November 28, 2014

Vietnam Needs to License Rights Protection Groups: Expert

by • Nguyen Quang A

Pin
by KTT, Nov 27, 2014
Defend the Defenders
Vietnam needs to license human right protection organizations as a way to better implement international rights treaties the country has signed, a local expert said.
nguyen quang aThe government should allow the operation of organizations specialized in protecting people’s rights, economist Nguyen Quang A said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Those who protect different rights of human beings should be eligible to work in the country regarding their range of work, as soon as they ensure the implementation of rules for women and ethnic people, the disabled and vulnerable people, he noted.
Vietnam must not clamp down on those protecting rights to freedom of expression and rights of prisoners, mostly dissident ones, he added.
The interview was made Wednesday [Nov 26] at a workshop with the participation of more than 70 people including representatives of the EU, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, UK, Australia and other countries, and Vietnamese civil societies.
The workshop aimed to “popularize” and “supervise” the implementation of recommendations made by countries and rights groups at the 2nd Cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights in a session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on June 20.
Such workshops will help strengthen civil societies in Vietnam and result in better policy making capacity as well as the government’s responsibilities for enforcement of human rights, the economist said.
Vietnam’s rights records have become worse following the intensified crackdown on democracy practices after it was elected to the UNHRC in Nov 2013, Mr. A said.
The New York-based Reporters Without Borders said that around 26 Vietnamese online activists and citizen journalists are in prison now. (bbc.co.uk Nov 25, www.dw.de Nov 24)
Pin