A/HRC/57/7 direction of higher courts. The Supreme People’s Procuracy had two main functions: exercising the right to prosecution and supervising the legality of judicial activities. 33. Lawyers in Viet Nam practised freely and were protected from threats or harassment. The judicial supervisory function of the Supreme People’s Procuracy provided solid framework for their protection. The number of lawyers continued to grow, with an average of more than 1,000 joining the profession annually. More and more defendants had been represented by lawyers in trials of first instance over the years. There was a plan to amend and supplement new regulations to better ensure the efficiency of lawyers’ activities. 34. Viet Nam respected and protected the freedom of religion or belief for everyone. All religions were equal before the law, and discrimination on the basis of religion and belief was prohibited. Legal documents had been continuously amended or newly issued to better guide the implementation of the Law on Belief and Religion and facilitate religious activities. Since the adoption of the 2024 Land Law, land-use fees for places of worship and religious organizations had been waived. Since 2019, there had been an increase in official registration of qualified religious organizations and places of worship or religious practices, with special attention given to ethnic minorities and those in mountainous areas. Viet Nam took pride in its diverse religious life and maintained its consistent policies to respect and protect freedom of religion and belief, ensuring equal treatment between religions. The coexistence of religions and beliefs in harmony contributed to national development. Viet Nam was committed to further improving the protection of everyone’s freedom of belief and religion under Vietnamese law. 35. Viet Nam was a unified country with 54 ethnicities, including 53 ethnic minorities. The 2021–2030 national target programme for ethnic minorities and those mountainous areas was the first such dedicated programme, with a budget of $ 5.6 billion. Viet Nam placed great importance on the preservation of cultural heritage and writing and teaching in the languages of ethnic minorities. Following its dialogue with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on its combined fifteenth to seventeenth periodic reports on implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, held in November 2023, Viet Nam planned to issue a comprehensive plan to raise awareness and implement the recommendations of the Committee by the end of 2024. 36. Viet Nam had created an environment conducive to the fostering of freedom of creativity and equality in scientific and technological activities. Article 20 of the Law on Science and Technology (2013) explicitly provided for those rights. Additionally, since 2017, Viet Nam had implemented a scheme to integrate human rights content into the national education system. 37. Viet Nam was a State party to 9 of the 10 fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Recently, it had ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). The amended Labour Code (2019) was highly regarded by ILO and the international organizations as it was closely aligned with international labour standards, incorporating multiple provisions to ensure labour rights. Viet Nam had conducted meticulous, systematic and professional research on possible ratification of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). Although ratification was pending, many of its provisions had been included in the 2019 Labour Code, which was an important prerequisite for the competent authorities to consider ratifying the Convention. 38. Viet Nam had established a working group dedicated to studying the feasibility of establishing a national human rights institution. Extensive research had been conducted to consider various models of national human rights institution, which were diverse in nature. Viet Nam highly valued international cooperation in that regard and appreciated the input and collaboration of other countries and organizations. 39. While the circumstances in Viet Nam had not yet allowed for the abolition of the death penalty, legal reforms in recent years had resulted in a significantly reduced number of crimes being subject to that punishment, limiting its application to the most serious crimes only. Further safeguards had been put in place to enhance the responsibility and accountability of the agencies and individuals involved in the sentencing or the execution of the death penalty. 6 GE.24-09937