04/26/2007

The U.S. State Department is planning to abandon a small but important program that protects Montagnard refugees from Vietnam from the threat of persecution for religious and other reasons. Only swift, determined Congressional opposition will stop the change.

The reduction of refugee protection was made in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration in spite of a recent letter from six Members of Congress asserting that "any such decision would be contrary to continuing Congressional concern for the welfare of Montagnards, both inside and outside of Vietnam, as reflected in U.S. refugee law." The State Department removed the extra layer of protection for Montagnards before responding to the letter.

Montagnards, an ethnic group in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, have been the target of harsh treatment for historical (Montagnards supported the U.S. during the Vietnam War), religious (many are Christian), ethnic and economic reasons. Several thousand Montagnard refugees have resettled in the U.S., and small numbers of Montagnards continue to leave Vietnam, sneaking across the border to Cambodia, where they seek protection from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

UNHCR interviews the Montagnards in Phnom Penh to determine if they qualify for protection as refugees. Those granted refugee status become eligible for resettlement in the U.S. or other countries. For several years, the U.S. has given those who didn't get refugee status from UNHCR a second interview and a second chance. In 2006, the U.S. interviewed 75 Montagnards who had been denied refugee status by UNHCR in Phnom Penh and granted refugee status to 33. The year before the U.S. granted refugee to 20 of 25 who had been denied refugee status by the UNHCR. Under the so-called Lautenberg Amendment, the U.S. applies more lenient standards than UNHCR to certain groups of concern, including Vietnamese Montagnards.

Starting on May 1, the State Department will end its policy of granting second chance interviews in Phnom Penh to Montagnards rejected by UNHCR. Instead, those Montagnards will be sent back to Vietnam and told to meet with State Department officials in either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

The change, announced in a State Department directive with the misleading title of "Implementing The Action Plan For Ethnic Minorities From Vietnam’s Central Highlands," was explained to Refugees International by a State Department official this week.

The State Department's own findings suggest that the new policy will close a crucial safety valve for Montagnards because travel within Vietnam is sometimes restricted. The State Department’s latest human rights report says, "Local authorities required members of ethnic minority groups to obtain permission to travel outside certain highland areas, including in some cases travel outside their own villages."

Although the UNHCR, under new monitoring procedures in the Central Highlands, reports that Montagnards are well treated when they return, the State Department's own human rights report for 2006, paints a more disturbing picture: "There were numerous reports the ethnic minorities seeking to cross into Cambodia were returned by Vietnamese police operation on both sides of the border, sometimes followed by beatings and detentions..."

In defending the change in policy, State Department officials say that conditions in the Central Highlands are improving, and that Vietnam is allowing more outside visitors to monitor conditions there.

The new policy weakens protections for Montagnards, undermines congressional intent, and possibly exposes Montagnards to new problems when forced home. At best they will face additional delay in seeking refugee status; at worst, they could face discrimination and harassment from Vietnamese authorities.

The State Department should delay the policy until Congress has time to explore the implications of the decision to close an important safety valve for Montagnards. Please write Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ask him to hold a hearing on the State Department's weakened protection for Montagnards.