Human rights in Vietnam positively recognized by international friends

The current human rights situation in the country is being more objectively recognised globally, despite facing many distorting claims of hostile and opposing forces.

The nation is an important partner of the UN and has made many substantial and effective contributions to peacekeeping operations. This positive relationship must be further strengthened moving forward in order to promote peace, sustainable development, and human rights worldwide, according to the latest assessment by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Jean-Pierre Archambault, former General Secretary of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, said that maintaining a good human rights record is one of the achievements of the Doi Moi (Renewal) process in Vietnam. Indeed, the results achieved in ensuring human rights in the country are undeniable, he emphasised.

It is therefore no coincidence that the nation has been nominated by ASEAN to represent the bloc to participate in the UN Human Rights Council candidacy for the 2023 to 2025 term.

According to Caitlin Wiesen, former chief resident representative of the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, among the many achievements and progress that she is impressed with about Vietnam compared to other regional countries, it is the nation’s poverty alleviation efforts.

Extreme poverty in Vietnam has fallen from a peak of roughly 40% in the 1990s to less than 5% in 2020, with this representing an extraordinary change.

Furthermore, during the past two years of the pandemic, Wiesen also highly appreciates the various achievements that the Vietnamese Government has recorded in ensuring the safety of citizens, with the motto "leaving no one behind".

The Vietnamese Government has received great praise from the people and the international community as a whole for proactively forecasting the pandemic situation, being quick, flexible, and effective in controlling the spread of the virus.

Strong leadership coupled with prompt and transparent measures with people's safety as the top priorities are viewed as key factors in consolidating public trust and support for the Government and its leaders, Wiesen stressed.

Timely financial support given by the Vietnamese Government to the people and businesses during the pandemic guaranteed people had the right to access essential necessities, as well as the right to medical care, travel, and online education.

Overseas Vietnamese can return home with open arms.

Hervé Conan, country director of the French Development Agency, has been greatly impressed by Vietnamese achievements in promoting gender equality.

The image of a woman today is completely different to that of 30 years ago, which in a bygone era was always associated with cooking and taking care of the house. The Vietnamese Government has made great strides in promoting gender equality and boosting women's empowerment.

The nation has played a highly active role in promoting gender equality globally, being one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) more than 40 years ago. This was followed by the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Conan noted.

Meanwhile, the members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) also applauded Vietnamese achievements in ensuring children's rights. This can be seen through the improvement and amendments of Government law when promulgating the 2016 Child Law to replace the 2004 Law on Child Care, Protection and Education.

Many international politicians and scholars have stated how impressed they have been by the numerous successes that the country has achieved after more than 30 years of pursuing the renewal process. Successful examples include socio-economic development, human rights, and the fulfillment of many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of schedule.

According to the UN, the Human Development Index (HDI) in the country has continuously increased over recent years and is now in the group of high human development, ranking 115 out of 191 countries and territories globally.

In relation to freedom on the Internet, as well as speech, the press, and use of social networks, Vietnam ranks among the leading nations worldwide.

As We Are Social & Hootsuite has reported on the Internet accessibility index, the country has 150 million mobile connections and around 70 million internet users.

3G/4G infrastructure covers 99.8% of the national population and fiber optic internet has now reached 98% of wards and communes nationwide.

Press freedom is shown specifically with the fact that the entire country is home to approximately 800 press agencies, more than 100 media agencies operating online newspapers, more than 600 magazines, and 25 independent online press agencies.

Despite continued misrepresentation and hostility, the international community appreciates human rights in Vietnam, particularly as it has recorded obtained "undeniable" achievements.

With the Vietnamese candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council being put forward for the second time, Prof. James Borton, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute under Johns Hopkins University, said this not only deepens integration into the international system, but also provides an opportunity to further promote human rights in the region.