Việt Nam and Germany at 50: Charting a Civic Path to Human Rights Education

As Việt Nam and Germany mark fifty years of diplomatic ties, the broader challenge of advancing human rights education remains unresolved. A civic approach offers a viable path forward for Germany’s engagement with Việt Nam.

On Sept. 23, 1975, Việt Nam and Germany formally established diplomatic relations. Half a century later, Germany is now one of Việt Nam’s largest trading partners, while Việt Nam has become a key Southeast Asian partner in development cooperation and global problem-solving. 

Anniversaries, however, are not only for celebration; they are moments to reflect on achievements and on the blind spots that remain. One such blind spot is human rights education—a subject that is foundational to civic life yet remains politically sensitive in Việt Nam and diplomatically awkward for its partners.

This presents a challenge to Germany’s own foreign policy, which views awareness of rights as the basis for their protection. How does this principle function in Việt Nam, where human rights are tightly controlled? And what unique strengths does Germany have in this field that Việt Nam could benefit from?

Rights Awareness in a Restricted Space

Việt Nam’s economic achievements over the past four decades are undeniable; the country has gone from plummeting poverty rates to an export powerhouse. However, this story of progress often overshadows another reality: a severely constrained civic space. Independent media is forbidden, civil society organizations operate under tight supervision, and civic education in schools emphasizes duties over rights.

The result is low-level political literacy—the ability of citizens to understand how power works and how their rights can be claimed. Without this foundation, rights awareness remains shallow. A citizen may know that Việt Nam has ratified an international labor convention, but they lack the capacity to translate that abstract commitment into a real claim in their workplace or community.

This restricted civic learning environment is reinforced by broader political dynamics. Human rights education is tolerated in areas the government sees as non-threatening, such as gender equality or disability rights. But when initiatives touch on freedom of assembly, environmental justice, or official accountability, they are often met with harassment and suppression, underlined by the arrests of journalists and activists.

Historical legacies further complicate the picture. The memory of the North–South divide, post-war re-education, and unresolved reconciliation still shape perceptions of governance and rights, making debates on development and rights inseparable from identity and historical trauma.

At the same time, a new generation of Vietnamese citizens has become increasingly vocal on issues like climate change and workers' rights. They show courage and creativity, but without access to robust rights education, their ability to navigate structural constraints remains limited.

Given this reality, the prospect of state-led reform in human rights education is improbable. International observers, including the U.S. State Department in its annual human rights reports, consistently finds no significant progress in this area. 

This is why a civic approach is so vital. If change will not come from the top down, the only viable route is to strengthen the capacity of communities, educators, and civil society to build rights awareness from the ground up.

Why Rights Awareness in Việt Nam Matters to Germany

For Germany, promoting rights awareness in Việt Nam is pragmatic. Việt Nam’s manufacturing sector is a key part of Germany’s supply chains. Supporting labor rights awareness helps ensure safer conditions and fairer wages, which underpins compliance with Germany’s own Supply Chain Act, reduces reputational risks, and strengthens fair trade. In climate action, where Germany has invested heavily, awareness of environmental rights is essential for ensuring that local communities can participate in decision-making and that investments translate into transparent, inclusive governance.

Beyond these practical concerns lies a deeper moral imperative rooted in Germany's own past. The Federal Foreign Office has stated plainly that “Germany’s commitment to human rights work is also a lesson learned from the darkest chapter of our history.” From this perspective, human rights are not a diplomatic add-on, but a moral responsibility.

Finally, Germany is uniquely positioned to engage on this sensitive issue. While U.S. promotion of human rights in Southeast Asia is often viewed with suspicion, Germany’s quieter, values-based diplomacy gives it the credibility to contribute in a principled and consistent way. With the U.S. increasingly focused inward, the space for German engagement has only grown.

Germany’s Unique Strengths

Germany brings several particular strengths to its partnership with Việt Nam:

1. Reunification and Reconciliation: Germany's experience in navigating deep ideological divides, reconciling historical grievances, and rebuilding institutions after its 1990 reunification offers relevant lessons for societies still shaped by conflict and division.
2. Robust Civic and Political Education: A broad-based commitment to political literacy—embedded in schools, reinforced by federal agencies, and supported by civil society—has created a public skilled in democratic engagement.
3. Support for Democratisation: Germany has a track record of assisting democratic transitions in sensitive contexts, particularly in Eastern Europe, by emphasizing dialogue and institution-building rather than imposition.
4. A Model of Integrated Progress: Crucially, Germany's success demonstrates that economic growth, sustainability, and democracy can advance in tandem, challenging the common Vietnamese narrative that human rights are an obstacle to development.

A Civic Approach to Human Rights Education

What might a civic approach to human rights education look like in practice? The strategy would focus on four key avenues:

1. Support for Civil Society: Germany can provide open support for initiatives in tolerated areas like gender equality and disability rights, while offering discreet backing for more sensitive fields like environmental and labor rights. Assistance can be channeled through neutral intermediaries, such as Germany’s political foundations, to reduce risks for local partners, while its diplomatic mission can facilitate collaboration and provide safe venues for engagement.
2. Embedding Rights into Existing Initiatives: Rights education can be woven directly into Germany's current projects. Training in Germany could include modules on labor rights, and climate projects could incorporate community education on environmental governance. Even light-touch initiatives like the German Career Truck could include content on the right to decent work alongside messages about employment opportunities and workplace culture.
3. Cultural and Intellectual Avenues: Institutions like the Goethe-Institut can serve as hubs for dialogue by engaging urban youth on environmental, gender, and labor issues. Providing a platform for diasporic and exiled Vietnamese writers and artists allows alternative histories to be voiced, while events on themes like unity and reconciliation can link Germany’s own experiences with Việt Nam’s ongoing challenges.
4. Leveraging Symbolic Moments: Initiatives can be aligned with key dates—such as German Unity Day, International Human Rights Day, or World Press Freedom Day—to provide resonance and visibility without requiring confrontational messaging.

From Anniversary to Aspiration

As Việt Nam and Germany celebrate half a century of diplomatic ties, official statements will highlight economic success and strategic cooperation. But anniversaries also invite deeper reflection—and a look at what comes next.

Human rights education in Việt Nam is shaped by authoritarian governance, historical legacies, and limited civic space. Yet, it is also where Germany can make a meaningful contribution. A civic approach—one that focuses on communities, educators, and civil society, while drawing on Germany’s unique strengths—recognises both the constraints and the possibilities.

By weaving values-based diplomacy into its technical cooperation, Germany can expand the space for rights awareness in a way that is pragmatic, principled, and sustainable. In doing so, it can not only strengthen bilateral cooperation but also reaffirm its global identity as a partner committed to protecting human dignity—and to shaping a more inclusive future.