Don't judge a gentleman's heart by a petty person's standards.
(Baonghean.vn) - At the beginning of the year, the so-called Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization once again published its global summary report on the human rights situation in the world in 2023. Repeating the same old story, this organization continued to make slanderous and fabricated assessments of the human rights situation in Vietnam.
The report is distorted and far removed from reality.
HRW alleges that 2023 was a bleak year for human rights in Vietnam. The report claims that Vietnam expanded its crackdown on civil society activists in 2023, accusing the authorities of severely restricting fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and the press, assembly, and association.
The report cites unsubstantiated figures about human rights activists being tried and sentenced to many years in prison. Among them are Truong Van Dung, Nguyen Lan Thang, Tran Van Bang, Bui Tuan Lam, and Dang Dang Phuoc. The report also claims that bloggers and human rights activists are threatened, harassed, have their travel restricted, are arbitrarily arrested, and are held in solitary confinement.
Furthermore, HRW also alleges that Vietnam is increasing its repression of civil society activists, citing the arrest and trial of "leading environmental activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong on fabricated charges of tax evasion"; or "environmental activist Dang Dinh Bach"...
HRW also claims that the criminal justice system, including the courts in Vietnam, lacks independence, imposing long prison sentences on dissidents and civil society activists based on fabricated national security charges...
Mr. Robertson, Deputy Director for Asia at HRW, continued his fabrication: “All civil and political rights, whether freedom of speech, assembly, or association, are being systematically violated by the Vietnamese government. The government has regressed too far on human rights, failing to adhere to any international human rights convention it has ratified!”
Clearly, these accusations clearly demonstrate HRW's biased view of Vietnam's political system. The organization's annual reports are biased, fabricated, and repeatedly contain false information.
The situation in Vietnam strongly refutes HRW's accusations.
Denying these false accusations, on January 25, 2024, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated: “Vietnam completely rejects and condemns the so-called Human Rights Watch organization for the false and fabricated content in its report.”
Vietnam not only rejected HRW's claims through diplomatic channels, but also countered them through practical actions demonstrating its commitment to protecting and upholding human rights. For decades, Vietnam has continuously built and perfected a socialist rule of law state of the people, by the people, and for the people, actively and proactively integrating into the international community.
Vietnam's achievements and prestige in protecting human rights have been recognized and highly appreciated internationally. Therefore, with a high number of votes, Vietnam was elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for its second term (2023-2025). By the end of 2023, Vietnam had ratified and joined most of the fundamental United Nations conventions on human rights; and joined 25 ILO conventions (International Labour Organization - the UN's special agency dealing with labor issues) such as: the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)...
Vietnam is a responsible, active, and progressive member of the human rights community. Even the United States, which has yet to ratify the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, is committed to implementing these laws and considers them its political and legal responsibility.
Investigation, prosecution, trial, execution of sentences, arrest, detention, and rehabilitation are carried out strictly, democratically, and transparently, minimizing wrongful convictions and preventing the escape of criminals, contributing to socio-economic development and international integration. As a result, citizens are guaranteed rights to employment, income, property, social security, healthcare, education, and participation in cultural life. In particular, Vietnam is a country that respects and recognizes freedom of religion and belief. By 2023, Vietnam had granted registration to 43 organizations belonging to 16 religions, with over 26.5 million followers, accounting for 27% of the population, more than 54,000 religious leaders, over 135,000 religious officials, and nearly 30,000 places of worship...
Vietnam's human rights achievements are undeniable, yet HRW continues to turn a blind eye, distorting the truth, and falsely accusing Vietnam in a way that completely denies them.
Not only in Vietnam, HRW also presents biased reports on the human rights situation in many countries around the world. Because of this, HRW is increasingly boycotted; its human rights reports are often deemed inaccurate, politically motivated, and subjectively imposed by the foreign ministries of many countries. Russia, China, Thailand, Singapore, Cuba, Sri Lanka, North Korea, Ethiopia, Syria, and others have consistently rejected, opposed, and criticized HRW's reports. Furthermore, many countries have banned HRW's website because the organization frequently uses the guise of "human rights monitoring" to spread distorted information, disseminate false and inflammatory content, and violate national security regulations.
Even in the United States – where HRW originated – there has been a boycott of HRW; Geoffrey Corn, a law professor at the University of South Texas Houston School of Law and a member of the Center for Defense & Strategy at the Jewish Institute for National Security (JINSA), has written an article exposing HRW's false reports and asserting: "HRW does not possess the facts, is heavily speculative, and contains many errors."
Clearly, for a disreputable organization like HRW to brazenly report on human rights in Vietnam is tantamount to "judging a gentleman's character by a petty mind."
