Law makers, government officials and international delegates stressedthe important role of the National Assembly (NA) in protecting andpromoting human rights at a conference held in Hanoi on December 10.

The conference, which focused on the role of the National Assembly inupholding international conventions and national laws on human rights,was co-organised by the NA’s Foreign Affairs Committee and the UNDevelopment Programme in Vietnam.

Since the country adoptedits Doi Moi (renovation) policy in 1986, the NA has promulgated amultitude of laws to institutionalise the pragmatic perspectives of theParty and government on protecting human rights as well as the rights ofcitizens, said Ngo Duc Manh, vice chairman of the NA Foreign AffairsCommittee.

In particular, the new Constitution of 2013provides an important political foundation for reaffirming, upholdingand protecting human rights.

At the same time, Vietnam hasalso joined almost all key international conventions on human rights,including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination, UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women, the UN Convention on the Rights of theChild, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

At the most recent session last month, the NA ratified the Conventionagainst Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment orPunishment as well as the Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities.

The country has actively participated in bilateral and multilateral dialogue mechanisms on human rights.
Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator to Vietnam said the UNrecognises the NA’s efforts to ensure human rights protection inVietnam, as seen in the recent ratification of the Convention againstTorture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment aswell as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

She affirmed that the UN will support Vietnam in facilitatingknowledge sharing and provide technical advice on best practices fromaround the world as a way to support the NA’s legislative and oversightfunctions in strengthening human rights.

“The NA’s legislativerole at all levels is fundamental in developing and passing new lawsthat advance human rights,” she said.

Participants at theconference also discussed the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) as ameans to generating a holistic view of a nation’s progress in promoting,protecting and respecting human rights through dialogues onachievements and challenges faced.

Created in 2006 andintroduced in Vietnam in 2009, the nation has seen two cycles of theUPR. In the second one, Vietnam has accepted 182 recommendations to beimplemented before 2019, said Vu Anh Quang, director general of theInternational Organisations Development of the Ministry of ForeignAffairs.-VNA