Vietnam continues to promote its role and position as an active and responsible member of the Human Rights Council.

At the United Nations Human Rights Council, in recent times, Vietnam has actively and proactively participated, leaving many marks, and has been highly appreciated by the international community.

Đại sứ Mai Phan Dũng: Việt Nam tiếp tục phát huy vai trò, cương vị thành viên tích cực, có trách nhiệm của Hội đồng Nhân quyền

Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, WTO and other international organizations in Geneva. (Source: Dai Doan Ket)

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son will lead the Vietnamese delegation to attend the High-level Session of the 55th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva (Switzerland) and pay an official visit to Ireland from February 26-29. On this occasion, Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, WTO and other international organizations in Geneva, shared information about the Session and Vietnam's efforts to contribute.

Ambassador, could you please tell us the meaning and key contents of the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council which will open on February 26?

It can be said that the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council is of great significance, especially in the current context, when the world situation is still tense, conflicted, and unstable; the Russia-Ukraine conflict is about to enter its third year and shows no signs of abating; the war in the Gaza Strip has many new and complicated developments and is at risk of spreading to the region; global issues such as epidemics, climate change, and the application of artificial intelligence continue to be common challenges for humanity, affecting the enjoyment of human rights worldwide. Ensuring human rights has always received the attention of countries and international organizations around the world.

With such important significance, this UNSC took place over 6 weeks (from February 26 to April 5), including the High-level Session (from February 26 to 28), attracting high attention and participation from nearly 140 senior leaders of countries, senior officials of the United Nations and other international organizations.

This is also the longest session of the National Assembly ever with a dense and ambitious agenda.

The session will have 7 thematic discussion sessions; review 80 thematic reports and discuss and dialogue with about 40 special procedures and UN human rights mechanisms on human rights issues in many different fields; review the human rights situation in some specific countries; approve the decision to appoint 12 personnel for Special Procedures (including expert mechanisms or special rapporteurs); at the same time, it is expected to approve about 30 resolutions of the Human Rights Council on many different topics.

How does the Ambassador evaluate Vietnam's role and contributions to the UN Human Rights Council in recent times, especially in its capacity as a member of the Council?

Implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress and Directive 25 of the Secretariat on promoting and elevating multilateral diplomacy to 2030, Vietnam continues to play the role of an active and responsible member of the international community, proactively contributing to the building and shaping of common rules of the game.

With new position and strength, the combined strength of the entire nation is on the rise, creating a new position for Vietnam in the international arena. We have favorable conditions to promote our role, image, and strengthen our voice in international organizations in general.

In the UNSC in particular, in the past time, especially in the 2014-2016 term, Vietnam has actively and proactively participated, leaving many marks, which have been highly appreciated by the international community. In this 2023-2025 term, we continue to promote the role of an active member in the spirit of "Respect and understanding. Dialogue and cooperation. All human rights - for all people".

In 2024, Vietnam will implement a number of cooperation initiatives to promote and ensure human rights. (Source: VNA)

In 2023, we proactively proposed and promoted a number of initiatives, especially the "Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action" and 5 other outstanding initiatives at all 3 regular sessions of the Human Rights Council on various topics, which were highly appreciated and in line with the concerns and interests of many countries.

This is a solid foundation for Vietnam to continue promoting its role and position as an active and responsible member of the UNSC in the coming time, with the opening of 2024 being the upcoming High-level Session of the 55th UNSC with the participation of Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation.

In addition, Vietnam will implement a number of cooperation initiatives to promote and ensure human rights, including chairing the development and negotiation of a draft resolution on climate change and human rights at the June 2024 session. Vietnam will also defend its National Report under the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism for the fourth cycle in May 2024.

In addition, we will continue to participate in the general work of the UNSC, discuss and contribute opinions to thematic resolutions and resolutions on the situation in specific countries.

The 2024 full-year schedule will be the basis for Vietnam to leave its mark in 2025, as well as facilitate the campaign for Vietnam to be re-elected as a member of the UNSC for the 2026-2028 term.

Thank you Ambassador!

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