Human Rights Council adopts resolution proposed, drafted by Vietnam

The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on April 3 adopted a resolution proposed and drafted by Vietnam to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA).

The resolution was adopted by consensus and co-sponsored by 98 states as of the end of April 3 afternoon (Geneva time), including 14 co-authors (Vietnam, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Fiji, India, Panama, Romania, South Africa, and Spain).

It is a highlight of Vietnam in its first HRC session as its member in the 2023 - 2025 tenure.

At a high-level meeting opening the HRC’s 52nd regular session in Geneva on February 27, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang put forth an initiative on the commemoration of the UDHR’s 75th anniversary and the VDPA’s 30th anniversary with a resolution of the council to reaffirm and augment efforts and actions to achieve the major and inclusive targets and values of the two declarations, as well as the international community’s common commitments on human rights for all.

The resolution focuses on the importance of the UDHR and the VDPA while repeating their fundamental principles on human rights. It reflects countries’ broad attention to the commemoration of the two declarations and to the improvement of the stature, role, and efficiency of the HRC and UN human rights mechanisms. It stresses the leading role of countries in ensuring human rights, the recognition of women’s participation, the role of international cooperation and solidarity, and the respect for diversity and inclusiveness in promoting and protecting human rights and in taking part in HRC activities.

The resolution also asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to carry out activities marking the UDHR and VDPA’s anniversaries, including a UN high-level event on human rights in December this year and a report on the celebrations to be submitted to the HRC’s 56th session in early 2024.

The UDHR, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, is not an international legal document but served as the foundation for building the international human rights law, the documents on human rights of regional mechanisms, and laws of countries. It was one of the most important documents of the 20th century. The date December 10 was later designated as the Human Rights Day.

Meanwhile, the VDPA was adopted by UN member states at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. It reaffirmed the UDHR’s values and clarified that the protection and promotion of human rights must be the top priority of each country and the international community.