The working group’s report noted Vietnam's National Report, the content of the session on May 7, and 320 recommendations made by 133 countries.

The recommendations cover many areas such as improving the legal system and human rights policies; promoting socio-economic development and poverty reduction programmes; and ensuring rights for vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities and children.

The recommendations also revolve around freedom of belief and religion, freedom of speech, human rights and businesses, human rights and climate change, as well as joining a number of international human rights conventions, and cooperating with the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.

Addressing the session, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet affirmed the importance of the UPR mechanism, saying that the implementation of UPR recommendations through cycles complements Vietnam’s efforts to promote and protect human rights.

He said Vietnam will carefully examine the recommendations and announce its stance on these recommendations at the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council in October 2024.  

The diplomat emphasized that Vietnam wishes to strengthen cooperation with other countries and stakeholders in accordance with its motto during the 2023-2025 UNHCR membership term that is respect, understanding, dialogue and cooperation, for the sake of human rights for all.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years (a cycle). 

According to the Human Rights Council’s “institution-building package”, the Universal Periodic Review Working Group will hold three two-week sessions per year. During each session, 14 countries will be reviewed, therefore 42 countries per year and 193 countries, i.e. the entire UN membership, by the end of each UPR cycle.

Vietnam was among 13 UN member states to present human rights records at the 46th session of the UPR Working Group in Geneva from May 7 – 10. 12 other states were New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu, North Macedonia, Comoros, Slovakia, Eritrea, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, and Cambodia.

Since the first periodic review in 2008, all 193 UN Member States have been reviewed three times. The fourth cycle of review began in November 2022, and is scheduled to last till 2027.

VOV