"The quality of a diplomat is to be firm and gentle at the right time"!

(Baonghean)On the occasion of Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong - Deputy Minister, Vice Chairman of the Government's Ethnic Minorities Committee, having just completed his duties as Head of the Vietnamese Delegation at the 5th United Nations Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, Nghe An Newspaper's reporter had a quick interview, respectfully introducing it to readers.



Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong, Deputy Minister, Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Ethnic Minorities, spoke at the 5th United Nations forum on human rights.

PV: Mr. Deputy Minister, in your capacity as Head of the Vietnamese delegation at the United Nations forum on human rights, could you please tell us the main content and composition of this forum?

Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong:The 5th United Nations Forum on Human Rights focused on the main topics of ethnic, racial, religious and indigenous issues. After the opening speech by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the President of the Human Rights Council read the report summarizing 20 years of implementing the UN Declaration, followed by members of the UN High Commissioner presenting thematic reports on the above issues. The Forum had 2 days of public exchange and debate.

The forum's participants included delegates representing 129 countries and territories and hundreds of international organizations. Because it is a public forum, many organizations with different viewpoints were also invited to attend, such as the Viet Tan Party, the Cambodian Khmer Crom KKF, the International Office of Champa, the Descendants of Champa Organization, the Montagnard Fund... therefore, the human rights forum is always a struggle for ideology and national and ethnic interests.

PV: Dear Deputy Minister, what is the purpose of the Vietnamese delegation attending this forum?

Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong:We set three goals: First, to make the United Nations and international friends understand Vietnam's efforts in implementing human rights, and to share our difficulties due to the weak economic situation and the heavy devastation of war; Second, to conduct foreign affairs activities at the forum to limit the sabotage of some reactionary organizations that take advantage of human rights, ethnic and religious issues; Third, to contribute to gaining the consensus of international friends to support Vietnam to become a member of the World Human Rights Council for the 2014-2016 term.

PV: At the same time, we must achieve all three goals, including fighting to clarify the wrongdoings of organizations and individuals who take advantage of human rights, ethnicity, and religion to defame Vietnam, and at the same time winning the sympathy of countries to elect Vietnam to the World Human Rights Council in 2013. Do you find any moments tense, complicated, or difficult?

Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong:There were two rather complicated moments. The first was when a European NGO criticized China for violating the rights of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Chinese delegation immediately reacted by using its veto power. Cuba, Russia, Pakistan, and Belarus spoke out in support of China, but the United States, Norway, Denmark, and Switzerland reacted strongly. A war of words broke out between the two sides. At that time, I had two streams of thought in my head: If we did not speak out, it would be easy for countries with traditional relations to think that we did not support, but if we spoke out, we would be isolated at the forum and directly affect Vietnam's election to the Human Rights Council. The second time was when some opposition organizations criticized us for violating human rights.

We have a team of interpreters and a team of experts who always follow the developments of the situation, grasp information from the Presidium and the Secretariat to know exactly which delegations have registered to speak? What content is related to Vietnam? Anticipating the situations that may arise, our delegation proactively chose a plan that did not fall into a verbal argument at the forum, but instead used the method of private exchange with delegations and international organizations, including some opposition organizations. When there were opinions criticizing Vietnam, we cleverly asked organizations such as the European Union, UNDP, UNICEF, and experts from these organizations who have worked in Vietnam for many years, to speak about the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in caring for people. This method was very effective, causing some people with bad intentions to withdraw their opinions. We have created consensus among the forum's Presidium and the majority of delegates. That was the success of the Vietnamese delegation at the 5th United Nations forum on human rights.

PV: Comrade, from the success at this United Nations forum, what do you think about the opinion that Nghe An people are rigid, hot-tempered, too rigid, lacking in flexibility, and not suitable for diplomatic work?

Comrade Hoang Xuan Luong:It is true that researchers have mentioned some limiting qualities of Nghe An people, such as being hot-tempered, stubborn, and lacking flexibility. But the quality of a diplomat is not about being firm or soft, but about being firm or soft at the right time. In the traditional qualities of Nghe An people, there are many qualities that are very necessary for diplomatic work, such as loyalty, resilience, frankness, and sincerity. That is why our homeland has always had famous diplomats. From Ho Si Duong, Ho Si Dong, Nguyen Truong To, Phan Boi Chau, Dang Thuc Hua, Ho Tung Mau, Le Hong Son, Pham Hong Thai, Le Hong Phong, with the peak being the genius diplomat Ho Chi Minh. Following are the generations of uncles and brothers Nguyen Manh Cam, Truong Dinh Tuyen, Ngo Quang Xuan, Nguyen Dinh Luong, Nguyen Tam Chien... These are the diplomats who have contributed to making Nghe An people famous.

PV: Thank you, comrade!

PV (performed)