Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged the European Union (EU), Belgium and Denmark to press Vietnamese President To Lam to address the country’s deteriorating human rights situation during his October 19–24 visit to Europe.
HRW said that Vietnam’s government has intensified its crackdown on basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, peaceful activism, and independent journalism. The organization also warned that closer diplomatic and trade relations have failed to produce reforms with just and accountable outcomes.
In a statement, HRW called on European leaders to demand the release of political prisoners, an end to the prosecution of peaceful government critics, and reforms to laws used to restrict freedom of expression. The organization further urged European officials to make continued and persistent human rights violations carry consequences for their countries’ diplomatic and economic relations with Vietnam.
Vietnam holds more than 160 political prisoners, according to HRW. During the first nine months of 2026, at least 28 activists were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, while at least 39 other people were arrested for allegedly criticizing the government or associating with disfavored religious or political groups.
HRW has previously pointed out that authorities increasingly rely on vaguely worded provisions of Vietnam’s Penal Code to prosecute peaceful dissent. Article 331 criminalizes the “abuse of democratic freedoms,” while Articles 116 and 117 address alleged efforts to undermine national unity and spread propaganda against the state. HRW argues that these provisions enable authorities to punish criticism of government corruption, public services, and police conduct.
The European visits provide an opportunity to address these concerns as Vietnam seeks to support its political and economic partnerships with European countries. Lam (who served as minister of public security from 2016 to 2024 before becoming Communist Party general secretary and later president) is visiting Denmark from October 19–21, followed by engagements with EU officials and an official visit to Belgium through October 24. The diplomatic push comes despite the EU’s own stated concerns about Vietnam’s human rights record.
HRW has noted that although Vietnam’s relations with Denmark, the EU, and Belgium have strengthened through economic cooperation, approximately 20 EU–Vietnam human rights dialogues since 2002 have produced limited progress while repression has intensified. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has previously condemned the ongoing intimidation campaign against journalist Doan Bao Chau after he was sentenced to seven years in prison over social media posts critical of the government, a conviction that he vehemently rejected as unjustified.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has also criticized the degrading treatment that journalist Le Anh Hung has been subjected to while being detained for his various published articles on Vietnamese politics.
Labour rights remain another point of contention. Under the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force in 2020, Vietnam committed to labour reforms, including protecting freedom of association. However, the country has not ratified International Labour Organization Convention No. 87, which protects workers’ freedom to organize and establish independent trade unions.
HRW says independent unions remain unable to operate in practice, which leaves workers with limited opportunities to organize outside government-controlled structures.
