The draft Law on Belief and Religion should institutionalise the Party’s viewpoints and the 2013 Constitution in order to ensure the right to belief and religious freedom of all people, as heard at an expert consultation held in Hanoi on July 23.

Dao Trong Thi, Head of the National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, said that the 2013 Constitution stipulates the right to belief and religious freedom is one of the basic and important human rights, respected and protected by the State.

As such, it is necessary to issue the Law on Belief and Religion to realise the Constitution’s regulations, he added.

Delegates noted that during the 10-year implementation of the Ordinance on Belief and Religion, many shortcomings arose amid the development of religious and belief activities, requiring renovations of the law system.

While drafting the law, Ngo Huu Thao from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration emphasised the need to consult international laws relating to the right to religious freedom, collect public opinions, and conform to the Party’s viewpoints and the Constitution’s regulations on religion and religious affairs.

Former Head of the NA Committee for Cultural, Education, Youth and Children Tran Thi Tam Dan suggested the drafting board look carefully at the organisation, the operation and the management system of belief and religion to determine the similarities and dissimilarities of belief and region in considering whether to combine them into one law or divide it into two legal documents.

As scheduled, the draft law, which comprises 11 chapters, 12 items and 69 articles, will be debated for the first time at the 10 th session of the 13 th National Assembly and is expected to be adopted at the second session of the 14 th NA in October 2016.-VNA