Activists say Vietnam needs to change its perception of human rights to improve the country's rights record in order to contribute as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2023-2025 term.
Despite its poor human rights record, Vietnam was still elected to the UNHRC by 145 out of 189 countries in a UN General Assembly meeting on October 11.
Human rights and democracy activists in Vietnam say the current perception of human rights by the Vietnamese State is very different from that of developed democracies.
“The important thing to do is to change the thinking and views of the Vietnamese authorities on human rights issues,” an activist in Hanoi told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
“They must see human rights as the key to resolving conflicts in society, tolerating each other, eliminating hatred and developing the country.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Than Son, told the Bao Quoc Te newspaper that Vietnam "will work with member countries to promote initiatives and solutions in areas such as the right to live in peace, development rights, rights of vulnerable groups, gender equality, access to health, education, employment, response to climate change, epidemics, etcetera.”
However, according to some international human rights organizations, “the right to development” and the “right to peace” promoted by the Hanoi government are ambiguous and are placed above universal human rights.
Fairly enforced laws that uphold the Constitution
Another activist in Hanoi, using the pseudonym Trieu Anh, said Vietnam needs to respect its own laws and enforce them aggressively, as part of measures to improve the country's human rights record.
“For improvement, it is necessary to create a legal framework, in other words simply to respect the Vietnamese Constitution so that people can exercise their rights to freedom of speech in accordance with the current Constitutional framework.”
At the end of March this year, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) released a report which rejected 50 recommendations out of a total of nearly 300 that countries made during the UN’s Universal Periodic Review hearing on countries’ human rights record.
Notably, there was a recommendation from the Czech government, asking Vietnam to create conditions for pluralism, multi-party democracy and ensure democratic elections. It was rejected by MOFA on the grounds that it was "not suitable for the political policies, laws and practical conditions" in Vietnam.
Freeing prisoners of conscience
When asked what the government must do to fulfill its responsibilities to the UNHRC Nguyen Phu Hai, a retired army colonel, told RFA the Communist Party should free prisoners of conscience and amend or remove vague provisions in the Criminal Code used to suppress dissent.
Trieu Anh said the government also needs to be able to absorb people's criticisms.
“Vietnam needs to immediately stop persecuting those who exercise the right to freedom of expression online and in real life,” he said, adding that the authorities should allow press freedom and the free movement of human rights campaigners.
“Activists should not be banned from leaving the country when they want to go abroad to study or attend events,” Anh said.
When responding to reports by international human rights organizations or foreign governments, Vietnam often says the country does not have prisoners of conscience and authorities only imprison individuals who violate the law.