Embassy Hanoi and Consulate General Ho Chi Minh - OIG - US ...

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
membership in political organizations. The Americans said they were held in empty
houses and reported abuses such as sleep deprivation, shoving, and punching. All
asserted they were forced to sign “confessions” and were strongly warned not to
report any of the events to the U.S. government.
Arrests usually fall under the purview of the Ministry of Public Security. The
Ministry of Public Security sees the 1994 Agreed Minute on Consular Relations as
an agreement between the Department of State and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As
such, they opine it does not apply to their (police) agents. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs is not in a position to force the Ministry of Public Security to comply with
the Minute. Recently the mission learned that the legal office in the Bureau of
Consular Affairs considers the Agreed Minute “to be a ‘political’ agreement rather
than a binding international obligation; we consider the international legal source
of U.S./Vietnam consular obligations to be the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations.”
Visa Clearance Issues
American regulatory requirements to obtain specific clearance before issuing
visas to current or former mid- or high-ranking Vietnamese officials cause delays
and upset for Vietnamese leaders. Although the mission fully supports and implements
regulatory measures to protect the United States and her interests, it finds
these clearance prerequisites outdated. Because the requirements deter, hinder,
and frustrate official Vietnamese travelers, they often undermine U.S. governmentsponsored
programs.
Repatriation of Deportable Convicts
Numerous Vietnamese citizens convicted of crimes in America entered the
United States 20 or more years ago. As noncitizens, American law stipulates their
deportation to Vietnam on completion of their sentences. The government of
Vietnam refuses to accept such people because it believes they betrayed Vietnam
by leaving the country, and their criminal behavior stems from exposure to American
society. Though negotiations have been ongoing for 10 years, the government
of Vietnam refuses to allow such individuals to return. The government of Vietnam
has informed the embassy that it will readmit Vietnamese citizen convicts who
entered the United States after normalization of relations. No test situations have
yet occurred.
OIG Report No. ISP-I-05-28A, Inspection of Embassy Hanoi and CG Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 2005
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