Human rights embrace universal human values recognized by countries around the world, including Vietnam. Since the foundation of its socialist democratic state, Vietnam has consistently pursued the goal of promoting, protecting, and ensuring the fundamental rights of its people. Though Vietnam was not the first country to raise the fundamental issues of human rights, it was one of the few countries that approached human rights early on.

In the Independence Declaration that gave birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh wrote: “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Highlighting the rights to equality, to life, to happiness, and to freedom, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized that human rights can be ensured only in close connection with the rights to national independence and freedom.

Since its foundation, Vietnam has pursued the consistent goals of national independence and human freedom and happiness.

Through several revisions of its Constitution in 1946, 1959, 1980, 1992, and 2013, Vietnam has maintained the core constitutional values of human rights and citizen rights. The 2013 Constitution devotes one chapter to human rights and the fundamental rights and obligations of citizens. Right after Article 1 on territorial rights, Article 2 of the 2013 Constitution affirms that the right of supreme sovereignty belongs to the people: “The State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a socialist state ruled by law and of the People, by the People and for the People”. The capitalized world “People” emphasizes the people’s critical role in history and in national construction and defense. In the 2014-2019 period, the Vietnamese State promulgated more than 100 legal documents and ordinances ensuring human rights and citizen rights.

Vietnam’s achievements in human rights in the last 70 years have been reflected in the country’s dramatic economic growth during the 35 years of national renewal from 1986 to 2020. From a backward agriculture-based economy with a GDP of only 14 billion USD in 1985, Vietnam’s economy grew to a GDP of 262 billion USD in 2019, up almost 19 fold. The Economist in August ranked Vietnam among the world’s 16 most successful emerging economies. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession globally, Vietnam has maintained its economic growth this year, thanks to the government’s resolute actions to achieve the dual goal of controlling the pandemic and promoting economic growth. Economic growth underpins the State’s social security and culture policies, which have secured Vietnam’s improvement on the Human Development Index. According to the UNDP’s report on human development in 2019, with an HDI of 0.63, Vietnam ranks 118th of 189 countries. Vietnam’s average lifespan increased 4.8 years, average years of schooling was up 4.3 years, and per capita income increased 354%. After more than 70 years of mobilizing public consensus and contribution to national construction and defense, Vietnam has become a peaceful and independent country. It has been recognized by the international community as a vanguard and a bright spot in achieving the Millennium Development Goals on poverty and social equality. These achievements are essential to ensuring people’s fundamental rights.

The Communist Party of Vietnam has set a goal of making Vietnam a socialist country with wealthy people, strength, democracy, equality and civilization. These goals are consistent with Vietnam’s commitment to working with other countries to promote universal human rights.