Viet Nam Human Rights
Around the right to an adequate environment
1/8/16
At first, you may be curious about what link between
environment and human rights, but the enjoyment of all human rights is
closely linked to the environmental issue. Not only rights to life and health
in the first place, but also other social, economic, cultural, as well as
political and civil rights, can be fully enjoyed only in a sound environment.
“…when
governments around the world fail to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases
leading to global climate change," said the UN Independent Expert on human
rights and the environment, John Knox, "they fail to protect many human
rights, including rights to life, health, property, development, and
self-determination, of people living in vulnerable communities such as those in
low-lying coastal areas and in the polar region."
More than 2 million annual deaths and billions of cases of
diseases are attributed to pollution. All over the world, people experience the
negative effects of environmental degradation ecosystems decline, including
water shortage, fisheries depletion, natural disasters due to deforestation and
unsafe management and disposal of toxic and dangerous wastes and products.
Indigenous peoples suffer directly from the degradation of the ecosystems that
they rely upon for their livelihoods. Climate change is exacerbating many of
these negative effects of environmental degradation on human health and
wellbeing and is also causing new ones, including an increase in extreme
weather events and an increase in spread of malaria and other vector born
diseases. These facts clearly show the close linkages between the environment
and the enjoyment of human rights, and justify an integrated approach to
environment and human rights.
Besides
the undeniable interdependence between the environmental issue and all human
rights, a new human right - the right to an adequate environment - is emerging.
This right, still not precisely formulated, appears in documents and in
literature, in some cases as a collective and in other cases as an individual
human right.
The right to an adequate environment
or, as it is termed in some texts, a satisfactory environment, is one of the
so-called third-generation or solidarity rights. It can be found in
international documents of both a declaratory and formally binding nature, as
well as in domestic legislative and other acts of a number of countries,
including some constitutions.7 The
African Charter, for instance, proclaims that: "All peoples shall have the
right to a general satisfactory environment favourable to their
development."8 In
the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
(Stockholm, 1972) it appears, however, also as an individual right. The
Declaration states that: "Man has the fundamental right to freedom,
equality and adequate conditions of life in an environment of a quality that
permits a life of dignity and well-being and he bears a solemn responsibility
to protect and improve the environment for present and future
generations." It appears as
an individual right also in the report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development, which proposes, as one of the legal principles for
environmental protection and sustainable development, that: "All human
beings have the fundamental right to an environment adequate for their health
and well-being." Finally, it
should be noted that elements of this right can be found in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in both Covenants, although the environment as such is
scarcely mentioned in the documents.
Right in its first Platform, the
Communist Party of Viet Nam identified the noble objective of the revolution
was to bring about freedom and happiness to the Vietnamese people. It is the
highest connotation of human rights. The task of struggle for democracy
(including human rights) is put on a par with the task of struggle for national
liberation. Implementing the Party and State’s consistent lines and policies to
ensure and promote human rights, particularly in the nearly 30 years of comprehensive
renovation of the country, Viet Nam has made great and substantive
achievements, creating precedent for better guarantee of human rights. Per
capita income has increased by 7 folds, from US$ 200 in 1990 to US$ 1,960 in
2013. The number of poor households has remarkably and continuously decreased
from 13.7% in 2008 to 7.8% in 2013. The Report on Human Development Index (HDI)
of the United Nations Development Program recognized that Viet Nam was one of
the 10 countries having the highest growth rate of income in 40 years.
International community considers Viet Nam as an example in poverty reduction
and food security. By now, Viet Nam has achieved all Millennium Development
Goals in 2015. Viet Nam has recorded positive results in universalization of
education, promotion of gender equality, raising Human Development Index,
ensuring religious practices, belief, information freedom, internet access and
other fields.
However, it’s admitted that
environmental issues are becoming a real obstacle to enjoyment of human rights.
And this issue also raises many misunderstandings between the government and
people, posing threats to the national security. Typically, the disaster of
massive fish deaths in the central provinces of Vietnam recently has caused
many problems for Vietnam’s economy and security. People either misunderstood
or were deceived and incited by hostile forces, such as the terrorist group
Viet Tan, to rally to protest the government. Even after the government issued
a report of causes and culprit, people have still been incited to demonstrate
against the report and held many wrong activities.
It’s still in mind that the demonstrations on
the very delicate and complex situation in the South China Sea in 2014 which
turn to violence and thuggery have undermined the country’s credibility and
image in the international community. So, I think everyone should reconsider
their statements and deeds even in the name of patriotism. Let the government
does its jobs and help to discover schemes and activities in the name of human
rights to hinder the process of national construction and development on the
path to socialism./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) expressed concern on Thursday over the impact of mysterious mass fish deaths along Vietnam’s central coast on the enjoyment of human rights in the country, in particular, the right to health and food.
Vietnam has made remarkable strides in many ways—the economy is growing quickly, the Internet is booming and there’s a growing confidence, but there's still many things to do with environment.
A healthy environment is a basic condition for enjoyment of human rights and democracy.
You can see the government tends to allow protests to take place when they concern environment issues. That shows freedom of expression in Vietnam now.
The right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, recognized in the International Covenant on Cultural, Economic and Social Rights, to which Viet Nam is a party.
Viet Nam has become party to most of the core international human rights treaties and is considering to accede to the rest of them. To the best of its capacity, Viet Nam has implemented its obligations under these treaties through legislative, administrative, juridical and educative measures.
In my opinion, Formosa should be out of Vietnam for a good environment!
All human beings depend on the environment in which we live. A safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation.
Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfil our aspirations or even live at a level commensurate with minimum standards of human dignity.
In recent years, the recognition of the links between human rights and the environment has greatly increased.
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