An international human rights group demanded that Vietnam close down drug rehabilitation centres that are subjecting inmates to abuse and forced labor.

The report, "The Rehab Archipelago: Forced Labor and Other Abuses in Drug Detention Centers in South Vietnam," chronicles the experiences of 34 former detainees held at 14 detention centers under the authority of the Ho Chi Minh City government. The Human Rights Watch accused Vietnam of imprisoning thousands of drug addicts in the past decade, and forcing them to work long hours for minimal pay.

According to the 121-page report, refusing to work, or violating center rules, results in severe punishment, some of which can be described as torture. One story was of Quynh Luu, a former detainee, who was caught trying to escape from one center. He described his punishment as such: "First they beat my legs so that I couldn't run off again... [Then] they shocked me with an electric baton [and] kept me in the punishment room for a month."

"Tens of thousands of men, women and children are being held against their will in government-run forced labor centers in Vietnam," said Joe Amon, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch. "This is not drug treatment, the centers should be closed, and these people should be released."

Vietnam's system of forced labor is said to be based on the concept of "re-education through labor" camps for drug users and sex workers. These camps were established after the victory of North Vietnam in 1975, and gained political support in the mid-1990s as venues for eradicating "social evils." The system has expanded much over time that by 2000 there were 56 centers. As of this year, there are 123 centers. Maximum length of detention has also risen from one to four years.

Alleged International Support

The report also implied that the United States and Australian governments, the United Nations (UN), the World Bank and other international donors may "indirectly facilitate human rights abuses" by providing drug dependency or HIV treatment and prevention services to addicts inside some of the centres.

"International donor support to the centers, and to the Vietnamese government's Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, which oversees them, can have the perverse impact of enabling the government to continue to detain HIV-positive drug users, Human Rights Watch said.

But if Vietnamese laws were to be followed, HIV-positive detainees have a right to be released if drug detention centers cannot provide appropriate medical care," said the Human Rights Watch report.

Drug treatment at the centres were found "ineffective and abusive" by the report. "Claiming donor support for health services inside such facilities allows Vietnam to "maximise profits" by detaining drug addicts for longer periods and forcing them to do manual labour," added the report.

"Forced labor is not treatment, and profit-making is not rehabilitation," Amon said. "Donors should recognize that building the capacity of these centers perpetuates injustice, and companies should make sure their contractors and suppliers are not using goods from these centers."

Vietnam Denies Allegations

In defense of these centers, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga called the report "groundless." She states that compulsory drug rehabilitation in Vietnam is "humane, effective and beneficial for drug users, community and society."