A/HRC/12/50 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. International Pen also demanded that the Viet Nam authorities bring to an end the pattern of imprisonment and residence surveillance against those who held dissenting views. 498. Human Rights Watch noted Viet Nam’s rejection of recommendations pertaining to arbitrary detention and mistreatment, restrictions on peaceful expression, association and religion, the use of capital punishment and the lack of prohibitions of torture. It noted the rejection of recommendations to lift Internet controls, expedite local registration of religious organizations, repeal or amend national security laws used to criminalize dissent, and release prisoners of conscience. On the positive side, Viet Nam had reduced the number of crimes punishable by capital punishment. Recently, Viet Nam had arrested seven democracy activists and more than 30 Montagnard Christians. Montagnard Christians had been sentenced to prison, and another eight democracy activists awaited trial. 499. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues was concerned about Viet Nam’s rejection of a number of essential recommendations. Since the review, journalists, bloggers, human rights lawyers and opponents had been arbitrarily arrested. Numerous countries had called for transparency on prisons and camps, the number of detainees and the reasons for their incarceration. Viet Nam should recognize independent religions. Regrettably, Viet Nam had rejected the recommendation to extend an invitation to various special procedures. 500. The International Association of Democratic Lawyers Europe and the Third World Centre commended Viet Nam for the achievements regarding poverty reduction, right to education, right to health and right to food, gender equality and promotion of women’s rights. Viet Nam was a developing country that had undergone 30 years of war and had overcome the aftermath of war, for example by providing support for the many victims of bombs, mines and agent Orange/dioxin, as millions of people still suffered from its tragic effects, for which, to date, no one had assumed responsibility. Despite significant progress, the Vietnamese legal system contained some inconsistencies and contradictions, with the adoption of free-market laws. 501. The World Peace Council noted that the Vietnamese people had suffered colonial domination and foreign interventions. There were still millions of victims suffering from agent Orange-related diseases. Regretfully, the perpetrators and the international community had not dealt with this issue adequately. The Constitution guaranteed and made provisions for all fundamental human and civil rights, including the right to freedom of belief and religion. All question-and-answer sessions in Parliament were broadcast live on television. The media often openly criticized the mistakes of the authorities. It encouraged the Vietnamese to pursue universal values in their own way and not to impose formulas that had many limitations. 502. North-South XXI, in a joint statement with the Union of Arab Jurists, remained concerned about the Government’s limitation of freedom of expression, and encouraged the Government to continue to work closely with journalists and media organizations to ensure that a variety of views were expressed in the media. North-South XXI hoped that Viet Nam would consider subscribing to the General Assembly moratorium on the death penalty. The international community had a legal duty to support Viet Nam’s efforts with adequate resources and cooperation. 4. Concluding remarks of the State under review 503. In his concluding remarks, the Deputy Minister thanked States and some nongovernmental organizations for their objective remarks and the comments of goodwill on the challenges facing Viet Nam. He affirmed that the Government gave priority to addressing these challenges. 138