A dialogue on human rights between Vietnam and Norway on 29 November 2012 (Photo: btgcp.gov.vn)

With the efforts of the Communist Party, the State and people, over the past years, Vietnam has made great achievements in its course to realize the objective of “rich people, strong nation, democratic, equitable and civilized society”. The socialist democracy has been more and more strengthened and developed, human rights, civil rights are better ensured... Those affirm that Vietnam has distinctly manifested its role as a responsible member of the United Nations human rights system.

In the early twentieth century, democratic ideals and human rights were unfamiliar to the colonial peoples, but as a “gravity” to a young patriot, Nguyen Tat Thanh. With his genius intellect, his sensitivity about new political issues of the era (including the socialist revolution, the revolutionary liberation of the colonial peoples, ...) and the common values of humanity (including human-rights), Nguyen Tat Thanh had departed to find a path to win rights to self-determination and independence for the nation, liberty and happiness for the people. He had travelled around “five Continents, and four Oceans” and had successfully found the right way to save the nation for the people. At the same time, he and  the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) had led the people to persistently fulfill the goal of national independence associated with socialism, gradually building and perfecting the socialist democracy, better ensuring human rights.

On  2nd September, 1945, on behalf of the whole people, President Ho Chi Minh solemnly addressed the Declaration of Independence. After honorably quoting the American Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Liberties of France, he asserted the rights to self-determination of our people, and democratic nature and human-rights of a new Vietnam, a State led by the Communist Party of Vietnam. He declared that “Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country, and in fact it is so already. 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”. Since then, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, our people have embarked on the national construction and defense, exercising our people’s civil rights and human rights.

As a regime that observes the human-being and before it was an official member of the United Nations (on 20 September, 1977), Vietnam had voluntarily joined many  conventions on the  international  humanitarian  laws (similar to the content of human rights),  such as  the third Geneva Convention (“Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War”) (1957), the fourth Geneva Convention (“Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War”) (1957).  ... In 1982, Vietnam Nam joined two fundamental international conventions on human rights: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966).

To respect and to ensure the citizenship and human rights are the nature of our regime. Enhancement of beneficiary for the people’s human rights is the responsibility of our Party and State, not subject to the pressure of any forces.  Program of the national construction in the transitional period to socialism (amendment and addendum in 2011) of our Party asserts that socialist democracy is the nature of our regime, is both the objective and the motivation for the development of the country. Our State is a socialist jurisdiction State, of the people, by the people and for the people. The fundamental rights to freedom of the people are observed and protected by the State; of which the right to direct ownership of the people is always interested by the Party and the State. To this end, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam  (the 8th Tenure) issued Directive 30-CT/TW on the building and implementation of democratic regulations at grassroots level. This document stipulates the right to be informed about all the Party’s political lines and guidelines and the State’s laws and policies, especially issues that directly related to the people’s daily life and interests. On that basis, the Government promulgated Decree 71/1998/ND-CP  on the Regulations on Democracy in State Agencies which ensures people to have rights to be informed, to participate in, to discuss  and determine on the economic, cultural, social issues.... This is the political and legal foundation  for the Party and the State’s banner "People know, people discuss, people implement and people check" to  opportunely come into life and to take its effect.

As regards the economic social and cultural rights, the consistent viewpoint of the Communist Party of Vietnam is to exercise social progress and justice in every step and in every development policy; to continue to improve the system of social insurance, helping all members of the social community, especially those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. To ensure the legal framework for the management of the country, of the society and of the State agencies and citizens,  a number of laws, amended laws and new laws are enacted based on the following principles: Respect for human rights; socialist democracy, a socialist jurisdiction state and the socialist-oriented market economy. To respect and ensure human rights is the consistent guidelines of our Party and State  in every revolutionary stage.

However, in the period of renovation and reform (doi moi) (since 1986 to date), based on new thinking about a socialist society, the insurance of citizenship and new human rights has become more and more improved. In the strategies of socio-economic development - (from Congress VI to Congress XI ), our Party and State always take into account the insurance of civil and political rights, intellectual development, cultural enjoyment to be attached to that of people’s economic and social rights. Ethnic minorities, minorities in remote and mountainous areas, and the poor are provided with the first-priority care. According to the report of the National Assembly’s Ethnic Council on implementation of Program 13 5, Phase 2 (from 2006 to 2010), investment of the central budget reached to a figure of 15,000 billion VND, of which, the international organizations’ aids –accounted for 350 million dollars, building roughly 13,000 essential infrastructure works, such as power grids, roads, schools, post-offices in the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities. On execution of Resolution of the Government 30a/2008/NQ-CP on a Program of rapid and sustainable poverty elimination for 62 poor districts nationwide, the  Government has implemented - several specific, practical measures. By the end of 2010, the fore-said districts have basically fulfilled the eradication of 73,418 temporary houses (completed 94.58 % of the planned objective). Currently, the  Government’s social housing program is actively deployed in many localities so as to assist workers, low-income people and students.

In regard to the insurance of political and civil rights, so far, the right to freedom of speech, press and information (considered as a basic and sensitive group of rights) has recorded great achievements. In addition to the Press Law that asserts the freedom of people’s speech, the State has promulgated a regulation that Government agencies bear the responsibility to periodically and as necessary provide information for the press. Vietnam media agencies have rapidly developed and brought into their full role in social life. To date, there have been over 700 press agencies with more than 850 publications, 68 radio and television stations – both local and central, over 80 electronic newspapers, thousands of pages of electronic general information pages and blogs across the country. Additionally, Vietnamese people also have been accessible to many foreign news agencies, presses, TV channels, such as Reuters , BBC, VOA, AP, AFP and CNN etc..., websites, such as Google, Face book, Twitter, MySpace, CafeMom, ...Vietnam Journalists Association has over 17,000 members. The growth speed of  Internet in Vietnam ranks the fastest in Southeast Asia and has a subscriber charge rate among the cheapest in the world. This is a condition that guarantees the right to freedom of information that is uneasy for people in a poor country to get access to. In fact, the Press in Vietnam not only performs the function to inform and disseminate the Party's guidelines and the State’s policies and laws to the people, but also greatly takes its part in disclosure of illegal acts taken by individuals, agencies, organizations and local authorities; in disclosure of degeneration, deterioration of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle of cadres and civil servants ... and  make contribution to building a healthy society. This has absolutely rejected the distorted and slandered allegations that in Vietnam there is no freedom of the press!

In the field of religion and belief, it can be asserted that never in the history of Vietnam, have religions been developed freely and treated as equal and fair as in the socialist regime. From the 1946 Constitution to the 1992 Constitution and recently in the amendment draft of the 1992 Constitution, our State all stipulates that citizens enjoy the right to the freedom of belief and religion, have the right to either follow or not follow religion. The Communist Party of Vietnam’s consistent view is "Respect and guarantee the right to freedom of the people’s belief and religion and non-religion and non-belief subject to the law". Factually, given the political and legal environment transparency and righteousness, religions in Vietnam have been provided with favorable conditions for their activities under the motto "good life, good faith", actively contributing to the national construction and national defense.

According to the General Statistics Office, there are  six separate major religions nationwide (including Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhist, Muslim) with over 20 million followers, approximately counting for 25% of Vietnam's population. Currently, the growth rate of followers is equal to that of population, across the country, there are over 66 thousand religious leaders, more than 22 thousand of worship establishments; foundations for religious leader training at every schooling level such as the Institute of Buddhist, the Christian Theological Seminary, the Biblical and Theological Institute of Protestantism, ... which have been  in operation with the assistance of authorities at all levels. This shows that religions in Vietnam are facilitated and developing finely, at the same time this is the most obvious evidence to refute allegations that religions in Vietnam are stigmatized and not exercised freely.

For the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, our Party and our State have always taken efforts to be a responsible member, especially in the course of reform and international integration. Since accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Vietnam has internally codified the international conventions she has acceded, including the Law on People's Health Protection (1989), the Law on Education (1998), the Law on Land (2003), the Law on Social Insurance (2006), the Law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (2006), the Law on Corruption Prevention and Control (2005), Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control (2007), the Law on Gender Equality (2011),... The fore-said laws have truly come into life and taken their effect. In the amendment draft of the 1992 Constitution filed to be approved by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, for the first time, there is a separate chapter that prescribes human rights, rights and obligations of citizens, in which citizens' rights, human rights to civil, political, economic, social and cultural issues are fully compiled compatible with the international conventions on human rights. To date, Vietnam has participated in most of the international convention on human rights. This asserted that basically, the legal system of Vietnam has been compatible with the system of UN international conventions on human rights.

Alongside, on the basis of the foreign policy of independence and self-reliance, the foreign policy of Vietnam on human rights shall comply with the following principles: consistency, positivity, responsibility and in conformity to the international standards of human rights. As a member of the United Nations, Vietnam has participated in and contributed to and taken its responsibility on many international issues, including the field of human rights. Vietnam has been striving for effective implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and actively cooperated with the international community to peacemaking, hunger eradication and poverty reduction and strategic trust-building. Vietnam attaches great importance to the universal mechanism of periodic review and has seriously conducted the report on the initial review on May 8th, 2009. Many delegates of the meeting praised Vietnam's report for its objectivity, honesty and creativity in ensuring the human rights in the conditions of a developing country. Vietnam has also approved and strictly implemented the recommendations in the Review 01, to enhance dialogue following the mode of "Special Procedures". Since January 7th, 2010, Vietnam has welcomed  four Special Procedures representatives of the United Nations on the issues of ethnic minorities, extreme poverty and human rights, and the right to health care. In the upcoming time, Vietnam will welcome the  Special Procedures representatives on the Right to Education, the Right to Food, the Right to Culture as committed in the international conventions on human rights; simultaneously, Vietnam will continue to deem to reception of  some other Special Procedures representatives. Currently, six United Nations’ organizations are running in countries worldwide, including United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Program of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM). To implement the initiative "One UN", in order to seek an effective coordination between these organizations, the United Nations has chosen Vietnam as one of the  eight countries for a pilot implementation. Since  the end of  2005, Vietnam has rapidly established thematic working groups to support the implementation of the initiative. The government effectively carried out the stage 01 of this initiative program and was highly appreciated by other countries for its activeness and creativity. This, once again, reflects the spirit of high responsibility of Vietnam to the United Nations. In bilateral relations, Vietnam has also strengthened its cooperation and dialogue with other nations on human rights; maintaining annual dialogue mechanism of human rights with many countries, including the U.S., EU and Switzerland, ... Vietnam also has made practical contributions to strengthening cooperation in human rights within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly, in the establishment and operation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human rights (AICHR) and building the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration that was adopted during the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh (November 2012). As regards the relationship with the United States,  human rights are an issue that has been inherent throughout the historical periods. It is not denied that, until now, there have still existed many differences in perceptions, particular perspectives between Vietnam and the United States, however, through dialogues; both sides have expressed their own frank and open perspectives.

In fact, Vietnam is facing a fierce opposition of persons who bear in their mind extreme and domineering viewpoints on human rights. They have plotted to make corrupt use of democracy, human rights to overturn the current society and the State in power, forcing Vietnam to transform to models of "exotic" democracy and human rights. They have distorted, falsely accused of Vietnam violating the right to freedom of the speech, freedom of the press, arresting and imprisoning the so-called "dissidents", including bloggers; that Vietnam has brutally treated religions with the evidence of trials of  the 14 believers in Nghe An, 20 people in Phu Yen or "Ha Mon" religion in the Central Highlands. Recently, to take advantage of  the riot by parishioners in Trai Giao diocese, My Yen parish (Nghi Phuong Commune, Nghi Loc District, Nghe An Province) they have tried to fool others by equating the fact of Vietnam prosecuting the citizens who violated the law with religious persecution. Those groups and individuals who were on trial and punished by law not for the fact that they follow either this religion or that religion, but because they caused social disorder and instability, and violated the national security. In every country throughout the world, the laws must be exercised so as to both protect order and safety of the society, and ensure human rights and social regime, and Vietnam is no exception. The  Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam contains a number of articles, such as Article 88 "The crime of conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" and Article 258 "The crime of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State  ...", Article 79 "The crime of carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration " ; ... to resolutely address breaches of laws, undermining the social system. This is natural and appropriate with the international laws.

Given these theoretical, historical and practical foundations, Vietnam is a responsible member of the human rights  system of the United Nations and deserves not only a candidate, but also a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the  term 2014 - 2016.

Senior Lecturer, Dr. Cao Duc Thai

Former Director, the Institute of Human- Rights Studies

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration (HCMA)