Vietnam has consistently applied the policy to promote human rights through dialogue and cooperation, said Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who was leading the Vietnamese delegation to the 13th UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland, through March 26.
He confirmed that the country would continue to hold annual human rights dialogues with several countries as a means to promote better understanding on issues of mutual concern, and share experience in human rights promotion and protection on the basis of equality, respect, goodwill and constructive dialogues.
Minh proposed the Human Rights Council focus on issues of greatest interest to the international community, including the impacts of the global economic crisis, climate change, pervasive poverty and epidemics, on the enjoyment of human rights.
Legislative, administrative and judicial reforms continue to be high on the agenda with a view to further promoting human rights in laws and practice, including the right to oversee the implementation of laws and access to information, Minh said.
* Also concerning human rights, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga has rejected US State Department accusations of human rights abuses in Vietnam, saying the Department’s Human Rights Report 2009, published on March 11, once again made partial remarks based on untrue information about the real situation in Vietnam.