Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The United Nations and participating countries have said that Vietnam’s periodic review on human rights had been well prepared and involved many State agencies and socio-political as well as professional organisations, said Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.
The Deputy Foreign Minister met with representatives of the diplomatic corps, UN agencies, international and Vietnamese organisations in Hanoi on June 4 to inform them about the results of the fifth session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva from May 8-12.
According to the countries taking part, the review represented in a comprehensive and open manner Vietnam’s consistent policy on ensuring human rights and the effects of this policy on the country, said Minh, who was Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the UPR Working Group’s fifth session.
He added that they highly valued Vietnam’s efforts to create essential policies, legislation and administrative reforms to ensure democracy as well as its superb achievements in developing the economy. The country has also addressed social issues, boosted gender equality, reduced poverty and improved people’s lives, especially ethnic minority people and vulnerable groups such as children and the disabled.
The diplomat also reported the Vietnamese delegation’s viewpoints rejecting several flawed arguments.
He said that the UPR Working Group had adopted Vietnam’s UPR at the session and Vietnamese agencies will complete the review’s contents which will be submitted to the Human Rights Council for official approval in September this year.
The UPR was created by the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006, to review the human rights records of every country. Up to now, 80 UN members have presented their reviews using this mechanism./.