Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu speaks at the event (Photo: baoquocte.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Protecting and promotinghuman rights in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was the theme of aworkshop jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hanoi on December 15.
Attended by more than 100 representatives ofministries, departments, and localities, along with research institutes, socialorganisations, and the foreign diplomatic corps in Vietnam, the workshop markedHuman Rights Day on December 10.
Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs PhamQuang Hieu touched on the major challenges brought about by COVID-19 in theworld and in Vietnam over the last year that have disrupted the enjoyment offundamental human rights.
Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs PhamQuang Hieu touched on the major challenges brought about by COVID-19 in theworld and in Vietnam over the last year that have disrupted the enjoyment offundamental human rights.
In such a context, the Vietnamese Government hasrolled out policies and measures in a prompt and transparent manner, with the priorityon bringing the pandemic under control to protect citizens’ health and on fullyimplementing international commitments on human rights, includingrecommendations it accepted under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism,Hieu noted. He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has paiddue attention to protecting and supporting the vulnerable during the pandemic andintroduced ideas to bolster international cooperation in battling COVID-19. Of particular note, the country proposed theInternational Day of Epidemic Preparedness be observed annually on December 27,in an attempt to raise public awareness and cooperation in epidemicpreparedness and fighting. The resolution was approved by the UN GeneralAssembly on December 7 and co-sponsored by 107 nations. Vietnam’s commitments and efforts in protecting andpromoting human rights, notably the implementation of recommendations under theUPR mechanism, third cycle, were acknowledged in speeches by delegates at theworkshop. Delegates also discussed legal issues surrounding humanrights restrictions during the time of the pandemic, the enjoyment of humanrights in cyberspace, and the role and contribution of every element in societyin observing COVID-19 preventive measures. They shared information and experience and putforward solutions to protect and promote human rights against the backdrop ofCOVID-19, which will be integrated into the implementation of recommendationsunder the UPR mechanism. The MoFA has joined hands with the UNDP in Vietnamto organise workshops commemorating Human Rights Day since 2015./.
VNA
