The Rehab Archipelago - Human Rights Watch

Methodology
Vietnam does not allow international human rights organizations to freely conduct
research or monitor human rights concerns in Vietnam. Nongovernmental organizations
and others visiting drug detention centers are rarely, if ever, able to speak privately with
detainees or see all parts (e.g., disciplinary rooms) of a center. As a result, obtaining and
verifying information about human rights violations in drug detention centers presents
great challenges.
Nonetheless, Human Rights Watch was able to conduct in-depth, confidential interviews
with 34 people recently detained in 14 of 16 centers under the administration of Ho Chi
Minh City authorities. 1 All 34 former detainees had been in detention within five years of
the date of their interview with Human Rights Watch in 2010. 2 Information from former
detainees throughout this period was consistent in terms of the forms, severity, and
frequency of abuses reported. All former detainees whose testimony is included in this
report come from Ho Chi Minh City or its immediate suburbs.
Of the 34 former detainees whose testimony forms the basis of this report, 10 are women
and 3 were children (i.e. under the age of 18) when first detained. 3 Human Rights Watch
1 32 individuals interviewed were detained in 14 centers administered by Ho Chi Minh City officials and two
individuals had been detained by Ho Chi Minh City authorities before being transferred to centers under the
administration of other provinces. In addition to the 16 centers administered by Ho Chi Minh City officials,
those authorities also operated an additional center (Trong Diem) in Binh Phuoc province until at least 2008.
While Human Rights Watch spoke to former detainees of this particular center, this testimony has not been
included in this report as government authorities no longer list it as a center for drug treatment and Human
Rights Watch understands it is not currently operating as such. In one case, testimony from a former detainee
of Trong Diem has been included in this report to describe the experience of being held in a solitary
confinement cell. Former detainees of other centers have confirmed the existence of these types of cells in
centers other than the Trong Diem center.
2 Human Rights Watch uses the term detainees to refer to those who reported that they were detained against
their will, as well as those who entered the centers on a voluntary basis. The term detainee is appropriate for
those who enter on a voluntary basis because once inside the centers they are not free to leave. A high
proportion of those who entered the centers on a voluntary basis subsequently had their detention extended
without being offered an opportunity for release.
3 The word “child” is used in this report to refer to anyone under the age of 18. The Convention on the Rights of
the Child defines as a child “every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to
the child, majority is attained earlier.” Vietnam’s 2004 Law on Child Protection, Care and Education (Law on
Child Protection) defines children as under 16 years of age, while Vietnam's Civil Code (art. 20) defines a child
as anyone under 18. Vietnam's Penal Code of 1997 (revised in 1999) defines the age of criminal responsibility
to be 14 (for criminal offenses) but 12 for administrative offenses. Vietnam's Labor Law sets the minimum age
9 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | SEPTEMBER 2011