HÀ NỘI — Ambassador Nguyễn Trung Thành, Việt Nam’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), rejected the inaccurate, biased and unverified information provided by the spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) last Friday.

Spokesman of the UN Human Rights’ Office of the High Commissioner Rupert Colville said the UN rights body is “concerned about the increasing levels of violence perpetrated against Vietnamese protesters expressing their anger over the mysterious mass deaths of fish along the country’s central coast.”

Colville called on the Vietnamese government to respect the right of freedom of assembly in line with its international human rights obligations.
Việt Nam has respected and ensured people’s fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom to gathering and the right to freedom of speech, in compliance with the country’s 2013 Constitution and international standards, Thành said on Sunday.
Thành noted international conventions, especially those on civil and political rights have prescribed that personal rights and freedoms must be exercised in line with laws and without affecting security, public order, moral standards, public health and rights and interests of others.
Based on that spirit, measures that are employed by Việt Nam to safeguard traffic order, security and safety for people, comply with the country’s law and international standards, Thành stressed.
Actions that provoke violence and disturb social order, affecting people’s lives need to be prevented within the framework of law, he said.
Referring to the recent environmental incident in the central region, the Government, relevant localities and socio-political organisations have been working together to support affected residents.
Việt Nam, with support from international experts and partners, is working to establish the causes of the incident and is providing regular updates via the media, Thành stressed.
Việt Nam welcomes international co-operation, including the UN in dealing with the situation in a scientific, unbiased and constructive spirit, he said. — VNS