Kinley, David; Nguyen, Hai; Murray, Odette --- "Viet Nam, Human Rights and Trade: Implications of Viet Nam’s Accession to the WTO" [2009] ELECD 551; in Joseph, Sarah; Kinley, David; Waincymer, Jeff (eds), "The World Trade Organization and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: The World Trade Organization and Human Rights

Editor(s): Joseph, Sarah; Kinley, David; Waincymer, Jeff

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847206619

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Viet Nam, Human Rights and Trade: Implications of Viet Nam’s Accession to the WTO

Author(s): Kinley, David; Nguyen, Hai; Murray, Odette

Number of pages: 36

Extract:

9. Viet Nam, human rights and trade:
implications of Viet Nam's accession
to the WTO
David Kinley, Hai Nguyen and Odette Murray

1. INTRODUCTION1
Viet Nam has taken enormous strides over the past decade. It has re-engaged
with the international community; its economy is well and truly emerging; its
cities are vibrant; and its people are generally much better fed, healthier and
more prosperous. International trade has increased significantly since the US
lifted its trade embargo in the mid-1990s, and is now set to be further increased
and liberalised following Viet Nam's accession to the WTO in January 2007.
But not everyone in the country has benefited, and not to the same degree. The
rural poor (of which there are still millions), women and children working in
the burgeoning industrial sectors, and ethnic minority groups are all faring less
well. The connection between trade, economic development and human rights
is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the plight of these groups. To
varying extents, their fundamental human rights such as the rights to food,
work, education, housing, adequate standards of living, non-discrimination,
and cultural and religious freedoms are as yet inadequately protected, largely
because the economic and political circumstances of these groups are less
favourably affected by Viet Nam's transformation from a centrally planned
economy into a `market economy with a socialist orientation'.2 This chapter
analyses the interrelations of these various factors from the perspective of their
impact on the protection and promotion ...