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Complaint lodged with EU trade body RE: Vietnam EVFTA human rights compliance

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has lodged a complaint with the European Commission’s trade department arguing that an “…ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders working on sustainable development violates the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement”.

Of note, the organisation has had some past successes with respect to shaping EU engagement with Vietnam in terms of trade. In 2014, it lodged a complaint with the EU Ombudsman with respect to a lack of a human rights assessment in the initial EVFTA negotiations. The Ombudsman ruled in 2016 that “…the Commission’s failure to carry out a specific human rights impact assessment, in relation to Vietnam, constituted maladministration…” 

Environmental sustainability, workers’ rights, and governance provisions are commonplace in next generation FTAs like the EVFTA and CPTPP, as is oversight of these provisions from independent observers and civil society groups. Vietnam, however, has struggled to meet these requirements. For example, it missed a CPTPP deadline to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 87 on workers’ rights and a deadline for the establishment of a domestic advisory group as part of the EVFTA. It’s also received sharp rebukes from around the world with respect to imprisoning environmental activists whose contributions to public policy external actors have seen as pivotal to the country’s clean energy transition.

See also: How is the EVFTA Working Out for Vietnam?

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