Viet Nam has made active and increasingly substantive contributions to UNSC
Only two months are left until Viet Nam completes its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It is the time to look back on what Viet Nam has achieved and set the directions for multilateral diplomacy in the coming time.
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| State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivered a statement at the high-level open debate of the UNSC on Climate Security. (Photo: VNA) |
On September 20th, 1977, Viet Nam officially joined the UN, an organization that plays a central role in international law-making, peacekeeping, conflict prevention and response to global challenges.
During the past 44 years, as an active and proactive member, Viet Nam has made great strides in affirming its position and role at the most important multilateral forum.
Positive, proactive and substantive contributions
Assessing the cooperation between Viet Nam and the UN over the past 44 years, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang said that this relationship has contributed to protecting and promoting the interests of the nation - the Vietnamese people, especially maintaining and strengthening a peaceful, secure and favorable environment for national development; promoting deeper international integration and enhancing Viet Nam's position and image in the international arena; at the same time deepening Viet Nam's relations with other countries and partners, taking advantage of an important resource for the development of the country.
In addition, the Deputy Foreign Minister pointed out that Viet Nam has made active and increasingly substantive contributions to UN activities, especially in realizing the common goals of peace and harmony, security, development and promotion of human rights.
Viet Nam has been assessed by the UN and the international community as a successful example in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a country that seriously implements the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The country actively cooperates with the UN mechanisms on human rights, well implements the Country Report under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism and complies with the international convention on human rights to which Viet Nam is a signatory.
In the fields of peace and security, Viet Nam has actively participated in the negotiations and signed the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2018 and is the 10th country to ratify this Treaty.
Viet Nam has also sent 243 military officers to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions and is one of the countries with the highest percentage of female participation among the sending countries (12%).
Imprints at the UNSC
On the 44-year journey of UN membership, the most profound imprint of Viet Nam at the UN is the moment when it was elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the term of the UNSC 2020-2021 with a record high number of votes of 192/193 votes. This is the second time Viet Nam joined the UNSC after the first term in 2008-2009.
In the spirit of "partnership for sustainable peace" and responsibility, Viet Nam has actively participated and contributed to the work of the UNSC, clearly showing its support for the UN Charter and international law, promoting solutions to conflicts, and at the same time upholding Viet Nam's efforts and experience in reconstruction and international integration.
According to Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang, the fact that Viet Nam's high level leaders preside over and attend UNSC activities and give comments and suggestions at these events has been highly appreciated by the international community for their significance and vision.
As the President of the UNSC in January 2020 and April 2021, Viet Nam has promoted the issues which are top priorities of the country and also in line with the common concerns of the international community, such as the UN Charter compliance, ASEAN-UN cooperation, mine action, the role of regional organizations and the protection of essential facilities during conflicts, etc.
In the coming time, Viet Nam’s multilateral diplomacy at the UN will contribute to actively implementing the foreign policy of the 13th Party Congress, Directive 25 of the Secretariat, contributing to creating a peaceful and stable environment, improving the country's prestige and position, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang stated.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Chair of the UNSC for April, presides over an in-person and online debate on the theme 'Protection of Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population'. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Strategic vision
According to Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang, the great strides at the UN show the strategic vision of the Vietnamese Party and State when identifying multilateral diplomacy as an important foreign policy orientation and setting requirements to promote multilateral diplomacy in which cooperation with the UN is one of the top priorities. Multilateral diplomacy is said to closely and effectively combine with bilateral diplomacy.
“This also clearly shows the increasing role and position of the country; the growth of foreign affairs in general and multilateral diplomacy in particular on all three pillars of party diplomacy, state diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy", said Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang shared.
On that basis, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang pointed out four major orientations of multilateral diplomacy in the coming time.
Firstly, continuing to participate in activities to affirm the position, promote the role, demonstrate the identity, imprints, bravery and commitments of Viet Nam at the UN and other multilateral forums, striving to perform the role of a "core, leading and conciliatory" member of the world community in the spirit of Directive 25 of the Secretariat.
In that spirit, Viet Nam is running for a position at several important UN agencies, including the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the term 2023-2025 and the International Law Commission (ILC) period 2023-2027. The participation in these agencies makes a practical contribution to realizing Viet Nam's commitments, priorities and goals at the world's largest multilateral organization.
Second, coordinating with UN member states to strengthen commitments to multilateralism, comply with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), implement common goals of the UN, including the implementation of the SDGs, the Paris Agreement on climate change, protecting the environment, ensuring and promoting human rights, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining sustainable economic and social development.
Third, taking advantage of participation in the UN to promote and deepen relations with the UN, international organizations and other countries, especially world powers as strategic and comprehensive partners.
In particular, in 2022, Viet Nam and the UN will organize many activities and events to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam's admission into the UN - an important milestone in the journey of Viet Nam's international integration.
Fourth, continuing to promote Viet Nam's participation in UN peacekeeping activities, contributing to promoting and raising the level of multilateral diplomacy, thus enhancing the image of the country in the international arena.
