A/HRC/17/34/Add.1 1993.4 There are great regional disparities and a large urban-rural divide. Moreover, ethnic minorities have clearly not enjoyed the same progress experienced by the country overall. If patterns are not reversed, poverty will remain a phenomenon dominated by ethnic minorities.5 8. Despite significant efforts by the Government, disparities also persist in access to a number of services and economic opportunities, which remains a decisive factor in the inter-generational perpetuation of poverty. These inequalities raise human rights concerns and require immediate efforts in order to be rectified. This report recommends measures that the Government of Viet Nam should take to ensure that poverty reduction and, in particular, social protection policies respect, protect and promote the full enjoyment of human rights, giving particular priority to those people living in poverty. II. Legal and institutional framework 9. In accordance with domestic and international legal obligations, Viet Nam is compelled to ensure the protection of the human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, of everyone under the jurisdiction of the State without discrimination of any kind. Chapter V of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam enshrined a set of “Basic rights and obligations of citizens”, which guarantees that all citizens shall enjoy equal political, civic, economic, cultural and social rights (art. 50), such as the right to participate in managing the State (art. 53), the right to work (art. 55), the right to education, including free and compulsory primary education (art. 59), the right to health care (art. 61), the prohibition of discrimination between men and women (art. 63), and the rights to assembly and association (art. 69), inter alia. The right to social security (protection) is not explicitly recognized in the Constitution. However, several provisions under Chapter V provide a legal foundation for social protection and other important social policies.6 10. This constitutional framework is further complemented by diverse domestic laws as well as international standards enshrined in international rights treaties ratified by Viet Nam,7 establishing legally binding obligations that should be respected in all poverty reduction and social protection mechanisms.8 11. While a human rights approach does not necessarily prescribe precise policy measures, as States have the discretion to formulate the poverty reduction policies which are most appropriate for their circumstances, it does require that States take their human rights obligations into account when designing, implementing and evaluating policies and interventions related to the reduction of poverty. These legally binding obligations relate to the final outcome as well as the process employed. 4 5 6 7 8 World Bank, Vietnam Development Report 2008: Social Protection, p. 11. Viet Nam MDG National Report 2010, p. 114. See for example articles 56, 59, 60, 63, 65 and 67 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Viet Nam is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols. In regard to social protection, particularly relevant are articles 9, 10 and 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 5(iv) of ICERD, article 11 of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and article 26 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 5