The Vietnamese delegation met delegates attending the 18th meeting on UPR at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism established by the Human Rights Council in 2008 to periodically review the situation of human rights protection and promotion in all the United Nations member countries above. Equal spirit, constructive dialogue. Vietnam participates in promoting UPR cycles and fully and seriously implements the recommendations received.

Within the framework of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Third Cycle of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Vietnamese Delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung with the participation of 11 ministries. , a related branch, had dialogues with 122 UN member countries about the promotion and protection of human rights in Vietnam.

At this Dialogue, Vietnam received more than 300 recommendations from countries with very diverse content, covering all areas of human rights. Relevant Vietnamese agencies will carefully study and review the recommendations received to report to the Prime Minister. It is expected that Vietnam will officially announce the approved recommendations at the regular meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2019.

Responsibilities and efforts to protect human rights

The UPR Country Report, cycle III, provides a comprehensive overview of human rights protection in Vietnam since the previous review, updated laws and policies related to human rights, and information on the protection results. ensure human rights in all areas and review the implementation of recommendations that Vietnam has accepted in cycle II.

According to Vietnam's Third Cycle UPR Report, as of October 2018, Vietnam has implemented 175 of the 182 recommendations that Vietnam accepted in the second cycle (accounting for 96.2%). The remaining seven recommendations are being implemented or considered for implementation at appropriate times. Vietnam's outstanding achievement in ensuring human rights is the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, which amended and promulgated more than 90 legal documents related to ensuring human rights and citizens' rights.

For many years, Vietnam maintained an economic growth rate of over 6%, while focusing on social development, sharply reducing the poverty rate to 5.2% in 2016, reducing the multi-dimensional poverty rate to 7.69% in 2017. The right to education, health care and housing has been greatly improved, nationwide, including universal preschool education and primary education universalization.

Gender equality has continuously improved with the proportion of women deputies in the National Assembly and People's Councils at around 27%, a high rate compared to other countries in the region. Religious and religious life is increasingly rich with more than 95% of the population having religious life and thousands of religious and religious festivals take place every year. Vietnam is also one of the countries with the fastest increase in internet users in the world, with 50 million internet users.

Actively participate in forums related to human rights

Vietnam has proactively launched and welcomed the international community's initiatives on human rights, especially on issues related to ensuring the rights of women, children, people with disabilities and those affected by climate change. Photo LAD

Along with the above achievements, Vietnam has always strived to contribute positively to the common, positive and progressive values of humanity on human rights. Vietnam actively participates in human rights forums of the United Nations, ASEAN and other mechanisms.

At these forums, Vietnam has proactively launched and welcomed the international community's initiatives on human rights, especially on the contents related to ensuring the rights of women, children and people with disabilities, People affected by climate change ... In 2016 and 2018, Vietnam took the lead in introducing and being approved by the Human Rights Council two resolutions on the impact of climate change on children's rights and on women's rights.

Vietnam has always taken seriously the implementation of international human rights commitments, including the implementation of 7/9 basic conventions on human rights to which Vietnam is a party and its commitments under the mechanism. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations.

In the coming time, in order to ensure the best rights for all people, Vietnam will strive to improve the rule of law state, strengthen the legal foundation and policies related to the protection and promotion of human rights. In particular, Vietnam continues to promote the implementation of a "government for the people", administrative reform and improvement of public service quality, prevention of bureaucracy, corruption, promotion of democracy and improvement of effectiveness. force of the State apparatus.

Vietnam is committed to furthering the implementation of the SDGs, focusing on policies to reduce multidimensional poverty, narrowing the development gap between geographic areas, population groups, and It pays special attention to vulnerable groups.

Vietnam will also continue to support dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights, together with countries around the world to contribute and enrich human values of human rights.

Most of the stated countries have noted the achievements and encouraged Vietnam to continue efforts to ensure human rights, especially in the fields of economy, society, culture, and social security. hunger eradication and poverty reduction, ensuring the rights of vulnerable groups such as women, children, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities; welcomes and appreciates Vietnam's seriousness in implementing the approved UPR recommendations in cycle II, as well as the development of the third cycle UPR Report.

Minh Van