IPU-132 General Assembly: 8/9 of Vietnam's opinions were recorded

With the theme "Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Actions," the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU-132) hosted by the Vietnamese National Assembly in Hanoi from March 28 to April 1 is the largest multilateral diplomatic event ever.

Vietnamese delegation attends the Standing Committee on Finance meeting. Photo: VNA

This is an opportunity for Vietnam to introduce to international friends the country of innovation and development, the friendly and hospitable Vietnamese people and the diverse and rich Vietnamese culture; thereby also affirming the practical and effective contributions of the Vietnamese National Assembly to the IPU.

The event attracted the participation of many top leaders of national parliaments, regional inter-parliamentary organizations, international organizations, guests and international reporters.

At the General Assembly, the Committees discussed many issues related to peace and security, economic development, trade, democracy, human rights, gender equality, water governance, counter-terrorism, etc.

Delegates presented specific solutions from their countries, and at the same time believed that there should be close cooperation between parliaments and countries, in which the role of the National Assembly and Parliaments of countries is very important, in order to build and ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, turning words into actions.

At the committee meetings, the Vietnamese delegation promoted its role as host country and responsibility as an IPU member, proactively and actively contributed many practical initiatives and proposals, and received high consensus from the delegations.

8/9 Vietnamese opinions were recorded.

At the Standing Committee on International Peace and Security, discussing the draft Resolution “Cyber ​​Warfare - a Serious Threat to World Peace and Security,” delegates reached a high consensus on the need to finalize an international convention on the Internet, in order to prevent terrorist forces from using the Internet to commit their crimes, especially raising funds for terrorist activities, recruiting and poisoning the community with violent ideas.

The Vietnamese delegation's proposal to add the content of combating cyber warfare to the UN's discussion and control mechanism has received support from the delegations. To date, the draft resolution "Cyber ​​warfare - a serious threat to world peace and security" has been adopted with high consensus from the members.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Mr. Vu Xuan Hong, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, representing the Vietnamese delegation, shared that after two working days, the delegates of the Standing Committee on International Peace and Security had made positive references and spoke about issues related to the general situation in the world. This time, in particular, the issue of cyberspace, cyber warfare and its risks to world peace and security.

The final version of the draft Resolution that was adopted has greatly enriched the original draft. The number of pages has doubled, the number of issues raised is very prominent, including the content of the role of the National Assembly of the countries related to the issue of cyber security. This is the document that will be submitted to the General Assembly for approval.

According to Mr. Vu Xuan Hong, the Vietnamese delegation participated in 9 opinions and 8 opinions were recorded and included in the resolution, another opinion of Vietnam was included in another proposal of the friends.

Vietnam recommends that the Inter-Parliamentary Union issue a Joint Statement calling on countries to commit to not attacking each other in cyberspace in any form. The United Nations urgently develops an international convention on ensuring cyberspace security and safety. Member countries need to strengthen cooperation, exchange, train human resources, provide technical and technological support, share information on cyber security and prevent and combat cybercrime; coordinate to establish a team of cyber security experts when incidents occur. Member countries strengthen information security capacity building through activities such as: Building and perfecting a corridor to clearly define the rights, obligations and responsibilities of organizations and individuals when participating in online activities.

High consensus because: Always take human rights as the center

The Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights has completed and approved the Draft Resolution “International law in the matter of national sovereignty, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and human rights.”

The draft addresses three important issues: international law, national sovereignty and human rights. The draft emphasizes that countries must respect international law and consider international law as a tool to regulate and resolve conflicts; the principle of national sovereignty, international law compatible with national sovereignty; countries affirm the right to self-determination and oppose foreign interference.

The draft resolution affirms that international law and national sovereignty must always take human rights as the center. As a result, the draft resolution was adopted with 37 votes in favor, 3 votes against and 10 abstentions. As the host country of the 132nd IPU General Assembly, Vietnam has actively contributed to promoting the adoption of this important draft resolution.

Representing the Vietnamese delegation attending this session, Mr. Le Minh Thong, Vice Chairman of the Law Committee of the Vietnamese National Assembly, member of the Content Subcommittee, said that the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights of the 132nd IPU General Assembly discussed a very important session.

The Committee discussed the draft Resolution on “International law in the matter of national sovereignty, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and human rights.” This is a resolution drafted from the 131st IPU General Assembly, but due to differences of opinion, it has not been adopted. Because countries have many different viewpoints, some countries promote international law, some countries promote national sovereignty, some countries promote human rights, and some countries do not put the three elements of international law, national sovereignty and human rights in the mutual relationship, so there are views that are difficult to reconcile. The acceptance of opinions among countries has not yet been agreed upon by all countries, so it was decided to forward it to the 132nd IPU General Assembly in Hanoi to adopt this important resolution.

Resolutions must become concrete actions

The Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade discussed the Resolution “Shaping a new mechanism on water governance: Promoting parliamentary action on water issues” with many rich contributions.

There were 15 countries with 78 comments on the draft; all comments emphasized the centrality of human factors in the management, effective and sustainable use of water resources; shared concerns about the serious impact of water scarcity on people's lives and development; affirmed the need to comply with international law, signed agreements and conventions on water, especially the 1997 Convention on the Law of the Uses of International Watercourses.

Delegates attending the meeting at the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade also unanimously approved the draft Resolution “Shaping a new mechanism on water resources governance: Promoting Parliamentary action on water issues” with high consensus.

Mr. Nguyen Van Giau, member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly Economic Committee, member of the Vietnamese delegation attending IPU-132, emphasized the importance of the IPU Resolution on "Shaping a new mechanism on water resources governance: Promoting parliamentary action on water issues."

According to him, with the idea and spirit of the 132nd IPU General Assembly being "turning words into actions," after discussing and adopting the Resolution at the IPU General Assembly, member Parliaments need to take specific actions focusing on 6 contents.

Specifically, reviewing the Law on Water Resources and related laws and regulations within the national legal framework; reviewing, approving and monitoring the implementation of national strategies, programs, plans and projects on water resources management; allocating appropriate budgets for water management activities; perfecting the organizational system and management apparatus of the water sector.

In addition, it is necessary to disseminate the content of the Resolution to state agencies at all levels, social organizations and the entire population to raise general awareness of the whole society and promote the development of education and training programs on water governance; promote water sector diplomacy, focusing on parliamentary diplomacy to promote regional and international cooperation on water governance, form a regular dialogue mechanism with neighboring countries, share information on water resources and related issues in water governance, and exchange experiences on Parliamentary participation in water governance.

In addition, at a series of events such as the Conference of Women Parliamentarians; the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, the Conference of the Association of Parliamentary Secretaries General, the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of the Conference of Women Parliamentarians, Towards the Beijing Vision..., Vietnam also made a number of recommendations on continuing to implement the Beijing Declaration of Action such as increasing the rate of women participating in politics, improving women's access, allocating resources reasonably for gender equality, eliminating violence against women and children, and continuing research to have sustainable development goals after 2015, integrating gender in all sustainable development goals.

Vietnam also committed to the Conference of Women Parliamentarians to continue building a more synchronous legal system, mainstreaming gender in the legal system, organizing effective enforcement and paying attention to resource allocation to ensure Vietnam's gender goals...

As a member parliament of the IPU, the Vietnamese delegation fully, actively and effectively participated in the activities of official mechanisms, consultations and sideline activities within the framework of the 132nd IPU General Assembly.

At the same time, as representatives of the host country, Vietnamese National Assembly deputies promoted a positive and proactive spirit and participated responsibly in discussions at plenary sessions and meetings of the Committees, aiming to make practical contributions to the success of the 132nd IPU General Assembly.

For Vietnam, the organization of the 132nd IPU General Assembly is to continue implementing a proactive foreign policy, actively integrating into the international community, and being a responsible member of the international community. The success of the organization of the 132nd IPU General Assembly also creates momentum to strongly promote trade, investment, and tourism activities in Vietnam, as well as from Vietnam abroad.

According to Vietnam+