Viet Nam Religious Freedom Moves End Threat of US Sanctions

A US official visiting Hanoi has announced that the United States will not impose sanctions on Viet Nam over religious freedom issues, according to a report today by PolitInfo. While Viet Nam had been denominated a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1988 (see prior post), it has since enacted new legislation that may lead to Protestant and Buddhist relgious groups obtaining recognition. It will also reopen some closed churches and end the practice of forcing individuals to renounce their faith. Viet Nam, however, has not yet been removed from the list of offending countries.