Vietnam’s human rights report posted on website

April 24, 2009

By VietNamNet/VOV

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made public on its website the National Report to Review Implementation of Human Rights in Vietnam.

The 22-page report will be presented to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on May 8.

The report covers basic information about Vietnam, protection and promotion of human rights at the national level, including civil rights, political rights, socio-economic, and cultural rights, and rights of vulnerable groups like children, women, ethnic minorities and disabled people.

The report also includes five points concerning implementation of human rights in Vietnam. One states that the public should be put at the centre of the country’s development, and another says that implementation of human rights should not be separated from national independence and national sovereignty.

The report says the State of Vietnam considers humans the target and motivation of all socio-economic development policies, and persists in assuring and promoting human rights.

According to the report, after more than 20 year of national renewal, Vietnam has gained many important socio-economic achievements.

All economic sectors have been given a boost to develop, thus considerably contributing to national development.

On civil and political rights, the report shows that since 1986, Vietnam has issued and revised 13,000 legal documents and sub-documents in connection with civil and political rights.
Regarding the freedom of speech, freedom of the press and information and other rights of the Vietnamese people, the report indicates that by the end of last year, the country had more than 700 press agencies, nearly 15,000 journalists, 68 television and radio stations and 80 online newspapers, thousands of news websites and blogs and 55 publishing houses.

According to the report, Vietnam now has about 20 million people following different religions and 80 percent of people have religious belief in lives. The State of Vietnam considers religion and belief a legitimate demand of people. There are 12 religions in total, the most dominant of which are Buddhism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Religious activities and services, especially annual ceremonies, are held with the participation of hundreds of thousands of followers.