LookAtVietnam – President Nguyen Minh Triet congratulated Jeane Mirer yesterday, June 10, after she was elected President of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) at the end of its 17th Congress.

President of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Jeane Mirer, hands the International Tribunal of Conscience’s verdict to President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Triet said Viet Nam would always be united with the IADL in the fight for justice and equality in the world and once again thanked the association for organising the International Tribunal of Conscience supporting Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims.

He said the IADL, as a close friend of the Vietnamese people, had fought hard alongside Viet Nam for a world of justice, freedom and happiness.

“Viet Nam criticises anyone who tramples democracy and human rights in the name of these values,” he said.

IADL President Mirer briefed Triet on the major outcomes of the congress, saying her organisation would be doing more to help bring justice to Vietnamese victims of AO.

Ha Noi Declaration

The 17th congress of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) yesterday issued a Ha Noi Declaration reaffirming its commitment to work for a world with peace; one without war, conflicts, repression, poverty and hunger; and with full respect for justice, equality and human dignity.

The congress, the first of its kind organised in Asia, highlighted the priorities to world peace and security, anti-terrorism legislation, accountability for international crimes, globalisation, economic, social and cultural rights, development and environmental rights, and independence of the judiciary.

Speaking at the congress’s conclusion, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong said participants discussed many big issues of concern to the world and to lawyers, including the right to live in peace for all people and the role of lawyers in the context of the global economic crisis.

The congress also discussed and proposed ways contributing to a push for the international legal system, ensuring a world of peace, stability, friendship, co-operation and development.

He said he believed that Vietnamese lawyers had learned precious information and gained experiences from international colleagues, which they could actively use to contribute to the country’s legal and judicial reform.

Delegates expressed their profound concern for the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange (AO) and reiterated the IADL’s recent judgement by the International Tribunal of Conscience in Support of the Victims of AO for full compensation and reparation to be paid by the US government and by the corporations which manufactured this weapon of death and environmental destruction.

Jeanne Mirer, who was elected president of the IADL at the congress, said Viet Nam was an example for the world in struggling for peace and independence.

She said the IADL had supported Vietnamese victims for many years and would continue to expand this support to a new level.

“We will not stop until we achieve success,” said the newly-elected president.

Former IADL President Jitendra Sharma said the congress freely supported the victims of AO in Viet Nam and their right for compensation.

“The US and the chemical companies which supplied dioxin-laced chemicals knowing fully its harmful consequences are bound to compensate the victims and clean up the environment,” said Sharma.

Human rights

Taking place during a deepening international economic crisis, the congress agreed and committed to co-operation, standing to work for a full realisation of legitimate aspirations of nations including full social, economic and cultural co-operation.

The congress also expressed support for human rights to a clean and healthy environment, calling for this right to be incorporated into international, regional and national laws and agreements.

On behalf of the IADL, Barrister Richard Harvey from England announced the Ha Noi Declaration which calls for the formulation of a Code of Peace to promote an end to armed conflicts, increasing the role of negotiations in preventing and settling international conflicts, and the establishment of a flexible system of crisis management and settlement.

“We have helped to win several important cases, but much work remains to be done to protect minority communities and others from the counter-productivity of the repressive legislation and reactionary rhetoric of the past eight years,” said Harvey.

Harvey said the IADL would create a centre for the protection of lawyers and judges to strengthen its work in publishing reports and in organising solidarity and observer missions.

The congress called upon lawyers and jurists around the world to ensure the independence of the judiciary, to implement progressive principles of judicial procedure, and to provide and strengthen access to justice, particularly for the poor, ethnic minorities, children, women and people with disabilities.

The congress elected 27 members to the Bureau of the 17th IADL from a pool of lawyer’s associations, and national and regional organisations. Viet Nam Lawyer Association representative Dao Tri Uc was re-elected IADL Bureau member.

At the congress, former IADL president Jitendra Sharma received a friendship medal from President Nguyen Minh Triet for hist contribution to the country’s construction process as well as his efforts in claiming justice for Vietnamese victims of AO.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News