Canada: Press Vietnam’s Leader on Rights
(Ottawa) – The Canadian government should raise the Vietnamese government’s poor human rights record during President To Lam’s visit to Canada on September 24, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. In a September 22 letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Governor General Louise Arbour, Human Rights Watch expressed concerns that Vietnam’s agreements with Canada in recent years committing to human rights reforms have not resulted in improved respect for rights. “The Vietnamese government’s intense crackdown on freedom of speech and association flies in the face of its human rights pledges to Canada,” said Patricia Gossman, senior Asia associate director at Human Rights Watch. “Canadian leaders should be clear that respect for human rights is crucial for strong diplomatic relations and trade deals.” During To Lam’s rule, Vietnam has held more than 160 political prisoners under draconian laws that criminalize free expression and peaceful activism for human rights and democracy. During the first nine months of 2026, Vietnamese courts convicted and sentenced at least 28 activists, including the prominent bloggers Hoang Thi Hong Thai and Huynh Ngoc Tuan, to long prison terms. Police arrested at least 39 other people for allegedly criticizing the government or affiliating with disfavored religious or political groups. The Vietnamese government has largely failed to implement legal reforms it promised to undertake in its free trade and partnership agreements, including its pledge to Canada to ratify International Labour Organization Convention No. 87 on worker’s rights by January 2024. Prime Minister Carney and Governor General Arbour should publicly raise concerns about the Vietnamese government’s worsening rights record and make clear that its failures to adopt meaningful reforms will harm the bilateral relationship, including with respect to trade. The Canadian leaders should also raise the cases of specific political prisoners, including Pham Doan Trang, a writer and human rights advocate; Can Thi Theu, a land rights activist; Pham Chi Dung and Nguyen Tuong Thuy, independent journalists; Hoang Duc Binh, a labor activist; Le Dinh Luong, Nguyen Van Tuc, Tran Duc Thach, Tran Van Bang, and Nguyen Trung Ton, democracy campaigners. “Prime Minister Carney should press Vietnam to immediately release everyone detained for peacefully exercising their basic rights,” Gossman said. “This will both send a strong message to Vietnam and to other countries having dealings with Hanoi.”
