Amnesty decision is announced at Chi Hoa prison (Photo: VNA)

Many regulations on preventing and punishing acts related to torture in the CAT Convention have been integrated into Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code and the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code (revised in 2021), the 2015 Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Agencies, the Law on Enforcement of Custody and Temporary Detention, the Law on Denunciations, the Law on Amnesty, and the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments. 

In addition, hundreds of guiding documents have been issued to standardize processes to prevent acts of torture and protect those at risk of torture as well as better support victims of torture during the process of resolving complaints, investigations, detention, prosecution, trial, execution of criminal sentences, and compensation. 

Vietnam’s efforts in implementing the Convention 

Vietnam has conducted audio and video recordings during the interrogation of the accused and during the proceedings. It has also issued documents concerning enforcement of custody and temporary detention, criminal judgment enforcement, medical examination and treatment in detention facilities, complaints and denunciation settlements, and provision of defense and legal aid.

Other documents cover the handling of violated officials, soldiers, civil servants and public employees, promoting democracy at the grassroots level, ensuring codes of ethics, and executing judicial and administrative reform. 

The country has revised its laws to better ensure the rights of the people in general and the rights of those at risk of being tortured in particular as well as improve the responsibility of public authorities, thus preventing acts of torture.

Vietnam has strengthened democracy at the grassroots level, especially in detention, education and rehabilitation facilities under the Ministry of Public Security. Democracy is also exercised in custody and temporary detention enforcement and investigative activities of the people’s police force as well as in inspection, settlement of complaints and denunciations, reception of citizens and anti-corruption.

Vietnam has also stipulated what information could be made available for public opinions and the forms of public opinion and oversight in order to prevent negativity, bureaucracy and harassment and better ensure human rights, including the right to not be tortured. The motto of this process is “People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people oversee, and people benefit”.

Convention’s implementation is intensified

Vietnam has also paid attention to presenting and defending the National Report before the Committee Against Torture. Accordingly, Vietnam submitted the First Country Report to the Committee Against Torture in 2017, presented and defended the information and data in the First Country Report before the Committee Against Torture in 2018. Based on the Mid‑Term Report of the Committee Against Torture, Vietnam continues to develop and submit the Mid‑Term Report, responding to the comments and recommendations in October 2020. 

In the report, Vietnam provided sufficient arguments and supporting data, affirming Vietnam’s consistent stance of prohibiting all acts related to torture, coercion and using corporal punishment and resolutely punishing all violations in regard to this.

In fact Vietnam has established the Central Judicial Reform Steering Committee and the Judicial Reform Steering Committee at the provincial level nationwide to promote a clean, strong, democratic, and strict judiciary, and so protecting and gradually modernizing justice to serve the people, including the right to not be tortured. 

On February 14, 2023, Vietnam issued a plan to strengthen the effective implementation of the Convention against Torture and promote the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee against Torture.