Vietnam achieves significant progress in socio-economic development and human rights

A dialogue on the Vietnamese national report under the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism has recently been held in Geneva, Switzerland.

As part of this occasion, Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) conducted an interview with visiting Pallab Sengupta, president of the World Peace Council (WPC), about the nation’s achievements in ensuring human rights and promoting peace both domestically and internationally.

Sengupta has been to the country many times. Discussing his impressions of the its nation’s changes, he said that over the past 40 years Vietnam has seen a tremendous transformation and recorded plenty of positive development in a multitude of aspects in terms of infrastructure facilities, people's lives, culture, social affairs, and political stability.

It can be said that the country is not behind other developed states. Indeed, in several indicators the nation is progressing very quickly, expressing his confidence that that one day Vietnam will be able to become one of the developed countries in the world.

Regarding his assessment of Vietnamese efforts in ensuring and promoting human rights as a contribution to bringing peace to all people, the WPC leader said the Vietnamese Government always listens to the voices of its people to meet their needs and improve their life. The nation is therefore doing its best to ensure human rights with constant efforts to protect its sovereignty and independence, with these two factors also being directly related to democracy and people's rights.

He noted his appreciation for these efforts. Whilst there will also be challenges, clearly the Party and State of Vietnam are being very careful and trying to resolve and overcome these difficulties, he went on to say.

From its very first days, the Vietnamese view has always been that peace and independence are two factors which go hand in hand. During the period of resistance wars , President Ho Chi Minh always sought the best way to gain independence through peaceful means. Although still fighting on the front lines, the nation has still sought to negotiate peacefully.

Concerning his organisation’s support for the country on the path of preserving and protecting peace, Sengupta affirmed the WPC’s readiness to stand side by side with its Vietnamese partners.

Since its establishment, the council has arranged hundreds of meetings and discussions on peace and independence for Vietnam. After its national liberation,  the council has always supported the nation in its new period of development.

In the future, ASEAN can play an important role in building and protecting world peace due to its centrality. In the regional bloc, Vietnam also plays a very important role in connecting other countries in a bid to co-operate with ASEAN, Sengupta stated.

It is therefore time for peacekeeping forces to play a greater role in preventing possible risks of wars and conflicts. That is also the goal of the WPC and member countries, including Vietnam, he added.