Many assessments are unobjective, unbalanced, and do not accurately and fully reflect the situation, efforts, and achievements of Vietnam in protecting and promoting human rights, said Deputy Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Doan Khac Viet.
At the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on April 11, Viet expressed disappointment at the report despite the UN agencies’ full presence in Vietnam and their long and comprehensive cooperation with various Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities.
According to the deputy spokesman, the process of building Vietnam's 4th cycle UPR National Report was carried out seriously and comprehensively with the full participation of relevant stakeholders and the UN agencies in Vietnam.
However, the report of the UN agencies was not built transparently and was not commensurate with the goodwill of cooperation and the process of building the National Report of Vietnam; completely failing to reflect the spirit and practice of cooperation between Vietnam and the UN, as well as the cooperation priorities that Vietnam and the UN development agencies have agreed upon.
Viet stressed that in the future, cooperation activities between Vietnam and the UN development agencies in the country need to be deployed in line with the functions and tasks of the relevant agencies as well as Vietnam's prioritized needs.
Also at the press conference, answering a reporter's query about Vietnam's stance on the continuous military exercises in the East Sea by some countries in recent times, Viet said the East Sea is one of the most important waters in the region, therefore maintaining peace, stability, security, maritime safety and freedom of aviation and navigation in the East Sea in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is a common goal, interest and responsibility of all nations.
Vietnam requests that activities of the relevant parties and countries comply with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, and also positively contribute to fulfilling the above goals, he said.
