The Ministry of Justice held a forum for policy dialogue on perfecting laws on human rights in Hanoi on May 23.

The forum aimed to update information and discuss issues relating to the improvement of laws on human rights in Vietnam .

In his opening remark, Deputy Minister of Justice Hoang The Lien stressed that the Vietnamese State always pays special attention to protecting human rights.

He noted that at national level, basic human rights are acknowledged in the Constitution, institutionalised in many laws and legal documents, and implemented in reality.

At international level, Vietnam has actively participated in and strictly observed important international treaties on human rights such as the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the 1979 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

In 2011, the country conducted two studies as part of a project to strengthen access to justice and rights protection in Vietnam to review contradictions and overlaps in the legal system on some civil and political rights, as well as to assess the compatibility of criminal and criminal procedure laws with international conventions on human rights to which Vietnam is a member.

Setsuko Yamazaki, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, said the issue of enforcement is very important for implementing human rights and the effects of legal regulations will be limited if there is no suitable enforcement mechanism.

Participants at the event discussed the role of the Ministry of Justice in perfecting laws on human rights and implementing Universal Periodic Review recommendations.

They heard reports on reviewing the regulations of Vietnamese law on some civil and political rights and assessing the compatibility of the criminal and criminal procedure laws with international conventions on human rights.-VNA