(VOVWorld) - Some European legislators have sent a letter to Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, mentioning the human rights situation in Vietnam. What the legislators said in the letter about “the deteriorating human rights situation in Vietnam” is groundless and untrue. Vietnam has always complied with international conventions to which it is a party.
The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group co-organizes with the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union to build computer centers in 62 poor communes across Vietnam (photo: VNA) |
Some law-makers in European countries says Vietnam is witnessing a collapsing rule of law because the country has used vague accusations of “toppling the regime” and “disseminating anti-government information” to arrest human rights activists and charges of “tax evasion” to detain dissidents. The legislators asked the EU High Representative to call on Vietnam to release political prisoners like bloggers Dieu Cay, Ta Phong Tan, and Cu Huy Ha Vu. They wrote that despite international requests, Vietnam has continued to limit freedom of speech, control the internet, prevent people from accessing certain websites, and assist hackers to attack Vietnamese websites abroad.
The accusation of a worsening human rights situation in Vietnam is untrue. Vietnam’s consistent policy is to respect and ensure human rights in line with international norms. Vietnam’s constitution clearly states that human rights - political, civil, economic, cultural, and social - are to be respected. The government guarantees the human rights of its citizens, including the rights of mastery, and the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and religion. Vietnam has achieved significant results in ensuring human rights in all fields of politics, economics, culture, and society. The undeniable achievements are in implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals, rapidly reducing poverty, improving people’s living standard, and effectively following conventions ensuring the rights of women and children. The UNDP’s 2013 Human Rights report, released in July, ranked Vietnam first of 40 developing countries in achieving results better than expected in human development in recent decades. In April, the UNDP rated Vietnam third in ASEAN for gender equality and 48th in the world.
European legislators insist that Vietnam’s human rights situation is worsening, despite the UNDP reports, could they be imposing their own bias on Vietnam’s human rights situation? They gave themselves the right to overstep their normal legislative scope to warn the EU Parliament to raise more human rights issues in dialogues with Vietnam to force Vietnam to make human rights improvements.
In fact, Vietnam has no conscience or political prisoners. There are law breakers who have been publicly and legally tired and convicted. The cases the legislators cited were tried on specific criminal charges, not as dissidents or political activists. The Vietnamese court’s verdicts against these men were in line with Vietnamese law and international conventions to which Vietnam is a party.
Every political entity in the world has to deal with specific cases in performing its socio-economic tasks and ensuring the human rights of its citizens. Functional agencies have to handle violators according to domestic and international law. Vietnam is no exception.
Vietnam and the EU have human rights gaps that are due to cultural, historical, and development level differences. Ensuring human rights must be based on each country’s historical, cultural, religious, philosophical, and economic character. No country can serve as a role model on human rights for other countries. A unilateral view on the human rights situation in Vietnam is unjust and to impose the human rights criteria of EU countries on Vietnam is a blatant interference in Vietnam’s internal affairs. These activities will not benefit dialogues to enhance mutual understanding between Vietnam and the EU.
Thu Hoa