Vietnam became the latest country to join the 1984 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) when Ambassador Le Hoai Trung signed the convention at the United Nations headquarters on November 7. This makes Vietnam the 81st signatory to the UNCAT. Speaking after the signing, Ambassador Trung underlined that by becoming a signatory to the UNCAT, Vietnam once again reaffirms its unwavering commitment to prevent all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of persons and to better protect and promote fundamental human rights. Signing the Convention is also a concrete step in Vietnam’s proactive and rigorous international integration process and underlines Vietnam’s willingness to be an active and responsible member of the international community, he said The diplomat expressed his belief that this will also be an opportunity for Vietnam to further improve its legal system to better protect and promote human rights in Vietnam. The UNCAT was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1984. It came into force on June 26, 1987 after it had been ratified by 20 states.
It requires state parties to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to transfer people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.-VNA
