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Vietnam: Hmong and Montagnard Christians denied basic civil rights because of their faith

March 24, 2019

Here is yet another example of how the persecution of Christians is often abetted by or even initiated by government authorities. “According to Dr. Thang, there are at least 2,000 households, totaling about 10,000 people from the Hmong and the Montagnard communities who are denied the most basic civil rights because they followed Christianity. Those who refused to renounce their faith as requested by the government were deported from their villages.” The Orthodox Christians in Vietnam are under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, which is subject to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. They could be subjected to this kind of treatment at any time.

“Hmong, Montagnard Christians in Vietnam ‘Stateless’ Due to Their Faith,” International Christian Concern, March 24, 2019:

03/24/2019 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – Religious minorities in communist Vietnam are facing systematic discrimination due to their faith. UN needs to step in to address the issue, according to a human rights group.

At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council on March 13, the president of Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, called on the UN Special Rapporteur to intervene for the Hmong and the Montagnard ethnic minorities who are “stateless” due to their Christian faith.

According to Dr. Thang, there are at least 2,000 households, totaling about 10,000 people from the Hmong and the Montagnard communities who are denied the most basic civil rights because they followed Christianity. Those who refused to renounce their faith as requested by the government were deported from their villages.

Their rights to ‘hukou’ (household registration) and national ID are subsequently repudiated. As a result, they cannot move freely and have no access to public benefits including education and healthcare….