The Committee for Ethnic Minorities (CEM) and the EU Delegation in Vietnam are co-hosting a workshop on international human rights standards with a focus on ethnic minorities, which opened in the central province of Khanh Hoa on October 23.

The three-day event in the framework of the EU-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue Facility programme aims to improve the understanding and knowledge in the field for officials of provincial and district levels and take note of Vietnam’s achievements in enforcing policies on ethnic minority groups’ rights.

Addressing the opening session, Deputy Minister, CEM Vice Chairman Hoang Xuan Luong stressed Vietnam’s consistent policy of ensuring and promoting human rights, including the rights for ethnic minorities.

Ewa Chylinski, senior expert of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) presented an overview on international treaties and the United Nation’s law on human rights for ethnic minority groups, as well as the laws and experiences in this field of EU and ASEAN countries.

Discussions at the seminar also deal with Vietnam’s policies for ethnic minority groups at present and solutions to ensure ethnic minority groups’ rights in the time ahead.

Discussing tasks that Vietnam will carry out in the near future to promote the exercise of human rights in general and the rights of ethnic minority groups in particular, Deputy Minister Luong said the country is preparing to joint three more UN conventions on human rights, as well as to launch a Government Plan of Action to implement the strategy on ethnic affairs to 2020. The National Assembly is also scheduled to complete a Law on Ethnic Affairs by 2020.

The workshop drew over 60 representatives from relevant ministries and sectors and officials of five Central and Central Highlands provinces, namely Phu Yen, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa.-VNA