Addressing the sixth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York on May 18, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Nguyen Tat Thanh stressed the need to ensure harmony between economic growth and social justice, and to preserve the cultural identity of all ethnic groups, who currently make up 12 percent of the country’s total population in order to achieve sustainable development.

Mr Thanh said the Vietnamese government have set certain targets to improve livelihoods and progressively meet material and spiritual needs of ethnic minorities through poverty reduction and job generation programmes, and to increase their access to basic services such as transportation systems, irrigation, electricity, water, schools and clinics with a view to ensuring balanced development among regions.

The Vietnamese diplomat went on to say that Vietnam is striving to “ensure that socio-economic development is not detrimental to any particular and distinguished ethnic groups by preserving and enriching their cultural lives, assisting the organization of various cultural events, and increasing the radio and television coverage of areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups with increasing components in ethnic languages”.

Vietnam has also focused on improving the healthcare and educational services for ethnic minority groups, developing ethnic writing systems and further implementing land, housing and water policies for them, Mr Thanh added.

The sixth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, that took place from May 14-18, discussed measures to reduce poverty for indigenous people in countries pursuing the implementation of Millennium Development Goals.