j A/HRC/28/57/Add.1 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 29 January 2015 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-eighth session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed Addendum Visit to Viet Nam (18–29 November 2013)* ** Summary The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights undertook an official visit to Viet Nam from 18 to 29 November 2013 at the invitation of the Government. The purpose of the visit was to assess, in a spirit of cooperation and dialogue, both the achievements of Viet Nam and the challenges remaining in the implementation of cultural rights, understood as rights of all persons to express their identity and to have access to, participate in and contribute to cultural life, without hindrance or fear. The Special Rapporteur focused on three issues, namely, history teaching, artistic freedoms and the impact of development and tourism policies on the enjoyment of cultural rights. Viet Nam has made remarkable progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and realizing a range of economic, social and cultural rights. In particular, considerable efforts are under way to enlarge access to education and culture, including in rural areas and remote regions. The top-down approach in the design and implementation of government policies in the area of culture, however, coupled with restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, are significant obstacles to the implementation of cultural rights in the country. * The summary of the present report is circulated in all official languages. The report itself, which is annexed to the summary, is circulated in the language of submission only. ** Late submission. GE.15-01207 (E) 