The UN Independent Expert on minority issues has expressed her good admiration for the Vietnamese Government’s priority implementation of ethnic minority policy and its openness in addressing difficulties. Gay J. McDougall spoke to permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and representatives of Vietnamese agencies and organizations at a working session before concluding her 12-day visit to Vietnam on July 15. Ms McDougall praised the country’s achievements in socio-economic development, implementing the Millennium Development Goals, as well as its endeavors to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of minority people. She also commended the Vietnamese Government for paying attention to cultural and language preservation and education which has helped ethnic people enjoy their rights and facilitated their involvement in social life. She held discussions with the Vietnamese representatives about ensuring ethnic people’s rights in all fields and proposed the Vietnamese Government consider promoting bilingual language teaching for ethnic children and continue with its assistance program for ethnic minority people in disadvantaged areas. During her stay, the UN expert was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and had meetings with a number of State agencies and socio-political, religious and non-governmental organizations in Hanoi, the northern province of Dien Bien, the Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum, and the southern province of Tra Vinh.
