Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers report of Viet Nam

22 February 2012

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today considered the combined tenth to fourteenth periodic reports of Viet Nam on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Introducing the report, Ha Hung, Head of the Delegation and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic Affairs, said that Viet Nam was a unified nation of 54 ethnic groups and equality among all ethnic groups was a fundamental principle of Government policy. The State had provided ethnic minorities with preferential treatment and support to promote their socio-economic development. Over the last ten years, the National Assembly had enacted 38 laws directly related to the rights and obligations of ethnic minorities and 48 ethnic minorities were represented in the National Assembly. High proportions of ethnic minorities were employed. National Target Programmes provided economic assistance to minorities, and one million poor ethnic minority households received preferential credit loans in 2008. Individuals from ethnic minorities held key positions in central Government agencies and the armed forces. The State paid special attention to vocational training for ethnic minorities, and those people now had better access to media and information technology. Challenges remained, however, and the Government would continue to improve infrastructure, reduce school drop-out rates among girls from ethnic minorities and the malnutrition rate among under fives, and generally reduce the higher rate of poverty among ethnic groups.

During the discussion, Committee experts asked what concrete steps had been taken to adopt a comprehensive law prohibiting racial discrimination including clear definitions of discrimination in the legal code. Experts asked about the timeline to establish an independent human rights institution according to the Paris Principles and noted that that a key challenge for the Government was to ensure that the interests of vulnerable groups would be incorporated in development policies particularly concerning land use. Questions were raised on the double discrimination faced by minorities on both ethnic and religious grounds, the application of article 87 against ethnic minorities engaged in peaceful protests and the use of self-identity for indigenous people.

In concluding remarks, Yong-An Huang, Country Rapporteur for Viet Nam, said that the interactive discussion had been candid, frank and productive. The ultimate purpose of the Government’s reform policies was to gradually increase living standards in the country, although the State must make a special effort to protect vulnerable groups such as women, children and minorities who could be adversely affected during such a process.

Ha Hung, concluded the dialogue and said that the Government had enhanced the spiritual and economic life of minority people and had made a strong commitment to implement the Convention, although as a developing country the State had limited resources to reach all minority people with programmes, especially those living in isolated regions.

The delegation of Viet Nam consisted of representatives of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office at Geneva,

The next public meeting of the Committee will be at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday 22 February, when it will consider the combined tenth to fourteenth periodic reports of Canada (CERD/C/VNM/10-14).

Report

The combined tenth to fourteenth periodic reports of Viet Nam can be read here (CERD/C/VNM/10-14).

Presentation of the Report

HA HUNG, Head of the Delegation and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic Affairs, said Viet Nam was a unified nation of 54 ethnic groups, of which the Kinh group accounted for 85 per cent, while the remaining 53 ethnic groups made up 14 per cent or 12 million people. Vietnamese was the common language for the country but 30 ethnic groups had their own written language, such as Thai, Cham, H’ Mong and Khmer. Ethnic minorities were distributed across three quarters of the country with most living in mountainous and remote areas where socio-economic development was difficult. Equality among all ethnic groups was a fundamental principle of Government policy and the State provided preferential treatment and support for ethnic minorities to promote their economic development. Over the last ten years, the National Assembly enacted 38 laws on the rights and obligations of ethnic minorities. The National Assembly’s Council on Ethnic Affairs was responsible for making recommendations to the Assembly on issues related to nationalities, oversight of the implementation of ethnic policy, the formulation of programmes, and plans to develop areas with large ethnic minority populations. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities was a ministerial-level Government agency that ensured comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic development for areas with a large ethnic minority population, and protected the rights of those groups.

There were 48 ethnic minorities represented in the National Assembly, accounting for 17 per cent, a higher proportion than the minorities’ proportion of the population, which was 14 per cent. From 2011 to 2016 ethnic minorities represented in the People’s Council were 18 per cent at the provincial level, 20 per cent at the district level and 22 per cent at the communal level. Individuals from ethnic minorities held key positions in central Government agencies and the armed forces. The State paid special attention to vocational training for ethnic minorities. Some 6,500 received vocational and language training and nearly 4,500 were sent abroad to work. Statistics of ethnic minorities in employment were 95 per cent for H’ Mong, 91 per cent for Thai, 90 per cent for Muong, 87 per cent for Tay and 82 per cent for Khmer. Economic assistance was provided to minorities through National Target Programmes. One million poor ethnic minority households received preferential credit loans in 2008. Poverty reduction dropped from 60 per cent in 2000 to 28 per cent in 2010 in regions with large ethnic minority populations.

The school system had been expanded, and today more than 80 per cent of communes with extreme difficulties have completed universal primary education, resulting in an increase in the literacy rate among ethnic minority children. Ethnic minorities enjoyed the right to freedom of movement and residence within the country, to travel abroad and the right to return to Viet Nam. All forms of media were present in the country and ethnic minorities now had better access to modern information technology. The Internet was available in all 63 provinces and cities, and in 2010 there were over 26 million Internet users. Challenges to ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities still remained, namely: there was insufficient dissemination of information on laws and policies that applied to ethnic minorities; incomplete and weak infrastructure in ethnic minority regions; a higher rate of poverty with a per capital income of only USD 200 in 2010; a high school drop-out rate among ethnic minority girls; and a wide gap in the level of malnutrition in children under five years old in ethnic minority communities.

Questions from Experts

YONG-AN HUANG, Country Rapporteur for Viet Nam, said geographically Viet Nam was a coastal country with a population of 86 million people, which since the 1980s had adopted economic reforms resulting in significant economic growth. The Committee was pleased to hear that Viet Nam was considering ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and had acceded to the Convention against Torture. The Rapporteur said that the National Assembly’s Council on Ethnic Affairs was a positive organizational guarantee to address ethnic affairs. In recent years, the Government had allocated significant resources to develop infrastructure, agriculture, education and other areas impacting minority regions.

The Rapporteur requested detailed statistical data on ethnic minorities, and said there was no specific reference to racial discrimination in the Legal Code, nor was there an independent human rights institution according to the Paris Principles. She asked what concrete steps had been taken to rectify that gap by adopting a comprehensive law prohibiting racial discrimination? How had the new laws on ethnicity been implemented to protect individuals against racial discrimination? What obstacles and challenges had the Government met during the process of implementing economic development programmes in ethnic minority areas?

A key challenge was to ensure that the interests of vulnerable groups were incorporated in development policies. Many disputes had occurred concerning land use rights and the Rapporteur recommended the Government adopt provisions for appropriate compensation when minority groups lost their land. Could the delegation respond to the United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues who, after her visit to Viet Nam, had said that peaceful demonstrations in the central highlands over land use disputes had been met with excessive force by the police?

Raising educational levels and enhancing legal awareness among ethnic minorities should be priorities for the Government, as it would facilitate communication with, and integration of, ethnic groups in society. Minority women and girls required effective measures to ensure they fully enjoyed the right to early education in their own mother tongue. It was critical to provide legal training for Government officials and court staff working in ethnic minority areas, to ensure officials acted within the law and to overcome negative stereotypes among officials. Was there a widespread perception among the general public and officials that minorities were backward, and if so, what active steps would the Government take to change such perceptions? How many minority members held official senior Government posts?

Concerning the negative ramifications that had accompanied economic growth such as income disparity between urban and rural areas, an Expert asked how the Government would balance income growth with the need to protect social equality for vulnerable groups, notably women and children. What would be the follow up to the recent visits of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues in 2010 and the Independent Expert on Extreme Poverty in 2011? Had the State party adopted recommendations from the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues to increase the provision of bilingual education for minority children?

The delegation was asked to address the issue of double discrimination faced by the Khmer Krom (Buddhists) and the Montagnard (Christians) on both ethnic and religious grounds? Following the State party’s Universal Periodic Review, the State had agreed to create a national human rights institute based on the Paris Principles; what was the status of that project?

Many Experts asked the delegation if ethnic groups had been involved in a consultative dialogue concerning their resettlement due to power development projects. What channels were open for the State party to engage in a dialogue with ethnic groups on their concerns related to land issues?

Article 87 was often used against ethnic minorities who voiced dissent or engaged in peaceful protests, an Expert said. For example, the Committee had received reliable reports that since 2011 more than 300 Montagnards had been arrested during peaceful protests, and ethnic minorities were often incarcerated far from their home. Would the State party consider amending article 87 to reduce arrests of minority groups, and changing its policy to permit minorities to be sent to prisons closer to their region?

An Expert noted the special measures for minority groups in employment, vocational training, and investment but said that there were still areas where the Government needed to redouble efforts to narrow the development gap. Could the delegation explain reports received by the Committee that it was illegal to publish material in native languages.

Viet Nam had succeeded in making progress in poverty reduction but significant disparities existed in the quality of life between urban and rural sectors. The construction of national unity was a Government priority, but an Expert warned that it should not be implemented in a way that gave priority to one group over another. Could more information be provided on how the opening of markets was negatively impacting vulnerable groups? An Expert raised a concern that women were forced into prostitution to escape poverty, and also asked the delegation to address a report received by the Committee claiming that groups in the country had not been allowed to freely practice their own religion.

An Expert asked if individuals could self-identify as a minority group or whether ethnic minority status was imposed by the State. Why did the State party use the term ethnic minority rather than indigenous person? The next report should provide greater detail on discrimination against women belonging to ethnic minorities, particularly their access to health and educational services.

Viet Nam should redouble its efforts to fight against poverty and injustice that disproportionately impacted vulnerable groups during rapid economic growth. An Expert asked if intermarriage between minority and majority populations was common, how those intermarriages were perceived in society, and to which ethnic group resulting children would belong.

Many Experts commended the courageous history of Viet Nam and the country’s impressive recent economic growth, but requested detailed socio economic data on the 50 ethnic groups spread across the country, for a clearer understanding of discrepancies as a result of rapid economic growth, and to measure future improvements. Were there any essential limitations on the right to freedom of assembly? What immigrants arrived in Viet Nam today, and had tourists experienced racial discrimination?

Response by the Delegation

HA HUNG, Head of the Delegation and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic Affairs, said that the Government considered human beings to be the engine of economic development, and worked hard to protect their health and well being. Viet Nam would consider the recommendation to add a specific definition of racial discrimination in the legal code, but noted that the Vietnamese constitution under article 87 strictly forbade any act that caused hatred, infringement of equality, or division among ethnic groups or religions, and carried a sanction of up to five years imprisonment.

The Government was committed to closing the economic gap between ethnic minorities and the general population and would apply targeted policies to lift ethnic groups out of poverty. The Government was currently considering a law on the rights and obligations of Vietnamese living overseas and had revised the Constitution to create a transparent legal system that would support a market economy governed by the rule of law. The 13th National Assembly adopted resolution number 20 with six laws related to human rights and ethnic minorities. The Government had revised Resolution 49 on criminal and civil procedures. In cases where there was a conflict with domestic law, international law superseded domestic law.

The Government adopted measures for the socio-economic development of minority groups for the period 2010 to 2015. There were 16 national target programmes to reduce poverty, promote clean water, provide training and education, and improve rural infrastructure. Ethnic minority areas had been impacted by national disasters which were exacerbated by their remote location. The Government had invested resources into preserving traditions and practices among ethnic minorities, including the annual day of ethnic minorities held in Hanoi, which promoted awareness among the general population of the unique qualities of minority peoples. Special scholarships permitted ethnic minority children to attend boarding schools in urban centers and ethnic minority languages were used in local schools. The United Nations Children’s Fund had supported the Government opening bilingual schools in rural areas. The Government used radio programmes and local newspapers to promote awareness-raising of policies that applied to ethnic minorities. Ethnic minorities could participate in the process of policy making by offering their views to women’s unions and farmer’s associations.

Households, regardless of nationality, were granted land use rights. When the State reclaimed land for public use, individuals were duly compensated. All new settlement sites must be equal or better than the old one. Many ethnic minorities held ministerial positions in the Government, including in Viet Nam’s Communist Party and in the National Assembly. Six seminars were organized with United Nations’ bodies to disseminate information among ethnic minorities in minority languages. The delegation took note of the request for detailed socio-economic data on ethnic minorities and would do so in the next report.

A number of preferential policies in employment, education and training applied to ethnic minorities living in remote and isolated areas. For example, a reduction of school fees, provision of scholarships, and preferential tax policies. Ethnic minorities from a group with a population size of less than 10,000 generally had low birth rates, and so benefited from preferential child policies. There were also preferential credit, employment, vocational training, land, housing, welfare, production support, education and health policies for members of ethnic minorities.

The Government’s action plan to combat trafficking in women and children included prevention and victim re-integration programmes. There were many mixed ethnic minority marriages in Viet Nam; the ethnic group of a resulting child would be based on the father, but a custodian could request re-identification of the child based on the ethnic group of the parents or in cases of adoption. National stigmas or stereotypes were illegal.

Nationality in Viet Nam granted both national citizenship and ethnic association based on three factors: the sharing of language, a commonality in cultural activities and self-identification of ethnicity. Policy was geared toward closing the socio-economic gap by applying affirmative action to support development of ethnic groups. Vietnamese law had sufficiently affirmed ethnic equality among people without requiring an explicit definition of racial discrimination. There was no consensus as to which ethnic groups were indigenous or not and that was why the term minority group was used over the term indigenous.

There were 200 non-governmental organizations working in Viet Nam, and the Government appreciated the work they did in poverty reduction in ethnic minority areas. However, by law and practice there was no discrimination against minorities based on their ethnicity or religious beliefs, and the delegation stressed that some non-governmental organizations had misrepresented situations related to ethnic and religious disputes. In May 2011, Muong leaders organized parts of the population into believing that the world was coming to an end, and so the people sold their property and caused security issues, which was why the Government was required to intervene to reinstate stability and to prevent the victimization of the Muong people. The Government used civil, not armed forces, to persuade people to return to their home villages, but some Muong elements opposed the Government and had been arrested. During protests in the central highlands some had taken extreme measures to attack others, including civil servants, with stones. It was not Government policy to have ethnic minorities placed in prisons far from their homeland.

Concerning freedom of religion, the Buddhist church of Viet Nam had promoted the study of Buddhism among ethnic groups by publishing books. There were 185 congregations and other house churches organized by the Government for ethnic minorities that were Protestants.

Concerning the establishment of a national human rights commission, the delegation said that 70 countries had created such institutions based on different models which Viet Nam was currently studying. The country had received many special procedures holders and would continue to do so. Concerning immigrants, Viet Nam had a small number of foreigners who came to the country either on working contracts or to study. Millions of foreign tourists came to Viet Nam annually and the Government actively promoted tourism.

Questions from Experts

An Expert encouraged the Government to consider adopting a concept of indigenous people and stressed that it was difficult to credibly establish when indigenous people had originally occupied a territory. The Committee had always recommended the use of self-identity as the best means to identify indigenous people, for example in mountainous regions of Viet Nam. It was important to define racial discrimination and incorporate it into the legal code as a first step in combating such practices. Racial discrimination covered more than ethnicity which was why it required a clear definition in the legal system.

The explanation concerning the Muong ethnic people appeared to relate to cult and sect practices, an Expert said, and asked what lessons the Government had learned from their encounter with the Muong. Perhaps the authorities needed to improve its communication and relations with ethnic groups to avoid such incidences from recurring in the future. The Government should focus on improving education among both the minority and majority populations so that such abusive situations would not recur.

Negative stereotypes against minorities were forbidden by law, but the State should make greater efforts to combat them. Although article 87 was meant to protect minorities, an Expert noted it was worded in such a way that it could be used against minorities and the Committee had received reports that it was used to imprison and arrest minorities engaged in peaceful protests. The State was urged to consider revising the wording of article 87 to explicitly state that it was meant to protect ethnic minorities.

Could the Government provide the Committee with a list of non-governmental organizations with which it had a good working relationship?

Non-discrimination was a flexible concept and an Expert noted that in general recommendation 32 of the Committee, the term non-discrimination did not always require equal treatment when clear differential conditions applied. The definition of racial discrimination was not fixed on racial grounds but covered five grounds in the Convention. Defining indigenous people could not be limited to understanding who was where first but was based on the concept of self identification expressed in general recommendation eight. There was an important difference in describing a group as indigenous people as compared to a minority because the former could benefit from a broader pattern of protective rights.

Response by the Delegation

The Committee’s comments would all be examined, including those on the definition of race, ethnicity and indigenous people. The term indigenous had not been used since Viet Nam won independence from colonial rule, because of the negative conations it carried. The delegation would, however, study the Committee’s comments on that issue.

Article 87 of the penal code was not aimed against ethnic minorities or against any form of non-violent freedom of expression. In the 2009 Universal Periodic Review of Viet Nam the Government committed to conducting a dialogue with international legal experts to review the penal code in order to limit different interpretations of articles by courts. The Government had committed that the penal code would be in full accordance with the international treaties it had signed.

The Independent Expert on Minority Issues had raised negative stereotypes, and a non-governmental organization had reported stigma associated with certain words – the Government had agreed to study the matter. Viet Nam was considering the early establishment of a national human rights commission and would refer to the Paris Principles while incorporating the country’s regional characteristics. In 2009, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ countries had established a common human rights committee for the region to which Viet Nam was an active contributor, and had served as the first chair of the Committee in 2010.

The Government had learned lessons from the Muong case including the importance of improving the poor living standards of minority groups. Measures to strengthen relations with minority people would be enhanced, and in particular local officials would be trained to better understand the needs of minority groups. Education and awareness-raising could forge unity among ethnic groups living in the same community so that they would feel at ease and would not desire to live in a separate region. There had been a misuse and abuse of religion and the Government had organized religious leaders to inform people of bad elements who caused harm and deceived ethnic minority people.

Questions from Experts

Did a Muslim community exist in Viet Nam, were any Vietnamese Muslims, and if so how were they organized; were they exclusive religious communities or grouped by ethnicity? It was important for the Committee to understand if Muslims had the means to exercise their religious practices.

An Expert asked about abuse in the adoption of children from ethnic minority regions suffering extreme poverty. Could the delegation provide more information on what measures the Government had continued to take to avoid abuses and irregular practices in the field of adoption, when it concerned vulnerable children from poor regions?

Response by the Delegation

Muslims did live in Viet Nam, and mostly resided in the area where Cham people lived. There were 10,000 Cham individuals in the country and over 700 Muslims. There were three Islamic organizations that conducted the affairs of Muslims and the speaker said that many Islamic children were sent to the Middle East for their education. The Cham people had their own written languages and the Government had worked to preserve their identity and culture. Sometimes there were small frictions among the different religious groups of the Cham people.

Concerning the question of abusive practices in the adoption of ethnic minority children, a speaker said the Government had a programme to combat the trafficking of women in children for the period 2011 to 2015, and stressed the need to raise awareness among the population against such practices. The national and regional police worked together to identify and prevent the trafficking of children. There were mechanisms, policies and laws to prevent trafficking in women and children and no amnesty was granted individuals who had engaged in trafficking.

A speaker said that in the past, the term indigenous was negative, as those people were characterized as poor and belonged to the lower class of society. There was no consensus in Viet Nam on which ethnic groups should be classified as indigenous.

Concluding Remarks

YONG-AN HUANG, Country Rapporteur for Viet Nam, said the interactive discussion had been candid, frank and productive and the delegation had promised to further study issues raised by the Committee. Members of the Committee did not consider themselves to be court judges but rather as equal participants in a discussion of human rights as applied to the Convention. The protection and promotion of human rights relied on both the political stability of the State and the socio-economic development of the country. The ultimate purpose of reform policies adopted by the Government was to gradually increase living standards in the country, and the Rapporteur noted that vulnerable groups such as women, children and minorities could be adversely affected during such a process.

HA HUNG, Head of the Delegation and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic Affairs, said that the Government had enhanced the spiritual and economic life of minority people and had made a strong commitment to implement the Convention. However, as a developing country the State had limited resources to reach all minority people with programmes, especially those living in isolated regions. The interactive dialogue had been carried out in a frank and mutually understanding way and the Government would take note of all the recommendations made by the Committee.

__________

For use of the information media; not an official record