Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 435 Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2019 Mr. BUDD (for himself, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. KHANNA, and Mr. MEADOWS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Whereas the Montagnards are an indigenous tribespeople liv- ing in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region; Whereas French Roman Catholic missionaries converted many of the Montagnards in the 19th century and Amer- ican Protestant missionaries subsequently converted many to various Protestant sects; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 435 IH Whereas, during the 1960s, the United States Mission in Sai- gon, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, trained the Montagnards in unconventional war- fare; Whereas an estimated 61,000 Montagnards, out of an esti- mated population of 1,000,000, fought alongside the United States and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong; Whereas the CIA, United States Special Forces, and the Montagnards cooperated on the Village Defense Program, a forerunner to the War’s Strategic Hamlet Program, and an estimated 43,000 Montagnards were organized into Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) to pro- vide protection for the areas around the CIDGs’ oper- ational bases; Whereas, at its peak, the CIDGs had approximately 50 oper- ational bases, with each base containing a contingent of two United States Army officers and ten enlisted men, and an ARVN unit of the same size, and each base trained 200 to 700 Montagnards or ‘‘strikers’’; Whereas another 18,000 Montagnards were reportedly en- listed into mobile strike forces and various historical ac- counts describe a strong bond between the United States Special Forces and the Montagnards; Whereas the lives of thousands of members of the United States Armed Forces were saved as a result of the heroic actions of the Montagnards, who fought loyally and bravely alongside United States Special Forces in the Vietnam War; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 435 IH Whereas, after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, thousands of Montagnards fled across the border into Cambodia to escape persecution; Whereas the Government of the reunified Vietnamese nation, renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, deeply dis- trusted the Montagnards who had sided with the United States and ARVN forces, and subjected them to impris- onment and various forms of discrimination and oppres- sion after the Vietnam War ended; Whereas, after the Vietnam War, the United States Govern- ment resettled large numbers of Montagnards in several States and an estimated several thousand Montagnards currently reside in North Carolina, which is the largest population of Montagnards residing outside of Vietnam; Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam currently remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to restrict free- dom of religion, movement, land and property rights, and political expression; Whereas some Montagnard-Americans have shared their per- sonal stories about Vietnamese authorities either pre- venting them from visiting Vietnam or subjecting them to interrogation upon re-entering the country on visits; Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices documents the Government of Vietnam’s claim that Montagnards fleeing to Cambodia and Thailand are illegal migrants in pursuit of economic opportunities, and human rights groups assess that the Government has pressured Cambodian and Thai authori- ties to refuse Montagnards refugee or temporary asylum- seeker status and repatriate them to Vietnam; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 435 IH Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices states that, although Viet- namese law prohibits discrimination against ethnic mi- norities and despite Vietnam’s significant economic growth, the economic gap between many ethnic minority communities and ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) communities persisted as a result of longstanding and persistent dis- crimination; Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices further states that ethnic mi- nority populations in Vietnam also experienced significant health challenges as maternal and child mortality rates were significantly higher in ethnic minority areas, in com- parison with urban and coastal areas; Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli- gious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2016 Annual Report states that ‘‘Montagnards, many of whom are Protestant, face numerous restrictions’’ such as being prevented from holding religious ceremonies, harassed or punished, and ‘‘many are summoned to meet with local authorities and pressured to cease practicing their ‘poisonous’ faith’’; Whereas Montagnards have stated that this kind of ongoing social and religious persecution drove them to flee to Cambodia; Whereas USCIRF reports that, since October 2014, ‘‘up to 300 Montagnards have fled Vietnam to Cambodia, many because of religious persecution’’ but ‘‘only 13 have been granted refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as countless oth- ers are waiting for Cambodia to process their asylum claims, and dozens have been returned to Vietnam, often at great risk of reprisals’’; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HRES 435 IH Whereas USCIRF recommends that Vietnam be designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) as a means to fa- cilitating reforms: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the contributions of the 2 Montagnards who fought loyally and bravely with 3 United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam 4 War and who continue to suffer persecution in Viet- 5 nam as a result of this relationship; 6 (2) condemns ongoing actions by the Govern- 7 ment of Vietnam to suppress basic human rights 8 and civil liberties of its citizens; 9 (3) calls on the Government of Vietnam to 10 allow human rights groups access to all regions of 11 the country and to end restrictions of basic human 12 rights, including the right for Montagnards to prac- 13 tice their Christian faith freely, the right to land and 14 property, freedom of movement, the right to retain 15 ethnic identity and culture, and access to an ade- 16 quate standard of living; 17 (4) recognizes the importance of the U.S. Ref- 18 ugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and that, where 19 determined to be eligible, Montagnards should be 20 provided access to USRAP for resettlement in the 21 United States and in other countries; and 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HRES 435 IH (5) urges the President and Congress to develop 1 policies at every level, including trade, military, and 2 economic policy, that support Montagnards and 3 other marginalized ethnic minority and indigenous 4 populations in Vietnam that reflect United States in- 5 terests and commitment to upholding human rights 6 and democracy abroad. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR435.IH HR435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS