A/HRC/16/45/Add.2 I. Introduction 1. The independent expert on minority issues visited Viet Nam from 5 to 15 July 2010. She wishes to thank the Government of Viet Nam for its cooperation and for the importance that it attached to her visit. The independent expert was provided with extensive access to senior Government officials at both the national and provincial levels, whom she thanks for their time and information. She also wishes to thank the civil society organizations who provided information to her. 2. The independent expert visited Hanoi and regions of significant minority populations, including the provinces of Dien Bien in the northern highlands, Tra Vinh in the Mekong Delta region and the Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces in the central highlands. 3. Vietnam recognizes 54 distinct ethnic groups with unique religious, linguistic and cultural characteristics and identities. The Kinh constitute the country’s ethnic majority, accounting for 85.7 per cent of the population,1 while ethnic minorities account for 14.3 per cent of the population (12.25 million people). Five ethnic minority groups have populations of over 1 million people: the Tay, 1.63 million; the Thai, 1.55 million; the Muong, 1.27 million; the Khmer, 1.26 million; and the Mong, 1.1 m. Another five groups each have populations of less than 1,000 people.2 Of 64 provinces, 49 have an ethnic minority population of at least 30 per cent. 4. The independent expert’s evaluation of minority issues in Viet Nam is based on the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of 1992and other relevant international standards, from which she has identified four broad areas of concern: (a) the protection of a minority’s survival, through combating violence against them and preventing genocide; (b) the protection and promotion of the cultural identity of minority groups and the right of national, ethnic, religious or linguistic groups to enjoy their collective identity and to reject forced assimilation; (c) the guarantee of the rights to non-discrimination and equality, including ending structural or systemic discrimination and the promotion of affirmative action when required; and (d) the guarantee of the right to effective participation of members of minorities in public life, especially with regard to decisions that affect them. The independent expert applies a gender perspective in all areas of her work. 5. The independent expert welcomes the constructive engagement of the Government of Viet Nam in relation to her visit. However, during her visit, she was largely confined to meetings arranged by the Government, encountering obstacles that limited opportunities for unaccompanied meetings outside of the presence of Government officials. She therefore does not believe that she had full, free and unfettered access to all parties whom she wished to consult. This impeded her ability to obtain perspectives other than those in consonance with official Government positions. 6. In the present report, the independent expert detail relevant information gained from her consultations in the country, as well as research and information from credible sources. She has tried to record faithfully the views of the Government, to the extent permitted by restrictions on the length of the report. Her conclusions and recommendations are contained in the final section of the report. 1 2 4 Population and housing census for 2009, available from the website of the General Statistics Office at www.gso.gov.vn. World Bank, Country Social Analysis: Ethnicity and Development in Vietnam, 2009.