This article analyzes the constitutional debate on and development of human rights in Vietnam throughout five constitutions from 1946 to 2013, as well as the prospects and challenges in promoting human rights in Vietnam during and after the development of its 2013 Constitution. It begins with an investigation and discussion of the human rights provisions from the 1946 Constitution to the 1992 Constitution -a period where the socialist human rights tradition was established in Vietnam. It follows with an analysis of the debates on the new human rights and citizens' rights provisions in the 1992 Constitution, where a new concept of natural human rights emerged. The article continues to explore how the struggle and debates surrounding the competing conception of rightssocialist and positivist on one hand and natural law-based on the other -come into play in shaping the 2013 Constitution. It then proceeds to evaluate the potential challenges involved in the implementation of these rights in the coming years. The authors argue that the development of constitutional human rights in Vietnam is still limited by ideological barriers. It also faces substantial practical challenges owing to, inter alia, the absence of provisions for the immediate implementation of such rights as well as legal mechanisms for the protection of constitutional rights, such as a constitutional review system.
Human trafficking is a domestic and transnational crime that poses complex law enforcement challenges to all nations. Vietnam is particularly affected due to rapid growth in labour migration and international tourism. The presumption of law makers is that by improving the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons (TIP), its incidence within the country and beyond its borders will decrease. Inherent in this premise is the assumption that strong legal sanctions deter would-be traffickers. This paper describes Vietnam’s criminal justice responses to human trafficking with reference to the legal framework and institutions. Barriers and challenges in implementing the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP), and the underlying reasons why the current response is inadequate in addressing TIP are identified with a focus on issues associated with victims and trials. The paper argues that Vietnam needs to increase efforts to meet its obligations and standards as set out in the United Nation’s Recommended Principles and Guideline on Human Rights and Human Trafficking and ACTIP. In particular, prosecution of traffickers and the protection of victims need to be prioritised.
Keywords: Human Trafficking, Human Rights, Labor Migration, Criminal Justice, Vietnam
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.