A/HRC/12/50 control of rebels forces and that the legitimate authorities, not to mention ordinary citizens, were in danger of being annihilated. 473. On child soldiers, Chad stated that the Government spared no effort, including legislative steps, to prevent and eradicate this phenomenon. An agreement had been signed with UNICEF on this issue and all possible measures had been taken to avoid child recruitment by the national army. Viet Nam 474. The review of Viet Nam was held on 8 May 2009 in conformity with all the relevant provisions contained in Council resolution 5/1, and was based on the national report submitted by Viet Nam in accordance with the annex to Council resolution 5/1, paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/VNM/1); the compilation prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/VNM/2); and the summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/VNM/3). 475. At its 18th meeting, on 24 September 2009, the Council considered and adopted the outcome of the review on Viet Nam (see section C below). 476. The outcome of the review on Viet Nam comprises of the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (A/HRC/12/11), the views of Viet Nam concerning the recommendations and/or conclusions, and its voluntary commitments and replies presented before the adoption of the outcome by the plenary to questions or issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the interactive dialogue in the Working Group (see also A/HRC/12/11/Add.1). 1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions as well as on its voluntary commitments and on the outcome 477. In his opening statement, the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam, Pham Binh Minh, stated that the Vietnamese delegation had had a productive dialogue with countries on the protection and promotion of human rights in Viet Nam at the May session of the Working Group. He thanked delegations for commending Viet Nam’s serious universal periodic review preparation, the quality and comprehensiveness of the report, and for acknowledging Viet Nam’s achievements in national construction and development. He reiterated that these achievements were the result of Viet Nam’s reform process and its consistent policy to respect, protect and promote human rights. At the same time, the universal periodic review process had helped Viet Nam understand more fully the challenges faced and to identify areas for further improvement. Viet Nam also saw this as an experience-sharing exercise, laying the ground for a better protection and promotion of human rights by the authorities. 478. In May 2009, the Vietnamese delegation expressed agreement with most of the views and recommendations of States. After the Working Group session, a comprehensive report had been submitted to the Government with proposed follow-up steps to implement these recommendations. Briefings on the outcomes of the session were held for people organizations, government agencies as well as the diplomatic corps and non-governmental organizations. 479. In the past four months, Viet Nam had shared its development experiences with several countries, ratified the Convention against Corruption, withdrawn its reservations to the optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and included in the National Assembly’s 2010 work programme an item on consideration of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Viet Nam would also consider favourably the recommendations on accession to the ILO Convention on Forced Labour 134

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