Referral of Pastor Ngo Dac Luy for Resettlement

Dear Sir and Madam,

We are writing to you concerning the case of Rev. Ngo Dac Luy, who was given refugee status by UNHCR Cambodia, on the basis of serious religious persecution that he experienced in Vietnam.

We would like to request that UNHCR reconsider its decision to not refer Rev. Ngo Dac Luy for resettlement, on the basis of serious concerns for his safety in Cambodia, as well as the ongoing pressure that is being put on his wife and his family still residing in Vietnam.

Rev. Ngo Dac Luy sought refugee status from your agency on the basis of severe torture that he experienced from the Vietnam police authorities on the basis of his religious activities. He managed to escape that detention and has been living in Cambodia since then.

Since that time, pressure has been put on his family, including his wife and children. His wife was required to attend the local police station for registration once a week, and interrogated as to his whereabouts. Recently, the Vietnamese authorities have told Rev. Ngo Dac Luy’s wife that they know that Rev. Ngo Dac Luy is living in exile in Cambodia, running a church and helping other Vietnamese refugees and asylum seekers and dissidents. Rev. Ngo Dac Luy’s wife is being forced to divorce him or she will be dismissed from her job. On National Day, September 2007 a checkpoint has been set up right in front of Rev. Ngo Dac Luy’s house to watch over all his family members for fear that they would run away.

Since living in exile in Cambodia, Rev. Ngo Dac Luy has faced a variety of pressures that have continued to disallowed his right to freedom of religious expression and have included threats to his life. His church has been being monitored by both Vietnamese secret agents and Khmer security forces and it is widely believed that they are finding ways to abduct Rev. Ngo Dac Luy, both because of his having fled Vietnam, and because of his helping other Vietnamese refugees as well as Vietnamese dissidents to run away. These Vietnamese authorities have clearly communicated to Rev. Ngo Dac Luy’s wife that they want him to return to detention in Vietnam.

On this basis, we would like to call for his referral for resettlement by UNHCR to a relevant third country. We do not feel that Rev. Ngo Dac Luy’s situation in Cambodia constitutes a durable solution, while he continues to have his religious freedoms curtailed, fears for his life, and pressure continues to be put on his family to try to force him to return to detention in Vietnam.

I would like to give my support to Pastor Ngo Dac Luy, and request UNHCR to refer him for resettlement in a third country.