Vietnam always places her people in the cornerstone of every policy related to climate change, especially the national climate change response strategy, a Vietnamese representative addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council’s session on climate change and human rights in Geneva, Switzerland on March 6. Vietnam is coping with numerous challenges stemming from climate change since she is among the hardest hit, the representative said, adding that the country looks forward to stronger joint actions to respond to and mitigate the devastating effects of climate change in the protection and promotion of human rights. The Vietnamese side also called for incorporating the protection of rights to development, food, housing, and education into climate change response policies, while paying more attention to vulnerable groups such as women, children, ethnic minorities, and the disabled. Mary Robinson, President of her namesake foundation, who is among the key speakers at the session, spoke of Vietnam as a model of mainstreaming human rights issues, including gender equality, in climate change policies. She cited the outcomes of a project equipping women in central Vietnam with solutions dealing with floods - a joint effort between the UN Women and the Vietnam Women’s Union, as a typical example. Participants shared the same view that humans should be positioned at the centre of every climate change policy. (Vietnamplus Mar 7)
