The event was held on the occasion of International Human Rights Day and captured the attention and participation of many ambassadors and representatives of both permanent and observer delegations to the UN.

At the function, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet thanked the countries for their trust in electing Vietnam to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023 to 2025 term.

Affirming that in its role as a member over the past two years, Deputy Minister Viet said that Vietnam has enhanced priorities on protecting vulnerable groups, promoting gender equality, labour rights, the right to health care, the right to education, and chaired the Resolutions on “Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA)” and on “Climate Change and Human Rights”, marking the country’s imprints at the UN’s main body for protecting human rights.

Deputy Minister Viet emphasized that the country’s remarkable socio-economic achievements after nearly 40 years of renovation are the result of the policy of putting people at the centre of all development policies and are a balanced approach to promoting human rights comprehensively, ranging from civil and political rights to economic, social, and cultural rights. This is as well as prioritising care and protection of vulnerable groups, in addition to the great efforts made by Vietnamese people both at home and abroad.

In that spirit, Deputy Minister Viet asked countries to continue supporting the nation’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the 2026 to 2028 term, while strongly affirming that if elected, the country will continue to participate in an active, constructive, and responsible manner. It will strive to speed up the implementation of the common goals of the Human Rights Council to ensure better and better enjoyment of human rights for all people around the world.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the UN, assessed Vietnam to be a country with a tradition of standing for freedom and justice. The nation is now a very important country within the international community, whilst being an active and responsible member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the G77 Group and China, the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the UN in general.

Ambassador Mansour expressed his belief that Vietnam will serve another term at the UN Human Rights Council.

VOV