Brussels, 09/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - In an opinion sent to the Ombudsman of the EU on 30 September, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), call upon the Commission to carry out an assessment of the impact on human rights of the EU/Vietnam free-trade agreement (FTA), which was concluded on 4 August of this year. The FIDH also calls for the necessary clauses and guarantees in this matter before the agreement is finalised.
Although it stresses that it has concluded its first pre-trade agreement “at an unprecedented level” with a developing country, and which goes “far beyond” any other FTA ever concluded by Vietnam, the Commission is still refusing to assess the impact of this agreement on human rights, FIDH regrets.
In its detailed opinion on the draft recommendation by EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, the Commission stresses that this exercise is unnecessary, arguing that the “combination of instruments” used by the agreement to deal with human rights in Vietnam “fulfils the same basic objective” as an impact assessment and is “sufficient” to respond to any negative impact of an FTA on human rights. These instruments - dialogue, development cooperation and provisions included in the FTA - have shown their limitations in practice and by no means provide for appropriate mechanisms to measure and respond to these concerns, FIDH and VCHR explain.
“The threat the trade and investment agreements risk causing to human rights is well-documented and demands a comprehensive revision of these deals. Instead, the Commission has turned a blind eye on its own responsibilities and invoke ineffective instruments that have demonstrably failed to prevent the negative impact that trade deals may have on human rights. From the outset, the European Commission has knowingly disregarded any human rights considerations in its quest to conclude its free-trade agreement with Vietnam. Without strong human rights safeguards, the EU-Vietnam free-trade agreement is likely to cause an increase in abuses of social, economic and political rights in Vietnam”, they conclude.
After three years of talks launched in 2012 (see EUROPE 11372), the EU and Vietnam reached an agreement in principle, in early August, to conclude a free-trade agreement. This agreement covers the trade in goods and services, investment, public procurement, intellectual property (including geographical indications), non-tariff barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, customs cooperation and trade facilitation and includes a chapter on sustainable development. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)