Blatantly disregarding international commitments, Cambodian authorities deported a family of five Montagnards, a persecuted predominantly Christian Vietnamese minority group, back to Vietnam.
The recently deported family was part of a group of 27 Montagnards currently seeking assistance from the United Nations and human rights groups in Cambodia. At least four other Montagnards have successfully reached Phnom Penh where they will seek asylum status from the U.N., but an additional 17 are still hiding in the jungle of Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province.
Brutally beaten, unlawfully detained, evicted from their land, and denied the basic right to practice their faith, Montagnards have historically experienced systematic persecution at the hands of the Vietnamese. Vietnamese authorities have disbanded unregistered house churches and burned down Montagnard church buildings. Some allege that Montagnards face additional persecution due to the assistance they provided to the U.S. during the Vietnam War.
Cambodia experienced a surge of Montagnards fleeing to the region between 2001 and 2003 due to escalated violence against the minority group by the Vietnamese. Most of them were deported back to Vietnam.
In an uncharacteristic move, Cambodia allowed 16 Montagnards to seek asylum under Cambodian government protection in December 2014. Reports suggest that Vietnam asked Cambodia to offer protection to the 16 Montagnards in order to deflect international attention away from broader human rights concerns in Vietnam.
Cambodian authorities in the Ministry of the Interior’s Refugee Office consider the recently deported Montagnards illegal immigrants because they did not provide proper identification upon arriving in Cambodia. However, Cambodia’s decision to deport the persecuted Christian family contradicts the 1951 Refugee Convention, which Cambodia became a party to in 1992. The convention requires that Cambodia investigate asylum claims before deporting asylum and refugee seekers to their home country.
The U.S. and others in the international community have an obligation under the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement to ensure that Cambodia upholds democratic principles. Choosing to deport minority groups facing religious persecution undermines democratic principles that guarantee the right to free speech and religious freedom.
According to Walter Lohman, Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation:
Among the purposes of the Paris agreement was to ensure “the right to self-determination of the Cambodian people through free and fair elections” and “assuring protection of human rights.” The signatories have a continuing moral obligation in this regard.
It is in U.S. interests to defend the Montagnards, not only because of the assistance they provided during the Vietnam War, but because the U.S. believes that religious freedom is an inherent and fundamental right for all peoples. The U.S. should use the tools it has at its disposal to hold Cambodia accountable for its undemocratic actions toward the Montagnards.
