US religious freedom report ‘not objective’: foreign ministry

Vietnam’s consistent stance is to respect and safeguard human rights and people’s freedoms of religion and belief, which is enshrined in its Constitution and legal system, a deputy spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pham Thu Hang, said at a press meet Thursday.

She was responding to queries about the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, issued on Monday by the U.S. Department of State and the 2023 annual report on religious freedom by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which mentioned Vietnam.

While the reports acknowledged “progress” by Vietnam in respecting religious freedoms and cited certain verified information from the Vietnamese government, they still espoused views that were not objective and were based on inaccurate and unverified information about the situation in Vietnam, she said.

“Vietnam is willing to talk with the U.S. about issues of mutual interest in a spirit of honesty, openness and mutual respect, thereby promoting the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.”