Vietnam has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council ( UNHRC ) for the 2023-2025 tenure thanks to the international community’s confidence in the Southeast Asian nation, according to Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang , Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) immediately after the voting result was announced, the ambassador shared both the difficulties and advantages that Vietnam faced while running for the seat.
The country confronted many difficulties in promoting its bid, particularly the large number of candidates, of which the Asia-Pacific region alone has seven. Giang explained that human rights is one of the three main pillars of the UN, along with peace and security, and development, and the UNHRC serves as the main body of the UN in implementing human rights orientations . Therefore, countries attaches importance to and drastically join the mechanism.
Secondly, Vietnam launched its candidacy at the latest among candidates, he said, adding that the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic had hindered the country’s campaigning efforts, which had just been conducted since early 2022. The ambassador also pointed to differences between countries' approaches to the issue of human rights, and Vietnam had to seek common points to be accepted by other countries, making them realise Vietnam's contributions to joint efforts.
The Vietnamese delegation to the session (Photo: VNA)
At the same time, Vietnam also has advantages in its bid, as it was supported by ASEAN countries and was the only candidate of the region, which reflects the significance of solidarity and consensus within the ten-member grouping, according to the ambassador.
Notably, Vietnam has won confidence of countries thanks to its economic achievements, with people always put at the centre and regarded as a development impulse and target, along with its responsible contributions to UN mechanisms over the past two years, Giang said.
Another advantage is the engagement of the entire political system, ministries and agencies, and the close supervision and direct participation of high-ranking delegation in campaigning. The communication work has been stepped up, helping Vietnamese people and international friends understand more about Vietnam’s candidacy and its commitments to promoting human rights domestically and globally, the ambassador added./.
