Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has takenspecific actions to fulfill her commitments to promoting and protecting humanrights at national, regional and international levels as a responsible memberof the international community.

The Party and State have seriously realisedthe consistent policy of taking care of people, protecting legitimate rightsand interests of all, and respecting and implementing international treaties onhuman rights Vietnam has signed or participated in.

The policy has been institutionalized, asevidenced by the first Constitution the country adopted in 1946 to the 2013version which devotes 36 out of the 120 articles to cover human rights andcitizens’ rights.

Along with the issuance of relevant legaldocuments, the Vietnamese State has institutionalised principles on respectingand ensuring human rights, in harmony with international principles and norms.

The country has been implementing internationalprogrammes that put people in the centre, including United Nations developmenttargets which comprise human rights-related contents.

It is one of the very few countriescompleting ahead of schedule many of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) set by the UN, especially those regarding poverty reduction. Suchachievements have been acknowledged and highly valued by the internationalcommunity.

On the sidelines of the sixth Assembly ofthe Global Environment Facility which took place in Vietnam’s central provinceof Da Nang last June, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator AchimSteiner described Vietnam as a success example of socio-economic development.

Vietnam’s success in MDG implementation hashelped spur her national economy, thus ensuring that all people fully enjoyhuman rights, while significantly contributing to the UN’s joint efforts inpromoting human rights.

According to Kamal Malhotra, the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, Vietnam isamong the leading countries carrying out the UN’s 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), which lays stress on eradicating inequality andcaring for vulnerable groups.

Besides a national action plan with 17 SDGs, Vietnam inked the One StrategicProgramme (OSP) for the 2017-2021 period to implement the SDGs. This is animportant milestone that represents Vietnam’s international human rightscommitments.

Vietnam has proactively engaged in international forums on human rights as wellas joined seven out of the nine fundamental conventions on human rights of theUN, with the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities as the latest.

The UN’s Committee Against Torture lauded Vietnam’s efforts in the fightagainst torture and other cruel when Deputy Mister of Public Security Sen. Lt. GenLe Quy Vuong delivered the country’s first report on the implementation of theUN Convention against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland in November.

As a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2014-2016 tenure,Vietnam has proposed and acted on initiatives to promote human rightsworldwide, including protecting the right to work for disabled people, ensuringsafety for workers at sea, and fighting against the trafficking in women andgirls.

The Southeast Asian country has implemented 175 out of the 182 recommendationsby the UNHRC’s second-cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which it acceptedin June 2014. The country completed the third-cycle UPR and submitted to theUNHRC.

Also, the country has held regular human right dialogues and consultations withits partners like the US, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, and the EU.

Concerted efforts and specific actions made in the past time reflect Vietnam asa proactive and responsible country in implementing the UN’s key cooperative pillarson maintaining global peace, security, and cooperation for development, andprotecting human rights.-VNA