-Vietnamese) peoples. In addition, the gaps in income and expenditure between the ethnic minorities and Kinh and Hoa people have widened in recent years.^[3]

Vietnam is a party to seven of the nine core international human rights instruments and continues to consider the possibility of acceding to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW). Vietnam has not ratified ILO Convention 169 and, although Vietnam voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), it does not recognize ethnic minorities as Indigenous Peoples.

This article is part of the 38^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous man harvesting quinoa in Sunimarka, Peru. This photo was taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2024 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2024 in full here

Discussion of the draft of Land Law (amended)

In January 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment presented a draft of the amended 2013 Land Law and invited domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals to contribute their opinions and inputs to it.^[4] The Council for Ethnic Affairs of the National Assembly has been very active in providing its input to the draft law.

Building on the existing law, the amended draft law introduces significant changes to State policies regarding land for ethnic minorities. These changes include the allocation of land and support for landless communities and those with insufficient land. With the aim of protecting and preserving land resources for ethnic minorities, the draft law introduces special provisions to deter violations of land policies concerning ethnic minorities, for example, the unauthorized transfer of land-use rights.

Since most of the land in Vietnam already has users assigned to it by the relevant authorities, most of the land to be granted to ethnic minorities will come from the land reclaimed from organizations and businesses, including State-owned entities that are currently using it inefficiently. Any areas that companies or businesses are encroaching on, renting, or lending in violation of legal regulations will form another source of said land.

The final version of the draft is also more sensitive to the conditions, customs, and cultural identity of the diverse peoples of Vietnam, including provisions to support ethnic minorities in developing their economy under the forest canopy.

On 18 January 2024, at its 5^th Extraordinary Session, the 15^th National Assembly voted to approve the revised Land Law.^[5]

Dak Lak attack

In the early hours of 11 June 2023, two groups of people armed with guns, knives and Molotov cocktails attacked the headquarters of the People's Committee of Ea Tieu commune and Ea Ktur commune of Cu Kuin district in Dak Lak province. The attack left nine people dead, including four police officers, two commune officials and three civilians; two more police officers were injured. The People’s Committee offices were vandalized and many documents were burned.

Within days, the authorities reported having arrested and indicted nearly all the suspected assailants and other individuals involved. Their trial commenced on 16 January 2024. A total 100 defendants were brought to Dak Lak provincial People’s Court for trial in the case. Ten, including five ringleaders, were sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of “terrorism aimed at opposing the people’s administration”. Five others received a 20-year prison term each for the same offence, while the rest, including six who are still on the run and who were tried in absentia, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 9 months to 19 years. Ninety-two defendants in the case were ordered to pay compensation to agencies, organizations and individuals suffering material and mental damage.^[6]

While the motivation and goal of the Dak Lak attackers remains unclear, the Central Highlands is known to be home to around 30 Indigenous Peoples collectively known as Montagnards (sometimes referred to as Dega). For decades, the area has seen tensions between the Kinh people and the Montagnards, as well as protests and clashes targeting the central state, particularly over land, economic difficulties, and crackdowns on evangelical churches. The Vietnamese authorities claim that, during searches related to the case, in addition to weapons, explosives and ammunition, they also seized 10 FULRO flags,^[7] further claiming that the assailants aimed to establish an independent Dega state.^[8] FULRO – the Front Uni de Lutte des Races Opprimées or the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races – was an armed organization that was dissolved in the early 1990s and which operated in central and southern Vietnam with the objective of achieving autonomy for various Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minorities.

Restrictions on foreign funding

While, on the surface, 2023 did not see any formal changes in the laws regulating civil society organizations, government agencies continued to implement Decree No. 80/2020/ND-CP dated 8 July 2020 on the management and use of non-refundable foreign aid that is not part of official development assistance from foreign organizations and individuals. The decree significantly reduces the possibility of implementing projects funded by foreign donors in Vietnam. In order to receive foreign funding, Vietnamese NGOs have to seek permission from an umbrella government agency, for example, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations – VUSTA, which is tasked with approving the foreign-funded projects of its members.

While the number of projects approved by VUSTA was in the hundreds annually in the past, from January to November 2023 the association only approved eight projects, with the explanation that those projects declined had not received the required endorsement of the relevant State agencies. As a result, the operations and very existence of Vietnamese NGOs whose main source of funding comes from abroad ground to a halt.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

On 29 November, the Vietnamese delegation left for Switzerland to defend the National Report on the Implementation of the 5^th International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) at the 111^th Session of the UN Convention Committee in Geneva.

The report claims that the Communist Party of Vietnam and the State always determine and ensure the rights of ethnic minorities as a measure of social progress and development, and that their rights are always given top priority in planning socio-economic development strategies. The report also states Vietnam's commitment to implementing the rights and obligations of member countries of the Convention through perfecting Vietnam's legal system in accordance with international standards and protecting universal values ​​of human rights in general, including the State’s efforts to contribute to eliminating all forms of racism and discrimination in particular.

According to the deputy director of the International Cooperation Department at the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA), Tran Chi Mai, the report’s defence is a chance for the country to introduce its achievements in human rights protections along with the Party and State’s viewpoints and policies on ethnic minorities and foreigners in Vietnam, saying: “This will help refute slander and distortions of hostile forces and also enhance the mutual understanding between Vietnam and the international community”.^[9]

In a dialogue with Vietnam’s delegation, ICERD experts raised several questions about the treatment of human rights defenders in the country, the lack of recognition of the existence of Indigenous Peoples in Vietnam, the confiscation of the ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples, widespread stereotyping of ethnic minorities, as well as prohibition and criminalization of religious and cultural activities by ethno-religious minority groups, among others. Experts further brought up cases of Indigenous activists being prosecuted for promoting information about the UNDRIP and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Vietnam.^[10]

Lương Thị Trường is the founder and director of the Centre for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas (CSDM) and Coordinator of the Vietnam Indigenous Knowledge Network (VTIK). She belongs to the Thai ethnic minority in Vietnam.

This article is part of the 38^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous man harvesting quinoa in Sunimarka, Peru. This photo was taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2024 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2024 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] “Vietnam ensures rights to equality for ethnic groups: Official.” VietnamPlus, 1 December 2023. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-ensures-rights-to-equality-for-ethnic-groups-official/272140.vnp

^[2] "In 2023, Vietnam's population will reach 100.3 million people, with an average life expectancy of 73.7 years.” Vietnam.vn, 30 December 2023. https://www.vietnam.vn/en/nam-2023-dan-so-viet-nam-dat-1003-trieu-dan-tuoi-tho-trung-binh-737-tuoi/

^[3] United Nations, Viet Nam. “One UN Results Report 2019: Viet Nam.” Hanoi, Viet Nam: United Nations Viet Nam, 2020. https://vietnam.un.org/en/52299-one-un-results-report-2019

^[4] Draft Land Law (amended). Government Electronic Information Portal. 3 January 2023. https://chinhphu.vn/du-thao-vbqppl/du-thao-luat-dat-dai-sua-doi-5434

^[5] National Assembly passes Land Law (amended). VnEconomy, 18 January 2024. https://vneconomy.vn/quoc-hoi-thong-qua-luat-dat-dai-sua-doi.htm

^[6] Sentences in Dak Lak terrorism case win public support. VietnamPlus, 26 January 2024. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/sentences-in-dak-lak-terrorism-case-win-public-support/276841.vnp

^[7] Vietnam's Classification of the Dak Lak Attack as Terrorism Raises More Questions Than Answers. The Vietnamese, 4 July 2023. https://www.thevietnamese.org/2023/07/vietnams-classification-of-dak-lak-attack-as-terrorism-raises-more-questions-than-answers/

^[8] “Trial of terrorist case in Dak Lak: Plot to establish 'Dega State' in the Central Highlands.” Vietnam.vn, 6 January 2024. https://www.vietnam.vn/en/xet-xu-vu-khung-bo-o-dak-lak-am-muu-thanh-lap-nha-nuoc-de-ga-tai-tay-nguyen/

^[9] Vietnam to defend fifth national report on anti-racial discrimination convention. Viet Nam Law and Legal Forum, 24 November 2023. https://vietnamlawmagazine.vn/vietnam-to-defend-fifth-national-report-on-anti-racial-discrimination-convention-70860.html

^[10] In Dialogue with Viet Nam, Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Commend the Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the National Assembly, Ask about the Criminalisation of Political Defectors and of Religious Activities by Minorities. The Unted Nations Office in Geneva, 30 November 2023. https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2023/11/examen-du-viet-nam-devant-le-cerd-les-experts-sinquietent-de-la

Tags: Land rights, Human rights, Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders