Vietnam detailed its efforts and achievements in protecting and promoting civil and political rights at a UN Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva on March 11.

Under Vietnam’s third national report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) shared at the 125th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, Switzerland, from March 11-12, Vietnam has made strong development achievements in all fields, including in protecting and promoting civil and political rights.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Ngoc Khanh stressed that strong reforms and changes have been not only recorded in economics but also in the fields of law, justice, non-discrimination, public administration and the promotion and protection of basic human rights and freedom.

The material and spiritual lives of the country’s citizens have improved, Khanh said, adding that all reform efforts have been made in peace and with public support. 

At the event, Vietnam submitted the report and another in reply to a list of issues of interest of the UN Human Rights Committee. They all showed Vietnam’s efforts in improving policies and regulations on human rights as well as the country’s development in protecting and promoting civil and political rights after the second report presented in 2002. 

Dialogues at the event help the UN commission and nations see Vietnam’s progress in protecting and promoting human rights. 

It also helps member nations of the commission understand more about commitments of the Vietnamese Government, achievements, as well as challenges facing the country in protecting and promoting rights and freedoms. 

The ICCPR is an international human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1966.-VNA