Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

Charities link British funding for UN anti-heroin initiatives with executions for drug-smuggling in the country

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned that amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) is the most common drug used among Vietnamese in big cities, border areas and industrial zones, while its use continues to rise in rural areas.

HANOI — A United Nations-appointed expert is urging Vietnam's government to close down rehabilitation centers for drug users and sex workers following criticism of abuses by an international rights group, calling them "counterproductive."

Vietnam must stop detaining drug users and sex workers without rights required under international law, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

A local rights group has linked the upcoming closure of a United Nations-administered refugee centre in Phnom Penh to the visit of a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Cambodia last month.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has recently ratified the Plan on Implementation of the United Nation Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to undertake its full responsibilities as a party to the UNCAC.

Vietnam is consistent with its policy to promote human rights through dialogue and cooperation, said a Vietnamese diplomat at the 13th UN Human Rights Council (HRC) session in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 2.

With 156 out of 178 votes, Vietnam has been elected to the Executive Council of the United Nations Cultural, Scientific, and Educational Organisation (UNESCO) at the 35th UNESCO General Assembly held in Paris on October 14.

Vietnam, ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries, has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, the UN said Friday.