On February 12, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on trade issues and human rights in Vietnam.
Matthew Daley, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, explained that the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) Vietnam signed with the United States in 2001 and reform programs undertaken by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been “a catalyst for change in Vietnam.” He further added, “Our deepening economic, commercial and assistance relationship with Vietnam promotes civil society, encourages economic reform, [and] draws the country further into the rules-based international trading system.”
Testifying on behalf of the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council, Virginia Foote said that the BTA has contributed greatly to improving human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam. She also noted that Vietnam had ratified three of the International Labor Organization’s eight core human rights conventions since 1992, including a convention on equal pay for men and women for work of equal value, a convention prohibiting discrimination in employment, and a convention prohibiting the worst forms of child labor.
Ms. Foote also highlighted women’s rights in Vietnam. “Women share an equal status to men under the law in Vietnam and continue strides to gain equality in practice. They are free to practice and participate in any religion, work any job, attend school at all levels, drive, vote, participate in government, and hold top leadership positions in universities, businesses, and in national and provincial governments.” She also pointed out that women hold 27 percent of the total seats in the national assembly, ranking Vietnam second in the Asia Pacific region and ninth worldwide for the number of women in the nation’s legislature.
