Vietnam has lauded the efforts of the international community inimplementing the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA)on the protection of human rights.

In aspeech delivered at the March 24 discussions on the VDPA, part of theongoing 25 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council inGeneva, a Vietnamese spokesman called on countries to better ensurepeople’s full enjoyment of their rights and freedoms.

Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, andinterrelated, the representative reiterated, stating that in Vietnam,all citizens are equal and the government spares no effort to observeand promote the rights of citizens regardless their ethnicity,sexuality, religion, belief or gender.

Vietnamaffirmed that the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groupdeserves full support and respect of their legitimate desires for equalengagement and integration with the community.

Therepresentative also called on the international community to continueopen, proactive and constructive dialogues to prevent discriminationagainst the group, while strengthening regional and internationalcoordination to protect their rights in association with the uniquetraditional values, culture, history and religions of each country.

Adopted by the consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights onJune 25, 1993 in Vienna, Australia, the VDPA reaffirms human rights asuniversal.-VNA