The Declaration of Independence proclaimed by President Ho Chi Minh on 2 September 1945 at the Ba Dinh Square (Hanoi) is such a masterpiece, a great founding document. Besides its mission of founding the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, taking Vietnam to a new  era – the era of independence, freedom and socialism, the declaration is also a declaration of human rights, of the struggle for the fairness among peoples and individuals within Vietnam.

President Ho Chi Minh reading the Declaration of Independence (File photo)

Vietnamese people resiliently fight for human rights

Independence, freedom of each nation as well as human rights including the right to life, the right to peruse happiness are sacred, inviolable rights that Creator endows to human. The world history is full of fighting for those values. Advanced thoughts in the world have produced immortal declaration of human rights. President Ho Chi Minh has cited the spirit of the United States  Declaration of Independence (1776), the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of the French Revolution (1791) and merged the struggle for independence, freedom and human rights of Vietnam into the course of the world’s progressive movements.

An uniqueness of Ho Chi Minh presented in the declaration is that he associated human rights with that of the nation. The struggle of Vietnamese people under the leadership of the CPV against foreign aggressors and its lackeys is also the struggle for human rights – the right to freedom and independence of each nation. For this reason, Ho Chi Minh began with a passage from the United States  Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” but he generalized this spirit to a higher level: “All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free”. Accordingly, a stress of special importance here is that the phrase “All men…” was upgraded to “all the peoples…”. This is a sensible change given the fact that once a country loses its independence, its citizens cannot have freedom and happiness; once a country is occupied by foreign aggressors, there is no guarantee for human rights being exercised. Therefore, independence is the prerequisite for ensuring and promoting human rights in any stages of our revolution. The cause of liberating the nation, constructing and safeguarding the country of Vietnamese people under the leadership of the CPV is the dialectical combination of elements making a unity: liberating the nation, liberating society, class and liberating human beings.

Under the glorious flag of the CPV, Vietnamese people stood up and fought against the colonialist, feudalist, gaining independence, freedom and human rights. As such, human rights in Vietnam were not endowed by somebody or came by chance but  the achievement of a long lasting and arduous struggle of Vietnamese people. In his declaration, President Ho Chi Minh stated: “The French have fled, the Japanese have capitulated, King  Bao Dai has abdicated. Our people have broken the chains which for nearly a century have fettered them and have won independence for the Fatherland. Our people at the same time have overthrown the monarchic regime that has reigned supreme for dozens of centuries. In its place has been established the present Democratic Republic.”

The nonstop struggle to ensure and promote human rights

National independence is the primary but not the only factor ensuring human rights. Concluding the Declaration, Ho Chi Minh solemnly declared to the world that: “Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country-and in fact is so already. And thus the entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty”. People living in an independent country must enjoy freedom, prosperity, and happiness. This is the living standard in a new regime mentioned by Ho Chi Minh: “If the country is independent but its people don’t have happiness and freedom, then the independence is meaningless.” Those values about human rights are immortal. Since then, Vietnamese people have ceaselessly strived for human rights and gained positive and significant achievements.

The renovation for national independence and socialism in Vietnam has undergone challenges and gained great and historic victories. This proves that Vietnam is a responsible member as a signatory of  international conventions on human rights. Vietnam has been active and positive in international integration in the context of  globalization. In spite of lampoons, denial, partial and wrongful views of hostile forces of human rights situation in Vietnam, no one can deny achievements gained in ensuring and promoting human rights in Vietnam. Today, with those achievements (both internally and externally) Vietnam has been elected as a member of the UNHRC (2014 – 2016). The 2013 Constitution of Vietnam has an important part on human rights. It specifies: “In the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, human rights and citizens' rights in the political, civil, economic, cultural and social fields shall be recognised, respected, protected and guaranteed in accordance with the Constitution and law” (Article 14). Accordingly, contents of human rights in Vietnam have been fundamentally and systematically stated in the State’s system of legal documents. Besides, Vietnam also recognizes general values of human kind  on human rights. Also in the Constitution, the State’s responsibility in ensuring, broadening and developing human rights is stated more clearly. This is the achievement of  the hardship struggle through 30 years of renovation. However, hostile forces are trying to slander, criticize and distort human right situation in Vietnam. In the field of democracy and freedom they say: Vietnam has not yet been democratic, so people’s rights in politics, economy and culture are not guaranteed (!) This is extremely unreasonable. In fact, democracy has always been paid attention by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam State. This is a real democracy in which people’s ownership is ensured both in legal document and in reality. Freedom is the perception and action toward the inevitability. Real democracy always involves disciplines and in contrast, sound disciplines involve real democracy. For the past years, those considered themselves “democrat”, “fighter for human rights” … violating the law have been punished in accordance with the existing Vietnam’s law. In Vietnam there is no “prisoner of conscience”! In a society, there must be a lot of moods and opinions. They may be manifested in a normal manner but they may be demonstrated fiercely. This is understandable, especially in a developing society.

This is totally different to the fact that some people deliberately violate the law, incite violence, damage the unity of the nation, oppose the Party and State and run counter the interest of the whole people. Human rights is the right to do whatever allowed by law and constitution, in accordance with tradition and national interests.

In terms of political system, they deny completely the role of political organizations in ensuring human rights. Especially, those with hatred of Vietnamese revolution always try to deny the leadership of CPV over the State and society. Regarding to both theory and reality spheres, the inception, existence and development of the CPV are not for the Party itself but for the independence, freedom of the nation, for the development of the country, and the liberation of human being from oppression, unfairness, and for developing people comprehensively. All for people – that is the goal and the motto for action throughout Vietnamese revolution course under the leadership of the CPV and leader Ho Chi Minh.

69 years have gone by, the historic oath of Ho Chi Minh with his Declaration of Independence always enlightens each heart and mind of Vietnamese patriot in every region of the country and abroad. The Declaration sends us a message that: to resolutely safeguard the independence, freedom, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the country. Only by doing this, along with consolidating national unity under the leadership of the CPV can human rights be ensured. Besides, be consistent with national independence associated with socialism in Vietnam is the foundation for the continuous progress of human rights.

By Quang Thang