Vietnam's NGO Dilemma

Foreign-funded nonprofits operate in a legal grey zone

By: Travis Vincent

Foreign-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have periodically urged Vietnam’s government to enact a Law on Associations, a framework that would specify what VNGOs (locally organized civil society groups) may and may not do. However, these efforts to clarify the role of VNGOs and secure their legal status have regularly failed.

T…