Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act

Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses.

Authorizes the President to waive sanctions to comply with international agreements.

Terminates sanctions if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4254 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4254

 To impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit in human rights 
abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2014

   Mr. Royce (for himself, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Wolf, and Ms. Loretta 
    Sanchez of California) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
 Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Financial Services, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit in human rights 
abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled 
        by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which continues to deny the 
        right of citizens to change their government.
            (2) According to the Department of State's 2012 Country 
        Reports on Human Rights Practices, Vietnam's ``most significant 
        human rights problems . . . continued to be severe government 
        restrictions on citizens' political rights, particularly their 
        right to change their government; increased measures to limit 
        citizens' civil liberties; and corruption in the judicial 
        system and police''.
            (3) Furthermore, the Department of State documents that 
        ``arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly for political 
        activists, remained a problem'', with the Government of Vietnam 
        sentencing ``at least 35 arrested activists during [2012] to a 
        total of 131 years in jail and 27 years of probation for 
        exercising their rights''.
            (4) The Government of Vietnam forbids public challenge to 
        the legitimacy of the one-party state, restricts freedoms of 
        opinion, the press, assembly, and association, and tightly 
        limits access to the Internet and telecommunication.
            (5) The Government of Vietnam continues to limit freedom of 
        religion, pressure all religious groups to come under the 
        control of government and party-controlled management boards, 
        and restrict the operation of independent religious 
        organizations, including the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 
        and members of unsanctioned Mennonite, Cao Dai, Theravada 
        Buddhist, and Hoa Hao Buddhist religious groups and independent 
        Protestant house churches, primarily in the central and 
        northern highlands. Religious leaders who do not conform to the 
        Government's demands are often harassed, arrested, imprisoned, 
        or put under house arrest.
            (6) Enhancement of relations between the United States and 
        Vietnam has provided an opportunity for a human rights 
        dialogue, but is unlikely to lead to future progress on human 
        rights issues in Vietnam unless the United States makes clear 
        that such progress is an essential prerequisite for further 
        enhancements in the bilateral relationship.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE 
              COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST 
              NATIONALS OF VIETNAM OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the 
President shall impose sanctions described in subsection (c) with 
respect to each individual on the list required by subsection (b).
    (b) List of Individuals Who Are Complicit in Certain Human Rights 
Abuses.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a list of individuals who 
        are nationals of Vietnam that the President determines are 
        complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of 
        Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such 
        abuses occurred in Vietnam.
            (2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees an updated list under 
        paragraph (1) as new information becomes available and not less 
        frequently than annually.
            (3) Public availability.--The list required by paragraph 
        (1) shall be made available to the public and posted on the Web 
        sites of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of 
        State.
            (4) Consideration of data from other countries and 
        nongovernmental organizations.--In preparing the list required 
        by paragraph (1), the President shall consider data already 
        obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations, 
        including organizations in Vietnam, that monitor the human 
        rights abuses of the Government of Vietnam.
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Prohibition on entry and admission to the united 
        states.--An individual whose name appears on the list required 
        by subsection (b)(1) may not--
                    (A) be admitted to, enter, or transit through the 
                United States;
                    (B) receive any lawful immigration status in the 
                United States under the immigration laws, including any 
                relief under the Convention Against Torture; or
                    (C) file any application or petition to obtain such 
                admission, entry, or status.
            (2) Financial sanctions.--The President shall impose 
        sanctions authorized pursuant to section 203 of the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) 
        with respect to an individual whose name appears on the list 
        required by subsection (b)(1), including blocking of the 
        property of, and restricting or prohibiting financial 
        transactions and the exportation and importation of property 
        by, the individual.
    (d) Exceptions To Comply With International Agreements.--The 
President may, by regulation, authorize exceptions to the imposition of 
sanctions under this section to permit the United States to comply with 
the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of 
America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed June 
26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, and other 
applicable international agreements.
    (e) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this section shall 
cease to have force and effect on the date on which the President 
determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 
that the Government of Vietnam has--
            (1) unconditionally released all political prisoners;
            (2) ceased its practices of violence, unlawful detention, 
        torture, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam while engaging in 
        peaceful political activity; and
            (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the 
        killings, arrest, and abuse of peaceful political activists in 
        Vietnam and prosecuted those responsible.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on 
                Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee 
                on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
                on Financial Services, and the Committee on Foreign 
                Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Convention against torture.--The term ``Convention 
        Against Torture'' means the United Nations Convention Against 
        Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
        Punishment, done at New York on December 10, 1984.
            (3) Immigration laws; national.--The terms ``immigration 
        laws'' and ``national'' have the meanings given those terms in 
        section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101).
                                 <all>