As of 7 October, Viet Nam had detected 1,099 cases of COVID-19, out of a population of 21.5 million people. Although the country has been lauded for its efforts to contain the virus–including through early border closures and widespread quarantine and testing activities–some observers have questioned the government’s transparency in reporting COVID-19 statistics.
The Law On Foreigners’ Entry Into, Exit From, Transit Through and Residence in Viet Nam does not provide provisions on immigration detention, and there is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in immigration enforcement procedures in the country. Viet Nam is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention. As of December 2017, the government reported that the number of registered stateless persons and persons of undetermined nationality had increased to 29,522 from 11,000 at the end of 2016. It also reported that there had not been any asylum applications in Viet Nam since 2002.
According to the 2020 US Trafficking in Persons Report, the Vietnamese government has made efforts to protect victims of trafficking by providing them with the right to legal representation, shelter, and financial support; as well as operating awareness campaigns in communities vulnerable to trafficking. However, victim identification and assistance procedures reportedly remain ineffective.
- P. Jha, “Coronavirus Vietnam: The Mysterious Resurgence of Covid-19,” BBC News, 8 August 2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53690711
- BBC News, “Vietnam Records First Covid-19 Deaths,” 31 July 2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53606917
- D. Thuy, “VN Confirms One More COVID-19 Case, Total Rises to 1,099,” VGP News, 7 October 2020, http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/VN-confirms-one-more-COVID19-case-total-rises-to-1099/202010/41743.vgp
- UNHCR, “Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees For the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review, 3rd Cycle, 32nd Session: Viet Nam,” https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c52c6777.html
- Socialist Republic of Vietnam, “Law on Foreigners’ Entry Into, Exit From, Transit Through and Residence in Vietnam,” 16 June 2014, http://vbpl.vn/tw/Pages/vbpqen-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=11017
