Providing free medical examinations, health consultations, and medication to the people contributes to ensuring human rights in Vietnam.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council that periodically examines human rights performance through a review of policies, laws, measures, and results achieved in protecting and promoting human rights in 193 member states. Since the establishment of the UPR in 2008, Vietnam has fully and responsibly participated in all cycles.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet - Head of the Vietnamese delegation - affirmed that this position was built on the basis of a thorough review of the recommendations with the full participation of relevant agencies. A comprehensive plan to implement these recommendations is expected to be developed and implemented in the near future in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation.

Regarding the UPR national report for the fourth cycle, Vietnam prepared and defended it concurrently with several national reports on the implementation of human rights treaties and the Voluntary Review report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, Vietnam has a solid foundation to relatively fully identify the content that needs to be prepared for dialogue with other countries.

The content of the 4th Cycle Report focused on reviewing the implementation of the UPR recommendations that Vietnam accepted in the previous review and updating new developments in protecting and promoting human rights in Vietnam. The report also highlighted remaining challenges and Vietnam's priority directions for the future to ensure better enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms for every citizen. The report was comprehensively prepared with contributions from state agencies, socio-political organizations, professional organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the public.

In his opening remarks at the Dialogue Session on Vietnam's National Report under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Mechanism, Cycle IV, of the United Nations Human Rights Council on May 7th, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet affirmed: “Vietnam's commitment to human rights is affirmed in the Vietnamese Constitution and laws, guaranteed in practice, and has achieved concrete results, especially during nearly four decades of Doi Moi (Renovation). Significant changes have occurred throughout the country and in the lives of the Vietnamese people.”

This has been proven in practice: from a country dependent on foreign aid, Vietnam has become one of the world's leading agricultural exporters, contributing to food security in the region and the world. Once among the poorest countries in the world, Vietnam has transformed itself into one of the fastest-growing economies. Between 1989 and 2023, Vietnam's GDP per capita increased 40 times.

In the two decades since 1993, more than 40 million people have been lifted out of poverty. And in the 15 years since 2005, the multidimensional poverty rate has halved. During his visit to Vietnam in 2022, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres assessed these results as “clear evidence of the resilience and efforts of the Vietnamese people, and of people-centered development policies.”

Attending the recent 57th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, representatives from various countries and numerous international organizations and non-governmental organizations highly appreciated Vietnam's serious participation and acknowledged its progress in all aspects, including improving institutions and laws on human rights, socio-economic development, innovation, sustainable poverty reduction, ensuring social security, and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups.

Looking back from the first UPR cycle to the present, Vietnam has made significant progress in guaranteeing and promoting human rights. Vietnam has continuously improved its legal system, particularly with the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, which includes a dedicated chapter on human rights. Based on this Constitution, Vietnam has subsequently developed and refined over 100 different legal documents. Vietnam has also seriously fulfilled its international commitments and cooperated internationally on human rights.

To date, Vietnam has ratified 7 out of 9 fundamental international human rights treaties and 25 international labor rights conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The implementation of these treaties has been carried out seriously and rigorously through a comprehensive legal framework and policy system, achieving comprehensive results. Vietnam always values ​​dialogue and cooperation with other countries and partners in protecting and promoting human rights.

At multilateral forums such as the General Assembly, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and ASEAN, Vietnam has actively participated and contributed to the common concerns of the international community, proposing initiatives and cooperating and exchanging ideas with other countries and relevant mechanisms, which have been recognized and highly appreciated by other countries.

Vietnam currently holds the position of member of the Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, with eight major priorities in the following areas: Enhancing the effectiveness of the Human Rights Council in upholding international law; Human rights in the context of climate change; Combating violence and discrimination, strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups; Promoting gender equality; Human rights in the context of digital transformation; Right to health; Right to work; Right to access quality education and human rights education.

However, with an extreme, biased, and ill-intentioned perspective, immediately after the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Vietnam's UPR Report for the fourth cycle, some organizations and individuals promptly expressed dissatisfaction with the results, making inaccurate, biased, and misleading assessments of the human rights situation in Vietnam, and attacking Vietnam's implementation of the recommendations under the UPR mechanism.

For example, there are distortions such as claiming that "Vietnam's national security laws are very vague, and Vietnam wants to use these laws to arrest anyone who criticizes the government"; "human rights activists will always live in an atmosphere of fear because they can be arrested at any time"... At the same time, some organizations and individuals continue to call for the release of those they call "prisoners of conscience," "human rights activists," criticizing the Vietnamese government for imprisoning these people for exercising their basic rights.

In fact, not just now, but for many years, hostile forces have consistently exploited issues of religion, ethnicity, human rights, etc., to undermine Vietnam's revolutionary cause. In particular, the issue of human rights is often used to distort, falsely accuse, and smear Vietnam in many sophisticated, insidious, and deceitful ways.

It must be stated that in Vietnam there are no so-called "prisoners of conscience," "human rights activists," or "dissidents." No individual is arrested for freely expressing their opinions; in reality, these are simply individuals who violate the law and are prosecuted and dealt with by the authorities according to regulations. The arrest and public, transparent trial of individuals who violate the law, threaten national security, or endanger society and the community, in accordance with the law, is perfectly normal.

However, these individuals facing criminal prosecution are being promoted by some ill-intentioned international organizations, reactionary elements, and political opportunists, who bestow upon them the titles of "prisoners of conscience" and "human rights activists," while ignoring the fact that their actions violate the law, disrupt social order and security, undermine the regime, and call for the overthrow of the government—things that have nothing to do with so-called "conscience" or "protecting human rights"!

Like all independent and sovereign nations in the world, Vietnam respects and guarantees fundamental human rights through its legal system. Therefore, the exercise of human rights and civil rights must not infringe upon national interests, the interests of the nation, or the legitimate rights and interests of others.

The act of labeling these individuals as "prisoners of conscience," "human rights activists," etc., is essentially a tactic of misrepresenting concepts to deceive domestic and international public opinion. It deliberately transforms individuals masquerading as democrats, exploiting democracy and human rights to undermine the country, violate the law, and commit crimes, into courageous citizens and "flags" fighting for so-called democracy and human rights, aiming to undermine and falsely accuse the Vietnamese Communist Party and the State.

This also serves as a pretext for extremist and ill-intentioned organizations and individuals to support, incite, and promote acts of sabotage, law violations, and undermining the country's construction and development. By clinging to these groups, reactionary forces deliberately undermine Vietnam's prestige internationally, creating a pretext to interfere in our country's internal affairs.

It is important to recognize that while human rights are a universal global issue, each nation and people, depending on its cultural and historical characteristics, will have its own standards and regulations. Therefore, imposing external criteria on other countries or attempting to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations is contrary to United Nations regulations and must be resolutely condemned and prevented.

Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper