Hanoi (VNA) – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document in the history of human rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, remains relevant today, heard a seminar in Hanoi on December 14.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations and sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Quoc Ly, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics said based on UDHR provisions on rights, the UN General Assembly adopted over 30 international conventions pertaining to human rights.

Vietnam has over the past 30 years joined in almost all important UN conventions on human rights and her consistent policy is ensuring, protecting, and promoting human rights, he said.

[Infographics: Vietnam's achievements in guaranteeing human rights]

The country has beefed up communications to raise awareness of people, especially youngsters, of human rights, he told participants, adding that the Ho Chi Minh National  Academy of Politics and other agencies are working to implement the Prime Minister’s Decision 1309/QĐ-TTg on making the human rights content as part of the education programme of the national education system.

Associate Professor Dr. Tuong Duy Kien, Director General of the Institute of Human Rights under the Academy said the UDHR bears more political and ethical values than creating a legal document to bind responsibility of countries.

He said the UDHR provisions remain relevant and have been used to assess actions taken by governments worldwide and prevent the abuse of power to violate and trample on human rights.

In Vietnam, principles and values relating to human rights, freedom and democracy have been prescribed in the Constitution in 1946.

Especially, the 2013 Constitution provides more clarity in the universal principles and values on human rights recognized globally. And, normative documents issued after the constitution institutionalized the principles on respecting and safeguarding human rights, ensuring these principles comply harmoniously with international principles and standards on human rights.

Participants discussed ethical, political and legal backgrounds for the respect, protection and promotion of human rights; cultural diversity in UDHR; and more.-VNA
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