Viet Nam had adopted policies and measures to
ensure ethnic minorities could exercise their rights in every sphere of life, an
independent expert on minority issues told the Human Rights Council’s 16th
session on Wednesday.

Independent expert Gay McDougall reported to the council in Geneva on her visit
to Viet Nam last July, in which she praised the country’s recognition of its
ethnic minority population as an important constituent of its nation.

She
applauded the political determination, policies, measures and programmes of the
Government to ensure the rights of ethnic minorities in all fields, particularly
in its efforts to address the socio-economic gaps that exist between ethnic
minorities and the majority Kinh population.

However,
she said Viet Nam still had to cope with many challenges such as difficult
living conditions for ethnic minority people and a high poverty rate.

Ambassador Vu Dung, Head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, World
Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva, said Viet
Nam had always given a high priority to ensuring ethnic minority rights,
especially the right to development.

“Over
the last decades, Viet Nam has passed laws and policies and devised concrete
national programmes, particularly those on poverty alleviation, basic healthcare
and education, for the benefit of ethnic minorities,” he stressed.

He said
that the country had worked to increase the opportunities available in
employment, education and training for ethnic minorities while preserving their
unique cultures, languages, traditions and lifestyles.

The
Vietnamese Government would continue to try its best to improve the living
conditions and better ensure the rights of ethnic minority people, and would
continue to co-operate and share experiences with other countries and the UN on
this issue, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News