E/C.12/VNM/CO/2-4 Artistic freedom 35. The Committee is concerned at censorship enforced in the State party which infringes upon artistic freedom. The Committee is further concerned at reports of arrests and detention of bloggers under Decree 72 of 15 July 2013 (art. 15). Recalling the State party’s obligation under article 15, paragraph 3, of the Covenant to respect the freedom indispensable for creative activity, the Committee urges the State party to abolish censorship of cultural activities and other forms of expression. Moreover, the Committee calls upon the State party to bring restrictions on freedom of expression into line with international standards, including by abolishing related prison sentences. D. Other recommendations 36. The Committee encourages the State party to consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 37. The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding observations widely, at all levels of society, particularly among public officials, the parliamentarians, judicial authorities and civil society organizations, and to inform the Committee in its next periodic report on the steps taken to implement the recommendations. 38. The Committee requests the State party to submit its fifth periodic report in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Committee in 2008 (E/C.12/2008/2) by 30 November 2019. 11