ISDS Case Map
Vietnam
The European Union should press Vietnam to end its systemic repression of human rights and release political prisoners and detainees, Human Rights Watch said today.
The EU - Vietnam trade deal has simultaneously been criticized for rewarding a one-party state that is among Asia’s serial human rights abusers while making virtually no demands on Hanoi to improve its record.
European lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved free trade and investment deals between the EU and Vietnam, despite concerns about the human rights situation in the country.
The undersigned organisations from Europe (1) call on the Members of the European Parliament not to ratify the free trade and investment agreements between the European Union and Vietnam.
The European Commission, which is responsible for negotiating the EU's free trade deals, recognises Vietnam's human rights record as a cause for concern. It stresses, however, that the deal will provide a platform to address such issues.
Despite Vietnam’s failure to meaningfully meet repeated requests for human rights improvements, a large majority in the International Trade Committee (INTA) voted in favour of granting swift consent to the agreements.
When Vietnam signalled it would claim the tax due, oil giant ConocoPhillips issued a pre-emptive legal strike using an arbitration process under the UK-Vietnam bilateral investment treaty.
MEPs over Christmas received bottles of Moet & Chandon Imperial champagne from Vietnam's embassy in Brussels - ahead of the trade deal vote with Vietnam.
The international trade committee of the European Parliament supported the agreement by 29 votes to six, opening the way to a vote in the full parliament when it meets in the week starting on Feb. 10.
In coming weeks, the European Parliament is expected to take a binding decision on whether to approve, postpone or reject the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).
