HC Deb 06 July 1999 vol 334 c465W
Mr. Reed

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the(a) persecution of the Hmong people in Vietnam and (b) migration of the Hmong peoples from their ancestral homelands; and what discussions he has had with his international counterparts about the protection of minorities in Vietnam. [89463]

Mr. Hoon

The Government receive regular reports from our Embassy in Hanoi of the persecution of Hmong Christians in Vietnam; and regularly raises human rights concerns with the Vietnamese Government.

The late Derek Fatchett raised our human rights concerns with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister during last year's ASEM II meeting in London, and again with the Vietnamese Ambassador earlier this year. The Embassy, together with other EU Embassies, regularly raises with the Vietnamese Government concerns about human rights, including on individual Hmong Christian detainees, and will continue to do so.