The new agreement was signed on the 5th of September, and aims to consolidate NCHR’s human rights expertise and maintain the high level of academic knowledge on a broad range of human rights and democracy issues. In order to promote the practice of internationally adopted human rights, the Centre has established several International Programs. The Vietnam Programme was established in 2008 as an academic component to the annual Human Rights Dialogue between Vietnam and Norway.
This year’s Vietnamese-Norwegian Human Rights Dialogue will be held in Oslo in mid-October.
- The agreement with the Centre is very important; it means that the Vietnam Programme’s significant engagement in and contribution to the development of human rights in Vietnam can continue, Mr. Ståle T. Risa, the Norwegian ambassador to Vietnam, says.
NCHR important for the dialogues
Ambassador Risa highlights the importance of maintaining a strong focus on human rights in Vietnam, and says that the Embassy puts great emphasis on the annual Human Rights Dialogue between Vietnam and Norway.
- The work done by the Vietnam Programme of NCHR is an integral part of our Human Rights Dialogue, and the academic partnerships NCHR have in Vietnam provide important input for Norway. We see the Human Rights Dialogue, where difficult questions are being brought up and discussed, as a bilateral partnership of key importance, Mr. Risa explains.
Educational impact
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NCHR have cooperated on human rights over several years, and the new agreement will maintain the Centre’s focus on education cooperation as one of the pillars of its work. NCHR and Vietnam National University launched the first Master programme on human rights last year, which you can read more about here.
For more information on NCHR's Vietnam Programme, please see here.
And here you can read more about Norway's work in relation to human rights in Vietnam.