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Vietnam’s human rights achievements are irrefutable (Part 1)

1/1/18
In today’s world, human rights are considered as a universal value of human kind and a fundamental legal regulation of law-ruled states regardless of their political regime and development level. Yet, in practice, human rights are always of some particularities because of historical tradition, cultural identity and political regime. As a result, it is common sense to find differences in human rights amongst nations and peoples.
In Vietnam, human rights and citizens’ rights are the fruit of the Party-led August 1945 Revolution. The 1946 Constitution - the first Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, present-day Socialist Republic of Vietnam, fully prescribed citizens’ rights which included human rights and foreigners’ rights to reside lawfully in Vietnam despite the fact that this document made no mention of the definition of human rights.
Undeniably, over the course of the war years, human rights issue in Vietnam, to some extent, still exposed some limitations due to “centrally planned” and “subsidized” economy and theoretical tunnel vision. Still, since 1986, Vietnam has shifted to a new model of socialism in which it has built a socialist law-governed state of the people, by the people, and for the people and pursued a socialist-oriented market economy with a view to the goal of prosperous people and strong, democratic, equitable, and civilized nation”; hence, citizens’ and human rights have always been fully guaranteed.
However, given sinister motives and conservative political thinking, some of the U.S. and EU agencies and organizations have discriminated against our State and political regime. They take “democracy” and “human rights” issues as a pretext for accusing Vietnam of violating human rights. For instance, a group of the US radical Representatives usually conduct “hearings” on “Vietnamese human rights records” and compile “Vietnamese human rights Bill”. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour (the US Department of State) annually draws up “the annual country report on human rights practices” and “the international religious freedom report” in which they twist and tarnish Vietnamese human rights records, stating that “Vietnam is a state whose religion falls under its Government’s dominance”. The next part of the so-called “report” usually touches on a suggestion on “human rights standards” which acts as a condition of relationship between the two nations. In addition, the EU representative office in Vietnam often “updates” cases of national security violations as stated in the 1999 Penal Code, namely “Propagating against Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Article 88); “disrupting security” (Article 89); “Abusing democratic freedom to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens” (Article 258). Accordingly, they voice their “concern” about arrests and trials of various Internet users, including the Facebookers for the purpose of opposing our State and socialist regime, namely Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Blogger Me Nam), Hoang Duc Binh (Nghe An), etc. They argue that “Those arrests run counter to commitments to domestic and international human rights, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam has been a signatory since 1982, etc. Those trends are liable to impede Vietnamese progress on human rights”.
No matter how hard they have tried to twist, accuse and tarnish in any shape or form, it is unlikely to rebut substantial achievements in ensuring human rights by our Party and State, especially in the process of national renewal and international integration since 1986.
When it comes to Vietnamese human rights achievements, first and foremost, it is essential to mention political and ideological foundation by Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Human rights have been consistently considered to be an objective in CPV’s Platform and guidelines since its inception on 3rd, February 1930. According to the 2011 Platform on national construction in the period of   transition to socialism, the socialist society that our people have been building is the one with prosperous people and a strong, democratic, equitable, and civilized nation; with humans as both a focal point of development strategy and development entity; respecting and protecting human rights, linking human rights to national rights and interests and people’s rights to mastery. The 12th National Party Congress continuously affirms our State’s commitments to the international community on human rights “due regard is devoted to taking care of humans’ happiness and comprehensive development, protecting and ensuring humans’ legitimate rights and interests; respecting and implementing international treaties on human rights of which Vietnam is a signatory”.

To date, Vietnam has joined and signed almost all the fundamental international conventions on human rights and specific conventions on rights of vulnerable groups. Following international commitments, our State internalized those afore-mentioned conventions in national legal system. The 2013 Constitution dedicated one chapter (2nd Chapter) to “human rights, fundamental rights and obligations of citizens”, stating that “human rights and citizens' rights in the political, civil, economic, cultural and social fields shall be recognized, respected, protected and guaranteed in accordance with the Constitution and law” (Clause 1, Article 14). Together with the 2013 Constitution, the Vietnamese current legal system is not merely in accord with international conventions on human rights, but is judged one of the most progressive ones in the world.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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