VZCZCXRO4685
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #1215/01 1870820
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060820Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5780
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3328
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001215 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI ECON VM
 
SUBJECT: THE EVOLVING NATURE OF VIETNAM'S CIVIL SOCIETY 
 
Ref: A) Hanoi 06; B) HANOI 02 
 
HANOI 00001215  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) A Vietnam Institute of Development Studies (VIDS) study 
concluded that the structure of civil society in Vietnam is 
broad-based, with many different types of organizations, 
associations and groups operating in the country.  Most of these 
organizations work at providing services to the poor and 
disadvantaged.  The VIDS study and our contacts assess that civil 
society's impact in influencing public policies on human rights, 
social policy and national budgeting, and in holding the state and 
private sectors accountable, is "very limited."  The role of the six 
Communist Party-affiliated mass organizations in Vietnam has evolved 
in that they now are drafting laws and are doing a better job of 
representing the interests of people at the grassroots level, our 
contacts say.  The GVN has started to have some "positive views" 
about civil society, although experts continue to question GVN 
intentions toward it.  The GVN wants more "safe" groups to take on 
social tasks that it cannot.  At the same time, however, the GVN 
wants to prevent groups from becoming more politically active.  GVN 
leaders likely will continue to move cautiously in granting civil 
society "more space."  End Summary. 
 
Assessing Civil Society 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Experts at the Vietnam Institute of Development Studies 
(VIDS), a member of the Communist Party-affiliated Vietnam Union of 
Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), recently published an 
exhaustive study of civil society in Vietnam.  The World Alliance 
for Citizen Participation, an international non-governmental 
organization (NGO), developed the approach and methodology for this 
study.  VIDS experts looked at 74 indicators related to the 
structure, values and impact of civil society, as well as the 
socioeconomic environment in which it operates.  The study concluded 
that the structure of civil society is broad-based, with many 
different types of organizations, associations and groups operating 
here.  Most of these organizations work at providing services to the 
poor and disadvantaged.  Structural weaknesses include a "lack of 
strategies and weak umbrella organizations and networks."  As for 
values, the VIDS study concluded that civil society practices and 
promotes positive values "to a moderate extent." The most important 
values are poverty alleviation and non-violence.  A major civil 
society weakness in the values area includes "minimal efforts" by 
people "to promote transparency and democracy within their 
organizations." 
 
¶3. (SBU) The VIDS study assessed that civil society's impact in 
influencing public policies on human rights, social policy and 
national budgeting, and in holding the State and private sectors 
accountable, is "very limited."  However, the study said that civil 
society's efforts at meeting societal needs are at a "medium level." 
 Civil society has done well in informing and educating people, 
empowering women and supporting people's livelihoods.  As for the 
socio-economic environment, the VIDS study concluded that civil 
society, given the GVN's "management" of NGOs, is operating in a 
"slightly disenabling environment." 
 
Civil Society in the Vietnamese Context 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Civil society is segmented into various organizations with 
different functions, Oxfam Great Britain Coordinator Le Hoa and law 
professor Hoang Ngoc Giao explained.  Despite their affiliation with 
the Communist Party, the "old" mass organizations and professional 
associations are broadly accepted as an integrated part of civil 
society.  The Communist Party-affiliated mass organizations are: the 
Women's Union, Farmer's Association, Trade Union, Youth Union, 
Veteran's Association and Fatherland Front.  Among the larger 
professional associations are VUSTA and the Vietnam Union of Arts 
and Literature.  The "new" types of organizations (which began to 
appear in the early 1990's, but are "not yet fully recognized" by 
society) are NGO's, community-based organizations (CBO's) and other 
types of informal organizations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to participants in the VIDS study and our 
contacts, the term civil society until recently had a "negative 
connotation" in Vietnam.  Just three or four years ago, people 
avoided mention of the term because it was "sensitive," Hoa and Giao 
told Poloff.  Why we can now discuss civil society defies simple 
explanations, Hoa said.  It is a function of educating GVN leaders, 
growth in civil society-like organizations, the push from donors and 
other variables, she asserted.  For his part, Giao said that some 
politicians have concluded that the GVN must grant civil society 
more space or risk damage to its legitimacy. 
 
 
HANOI 00001215  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) 74 percent of the Vietnamese population belongs to at least 
one organization (including the mass organizations), according to UN 
Development Program (UNDP) statistics.  However, not all Vietnamese 
organizations are deeply anchored in civil society, the VIDS study 
showed.  For example, some members of mass organizations are also 
public sector employees. 
 
A Matter of Language 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In Vietnamese, two expressions are commonly used to refer 
to civil society: "xa hoi cong dan" and "xa hoi dan su."  "Xa hoi 
cong dan" means "citizens."  "Xa hoi" denotes society; "cong" means 
public (as opposed to family and private); and, "dan" means people. 
"Xa hoi dan su," mean while, literally translates to civil society. 
According to the VIDS study, the debate about language is important 
in that "civil" is not a clear term in Vietnamese because it 
indicates what it is not (i.e., it is not related to military 
activities), but does not say much about what it is.  Both 
expressions are used, but "xa hoi dan su" is more common, probably 
because it is the literal translation of the English term. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Vietnamese term for NGOs refers to organizations 
"external" to the State.  Until just a couple of years ago, the term 
was not used because external organization activity was associated 
with "anti-State" behavior, rather than positive or necessary 
activities, our contacts explained.  Today, the term has generally 
been accepted as an "imported" term used to designate certain types 
of organizations. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Today, "civic organization" is the usual concept used in 
discussing organizational life in Vietnam, according to Bui The 
Cuong, a Vietnamese academic.  These civic organizations 
collectively constitute "a civil society."  For their part, VIDS 
study participants concluded that a "broader understanding of civil 
society is not yet fully part of mainstream political thinking." 
However, new ideas are being formulated about civil society and its 
organizations are increasingly perceived "as not just passive 
followers," they added. 
 
Mass Organizations' Evolving Role 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Oxfam's Hoa told Poloff that experts continue to debate 
whether the six mass organizations constitute part of Vietnam's 
growing civil society.  These mass organizations, some of which have 
millions of members, have a dual mandate, she explained.  On the one 
hand, they disseminate Party lines and policies to their members and 
are tightly linked to the Party by means of Central Committee 
members in their key leadership posts and "Party groups" within 
their respective executive committees. 
 
¶11. (SBU) On the other hand, mass organizations represent their 
members and often lobby the GVN on their members' behalf, Hoa 
continued.  At the grassroots level, the mass organizations are 
"close to the people" and thus do a good job of "representing their 
interests," she said.  A mass organization chairperson can bring 
local problems to the attention of local Party leaders.  Mass 
organizations also provide social services at local levels; for 
example, the Women's Union provides credits to women to start up 
businesses and has been somewhat active in combating 
trafficking-in-persons. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Civil society experts have concluded that mass 
organizations have brought about "positive results" by increasing 
citizen participation at the local level, Hoa added.  International 
NGOs such as Oxfam are working more with the mass organizations in 
providing social services.  "Most donors see potential advantage to 
working at the grassroots levels with the mass organizations," she 
offered.  For his part, Giao said civil society and mass 
organization groups operating at the commune levels have experienced 
less Party interference because the Party has fewer resources at 
that level.  Local Party affiliates need these groups to carry out 
social work and have for the most part left them alone, he added. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Mass organizations are increasingly involved in the 
legislative process, Hoa and Giao explained.  The Women's Union, for 
example, drafted last year's Law on Gender Equality (LGE) (Ref A). 
Giao said two main factors are driving this trend:  1) the GVN is 
responding to international donors pushing for more civil society 
involvement in legislative processes; and, 2) mass organization 
leaders want their organizations involved.  Giao criticized the LGE, 
however, "because it did not define what the problems to be 
addressed are."  The Women's Union and GVN drafted the law for the 
sake of making a law, but not for solving problems, he asserted.  He 
said it is "good" that the mass organizations are drafting laws, but 
that their legal capabilities need to be upgraded. 
 
 
HANOI 00001215  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
GVN Adapting To New Realities 
----------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The GVN has started to have some "positive views" about 
civil society, although experts continue to question how "sincere" 
it is, Hoa said.  She has observed some positive changes.  For 
example, the GVN used to develop its five year Social and Economic 
Development Program internally, but now it consults donors and NGOs 
because it "seems to recognize the benefit" of their participation. 
While civil society's impact is still limited, and the process is 
not entirely open, it is significant that the GVN calls for comment, 
she added. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Over the past three years, the GVN has begun to adapt its 
laws and policies to meet "the new situation."  In 2003, the 
Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) issued a decree that has served as 
the basis for the ever evolving legal framework for organizations; 
this 2003 decree replaced a 1957 decree on organizations.  The GVN's 
2002 Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, which the 
GVN formulated in cooperation with the donor community, was one of 
the first development documents to mention the role of NGO's in 
Vietnam's overall socioeconomic development. 
 
¶16. (SBU) On the current version of the draft Law on Associations 
(LOA), civil society groups lobbied successfully for changes to it. 
They have argued that this law should be a legal document "not for 
managing people, but for facilitating development," Hoa and Giao 
said.  (Note: the National Assembly has yet to see the latest 
version of the LOA reportedly because Party power brokers are 
worried about its political and security implications (Ref B).  The 
current version of the LOA would make it easier for Vietnamese to 
form organizations.  End Note.) 
 
¶17. (SBU) In addition, the GVN will "soon" issue a decree governing 
the operations of CBO's, Hoa said.  The Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Development (MARD) developed the decree, but MARD officials 
consulted outside groups, such as Oxfam, in drafting it.  At the 
beginning, MARD officials seemed to share the views of Oxfam and 
other NGO's, Hoa stated.  Civil society experts are anxious to see 
if the final decree will "facilitate" CBO operations, she said. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) Because of the overlap between State, Party and civil 
society, much of the change in Vietnam's civil society has taken 
place within the State sphere.  However, more groups operating 
outside, or on the outskirts of, the State have cropped up in recent 
years, thus presenting GVN leaders with a dilemma.  GVN leaders 
clearly want more "safe" groups to take on more of the social tasks 
that the government cannot.  However, at the same time, the GVN has 
yet to demonstrate a willingness to "unleash" civil society.  We 
probably can expect, at best, that GVN leaders will continue to move 
cautiously in granting civil society more space.  End Comment. 
 
MARINE