Vietnam will work harder to ensure human rights: ambassador

Geneva (VNA) – Vietnam will make efforts to ensure that its citizens fully enjoy human rights, said Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the permanent Vietnamese mission to the UN, WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland.  

Addressing a panel discussion within the framework of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on February 28, Ambassador Dung affirmed that Vietnam has seriously implemented international human rights commitments.

He cited the country’s completion of a national report on the implementation of the International Convention against Torture and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

Vietnam has also materialised recommendations accepted in line with the UNHRC’s second-cycle universal periodical review, the ambassador added.

He highlighted Vietnam’s priorities and initiatives at the UNHRC such as introducing the annual resolution on climate change and human rights and organising international seminars regarding the protection of vulnerable groups’ human rights.

On the sidelines of the 37th session, the Vietnamese mission organised a seminar on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in promoting economic, cultural and social rights and reducing inequality, on February 27, he said.

Vietnam will make more contributions to help the UNHRC become an effective mechanism in protecting and promoting human rights, he emphasised.

Dung used the occasion to introduce Vietnam’s achievements such as its implementation of national action programmes on realising the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The country has also carried out programmes to support people, especially vulnerable groups, in accessing social services, he said.

The same day, Ambassador Dung attended a high-level panel discussion marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

Speaking at the event, he called on the international community to enhance cooperation and dialogue, handle inequality and ensure that globalisation and the fourth industrial revolution benefit all people.-VNA