A/HRC/28/57/Add.1 Montagnards. Reportedly, the histories of minorities are mainly highlighted in geography lessons, civic education or extra-curricular activities. B. Artistic freedoms 33. According to article 40 of the new Constitution, everyone has the right to conduct scientific or technological research, to engage in literary or artistic creation and to enjoy the benefits of those activities. Article 25 protects the rights to freedom of opinion and speech and freedom of the press, to access information, to assemble, to form associations and to hold demonstrations, and states that the exercise of those rights shall be prescribed by law. 34. A number of artists believe that, compared with the past, there is more space for the enjoyment of artistic freedoms in Viet Nam. For example, exchanges with foreign artists are now possible, enabling access to foreign contemporary works and connections with international artistic trends. Since the implementation of the Doi Moi policy and the introduction of the Internet, artists have gained a stronger voice and have expressed their need for greater space more forcefully. 35. Artists notably enjoy more freedom regarding the methodology they use: since the Doi Moi policy, they can more freely use methodologies other than the Gorky methodology or socialist realism and can express their creativity through new styles and different approaches. Nevertheless, some artists stressed that socialist realism remained the dominant approach because it was favoured by the Government, which led to self-censorship and significant constraints on artistic expression. 36. Difficulties arise from the multiplicity of regulations that have been adopted in the area of artistic expression, which curtail artistic freedom and institute a system of prior and post censorship of the arts. Each art sector has its own regulations. In many areas of artistic creation, especially music, literature and cinema, committees have been tasked with reviewing, commenting on and approving artworks. Many artists complained about the lack of clearly defined specifications of what was acceptable or not and an overall climate of arbitrariness. 37. The Government informed the Special Rapporteur about its policy to create favourable conditions for creativity, while ensuring that artworks reaching the public are in conformity with social values. Therefore, while creativity is free, publication is not and is subject to censorship. The Special Rapporteur notes, however, that such a system necessarily affects creativity and leads to wide self-censorship, as confirmed by artists. 38. The Government has adopted a number of measures to support artists and, since 1995/96, has allowed wider participation of private business actors in cultural life, thereby widening the sources of artistic production.7 39. The State extends support to artists in the form of subsidies, but its art policies seem to reflect a desire to promote a particular world vision, while simultaneously blocking other visions. Hence, artists benefiting from State subsidies are expected to promote a good image of the country, its people and societal role models. Artists cannot adopt an approach deemed to be too critical nor introduce ideologies considered unsuitable for society nor produce work that, in the words of government officials, “harm the culture and humanistic values”. One fallout is that independent artists who have no access to public audiences fear that there is a widening gap in knowledge and understanding of contemporary art among the general public. 7 See E/C.12/VNM/2-4, para. 579. 9