Summary of doctoral thesis in Law: The values of human rights in customary laws of Thai ethnic minority in the northwest of Vietnam

The thesis‟s objects are Thai‟s customary law in the Northwest Vietnam and the value of human rights contained in Thai‟s customary law; the ability to inherit and promote those values on making and practicing current law on the implementation of human rights for Thai‟s community in Northwest Vietnam; political, economical, cultural, social, and legal factors that have influences on the application of Thai human rights in Thai‟s customary law on ensuring and enforcing human rights for Thai‟s community in Northwest Vietnam.

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES LU VAN TUYEN THE VALUES OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUSTOMARY LAWS OF THAI ETHNIC MINORITY IN THE NORTHWEST OF VIETNAM Major: Constitutional law and Administrative law Code: 38 01 02 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN LAW Scientific supervior: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN THI VIET HUONG HA NOI – 2020 The Doctoral thesis was completed at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Scientific supervior: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Viet Huong Reviewer 1: Prof Dr Dao Tri Uc Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Dinh Xuan Thao Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Dr Le Thi Huong The doctoral thesis will be examined by Examination Board of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences at ………………………… The doctoral thesis can be found at: - National Library of Vietnam; - Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences LIST OF AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Lu Van Tuyen (2015), Protecting, taking care and educating children complying with Thai customary law, Journal of Education and Society, no 7/2015, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen (2015), Promoting the value of customary rules aims to security Thai Ethnic’s cultural rights in Viet Nam, Journal of Education and Society, no 8/2015, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen (2015), Equal rights of women in Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam, Journal of Theoretical Education no 234/2015, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen (2015), The rights of ethnic minorities in international law and Vietnamese law, Journal of Political Theory no 10/2015, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen, Do Thi Minh Thu (2015), Values of ownership rights in customary laws with the good implementation of land and natural resources management and use in Thai ethnic minority in Northwest Vietnam, Journal of Theoretical Education, no 235/2015, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen (2016), Preventing and combating bureaucratic corruption in Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam, Internal affairs magazine, no 31/2016, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen (2016), Rights-based approach in formulating and implementing policies and laws on the rights of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, monographs “Human Rights-Based Approach – Theories and Pratices”, Faculty of Law – Vietnamese National University, National University Press, Hanoi Lu Van Tuyen, Lo Thi Viet Ha (2016), Preventing crimes according to the customary law of Thai in North West Vietnam, Journal of Education and Society, no 9/2016, Ha Noi Lu Van Tuyen (2016), National self-determination rights and the rights of ethnic minorities according to international and Vietnamese law, Internal affairs magazine no 11/2016, Hanoi 10 Lu Van Tuyen (2017), Ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities in the 2013 Constitution, monographs “Implementing constitutional rights in the 2013”, Faculty of Law – Vietnamese National University, Political Publishing House, Hanoi 11 Lu Van Tuyen (2018), Protection of ownership rights in Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam, Journal of Education and Society no 5/2018, Hanoi INTRODUCTION Rationale The obligation of promoting and protecting human rights both in legislation and reality needs all contributions of nations, classes and individuals but not every single one To achieve that goal, we are creating a “human rights culture” at all levels that specific and traditional values align with international legal standards recognized of human worth and dignity It is also considered as a solution to promote human rights implementation effectively Our nation, Vietnam, has 54 ethnic groups Over 10 million people out of a population of nearly 100 million, there are 53 ethnic minorities, including Thai ethnic minority The statistics of the 2009 Population and Housing Census in Vietnam, there were 1.550.423 Thai ethnic people that accounted for 1,6% of national population and ranked third after the Kinh and the Tay In the past, Thai ethnic people in the Northwest of Vietnam owned progressive ideas with profound humanitarian values and human rights expressed by many different methods In these ideas, customary laws are the most quintessential one in the process of community awareness development and has a certain position in regulating the relationships in the life of Thai ethnic people Customary laws, in the Thai, is “hít khng” That means “customs and traditions” or “rule” Customary laws are strictly followed by members of the community Nowadays, the implementation and assurance of human rights are being implemented, in which the promotion of traditional cultural values has been given special attention in developing policies and laws on ensuring human rights In this context, the PhD candidate decided to choose the topic “The values of human rights in customary law of Thai ethnic minority in the Northwest of Vietnam” to be a doctoral thesis in law with the desire to contribute to studying comprehensively and systematically related contents Purposes and missions of the thesis 2.1 Purposes The overall purpose of the dissertation is building a scientific justification for a solutions system to ensure and enforce human rights, the rights of ethnic minorities in Vietnam which is based on traditional values and always exists in the our country from the past until the present 2.2 Missions - Systematize theoretical awareness of human rights values and human rights values in traditional history On that basis, focus on clarifying theoretical issues and contents on human rights values of Thai‟s customary laws in Northwest Vietnam - Study and give some comments on current situation of the implementation of human rights in Thai‟s minority area in Northwest Vietnam Clearly identify the successes and limitations that exist and indicate the causes Besides, determine the application of human rights values in customary laws with the meaning of ensuring the implementation of human rights - Propose recommendations and solutions to promote the human rights values of Thai‟s customary laws in Northwest Vietnam to ensure the implementation of human rights in Thai‟s community in Northwest Vietnam The thesis’s objects The thesis‟s objects are Thai‟s customary law in the Northwest Vietnam and the value of human rights contained in Thai‟s customary law; the ability to inherit and promote those values on making and practicing current law on the implementation of human rights for Thai‟s community in Northwest Vietnam; political, economical, cultural, social, and legal factors that have influences on the application of Thai human rights in Thai‟s customary law on ensuring and enforcing human rights for Thai‟s community in Northwest Vietnam The thesis’s scope The research scope of customary laws approaches from the perspective of the concept and customary characteristics of Thai people; assess the value of Thai‟s customary law in the community; explores experiences that promote human rights values in the traditional history of the world and Vietnam The research scope on inheriting and promoting human rights values in customary laws to formulate and apply laws: focus on surveying and assessing the real situation of economy, society, national defense and security, building the political system; surveying the enjoyment of human rights of Thai ethnic people in the Northwest; surveying results of implementing inheritance measures and promote human rights values in Thai‟s customary laws of some in Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh and Yen Bai From that point of view, propose the inheritance and promotion of solutions to ensure the enforcement of human rights laws based on the values of Thai‟s customary laws Methodology and research methods 5.1 Methodology The thesis uses dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marxism-Leninism; Ho Chi Minh Thought; guidelines and policies of Vietnamese Communist Party and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on building state and legislation; the doctrines, views of other progressive thinkers about the state and modern laws, especially about the rule of law state, the customs and the autonomous mechanism of communities 5.2 Research methods The thesis is researched on the basis of applying Marxist - Leninist methodology and the following main methods: 5.2.1 Approach The thesis is approached from the perspective of legal science to clarify the concepts of human rights in society through the customary law regulating social relations, people and communities, members of the community of Thai people in the Northwest before 1945 and the Muong ethnic minority area in the Northwest today The research‟s scope requires social sciences interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches 5.2.2 Specific research methods Method of document analysis; method of asking experts; comparative law method; the method of historical science research; aggregate method; statistical method and Methods of sociological investigation New results of the thesis The thesis is the first product that studies systematically, comprehensively and in depth both in the theoretical and practical aspects of human rights values in Thai‟s customary laws and impacts of those on law implementation among Thai‟s community in the Northwest nowadays The thesis further clarifies issues of Thai‟s customary laws in traditional and current society; clarify factors and status of the influences of customary laws on law implementation in Thai‟s community Scientific and practical meanings of the thesis 7.1 Scientific meanings By resolving theoretical and practical issues, this dissertation contributes to specifying the basic characteristics of customary law, Thai customary law as well as its position and role in regulating community relations; at the same time, pointing out the values of human rights in customary law for their practical application Research results also provide a comprehensive view of the human rights value of Thai customary laws in the Northwest which plays an important role in community life; supplement the theoretical basis for preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values of the Thai ethnic minorities in Vietnam 7.2 Practical meanings The thesis contributes to assessing the situation, bringing out positive values and limitations on human rights values in Thai customary law in social management at the studied area This thesis can be used as referenced materials in teaching, training, intensive fostering for cadres; in formulating ethnic policies of the Party and the State; in social management, ensuring rural security at ethnic minority areas in the Northwest provinces in coming years The structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusion, references and appendices, the thesis consists of chapters, 11 subsections Chapter OVERVIEW ABOUT RESEARCH RELATED TO THE THESIS 1.1 Related research 1.1.1 Research on customary laws, Thai customary laws in the Northwest of Vietnam 1.1.1.1 Research on customary laws Typical authors include: A Wantson with "An approoach to customary" in the book named "Folk law" (1994) stated that customary law becomes law only if it is recognized by a statute or a court decision and it is known as law, accepted as law and enforced as law In India, the study “Tribal cCustomary law in Northeast India" by Shinbani Roy and S H M Rizvi; or "Public land and customary law" by Minoti Charcravarty-Kaul, referring to the issue of customary land tenure in the North of India 1.1.1.2 Research on Thai customary laws The book “Customary law and rural development in Vietnam today" brings together a number of articles by many authors on the application of customary law, namely: "Customary law and rural development strategies in Vietnam" by Nguyen Duy Qui; "The role of mountainous customary law in forest land allocation and natural resource management" by Hoang Xuan Ty; "The role of customs and traditions and the inheritance of customs and traditions in law making"; "Customary law and natural resource management: Suggestions to harmonize written and customary law in Asia" by John Ambler; "Traditional Thai law: An overview of the “hiít khng” law in Laos" by Oliver Raendchen The authors Ngo Duc Thinh and Cam Trong published the book “Thai customary laws in Vietnam” written both in Thai and Vietnamese Its main contents about the overview of customary laws and Thai customary laws; basic contents of Thai Den customary laws in Thuan Chau, Son La and some contents of Thai customary law in the Northwest collected by coauthor Cam Trong 1.1.2 Research on human rights and values of human rights 1.1.2.1 Research on human rights The book "Understanding Human Rights: A Guide for Human Rights Education" by Wolfgang Benedek The paper "Human rights in the Hong Duc Law - the pride of the nation" by Prof Dr Hoang Xuan Hao (USA) emphasized: The Hong Duc Law is truly worthy of the pride of the Vietnamese people both in international and national perspectives In Vietnam, studying aboout human rights has started since the 90s of 20th century, including: The book "Human rights ideology (collection of world and Vietnamese literature)" by Law Faculty - Hanoi National University, Labor - Social Publishing House, (2011); The book "Human rights" by GS Dr Vo Khanh Vinh, in the chapter of Human Rights: The concept and nature presents that “needs to approach the content of human rights by specific historical methods” 1.1.1.2 Research on values of human rights Some international research as follow: The essay "Human rights and Asian values" by Amartya Sen at Carnegie Council on Ethnics and Internatinonal Affairs had been translated and printed in “được dịch in cuốn: About the rule of law and Constitutionalism: Some essays by foreign scholars, Labor - Social Publishing House (2012) provided an overview of Asian values and human rights, in which he disagreed with theories that human rights and freedoms are incompatible with Asian culture as well as the arrogant attitude of those (Western) who believe that they have brought the light of civilization (human rights, self do) to Asians Some domestic research as follow: The research "On values and Asian values" by Ho Si Quy; the book “Human Rights: Interdisciplinary and Law interdisciplinary access”, Vo Khanh Vinh (2010), Social Sciences Publishing House; The article "Some basic contents and values of human rights in the National criminal law” by Nguyen Thanh Binh emphasized that Hong Duc Code contains many positive and progressive values, in which it is necessary to emphasize and affirm to a prominent value that the minimum but basic human rights, especially of the people were recognized, respected and protected by law; The article "Human rights: social values, universality and specificity" of the author Vo Khanh Vinh analyzed the social value of human rights which are of mixed values including: dignity - freedom - equality - humanity tolerance - ethics and responsibility 1.1.3 Research on values of human rights in Thai customary laws in Northwest Vietnam It can be seen that in studies of human rights values in Thai customary law, the authors have listed and analyzed the contents and provisions of customary law to show that in the Thai customary law, there are certain values which can be applied in law implementation in reality 1.2 Overview of the research situation and the issues that need further study 1.2.1 Studied issues and its levels In general, the studies of customary law in Vietnam and foreign countries have introduced the theories about social progress and customary law that have become an important step in the development process of mankind and State institutions Studies on human rights values have interpreted and clarified extensively about the relationship between human rights and culture, between cultural values and human rights concepts and its practices 1.2.2 Matters need to be studied further in the thesis Today, there are a few studies on the current situation of Thai regions in the renovation period, especially those in areas where Thai people are resettled and freely migrated There is no intensive research which has been conducted to systematize and clarify the value of human rights in history and approachs from comparative perspective from international law on human rights The study about "The values of human rights of customary law of Thai ethnic minority in the Northwest of Vietnam" which under the approach of jurisprudence is a relatively innovative and practical approach to contribute to supplementing the previous studies‟ limitations At the same time, it meets the urgent requirements of both theory and practice of combining customary law with law in social management and constantly improving the legal system in our country today 10 Secondly, Thai customary law upholds the interests of the ruling classes in Thai society Thirdly, Thai customary law clearly demonstrates the role of intermediaries that harmonizes interests and obligations among members of the Thai community Fourthly, Thai customary law maintains order in the Thai community 2.3 Relationships between Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam and value of human rights 2.3.1 Value of human rights are regulations in Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam Although the village of Thai people in the Northwest is a castedominated society, it doees not mean that the ruled class is unable to enjoy basic human rights When studying Thai customary laws, the author found that many regulations on respecting and protecting human rights were recorded in Thai customary laws (women's equality, children's rights, property of the individual ) It can be seen that human rights are an important component of some Thai customary laws 2.3.2 Thai customary law protects value of human rights First, customary law is the most highly regulated document in the Thai community Entire ruling class and all people must comply with the provisions of customary law Therefore, the rules of human rights in customary law mean that it is required to force all ruling classes, individuals and citizens to comply and implement Second, customary law prescribes the suppression of the power of the ruling class to oppose the arbitrariness of the ruling class while performing its functions and protecting the interests of the people Third, customary law serves as a basis for reference to the ruling class in case of violations of customary recognized rights 2.4 Relationships between laws and values of human rights in Thai customary laws in Northwest Vietnam 2.4.1 Relationships between laws and Thai customary laws in Northwest Vietnam 11 2.4.1.1 The influence of Thai customary law to the law The impact of customary Thai law leads to the formation of legal provisions that are appropriate to the awareness of lawmakers about the role of law as well as the role of Thai customary law 2.4.1.2 The influence of law to Thai customary law The law recognizes and protects the progressive provisions of Thai customary law The law excludes backward customs and traditions of Thai customary law The law contributes to preventing the formation of customs, traditions and regulations of Thai customary law contrasting to the society progress, the law, and contributes to the formation of new customs and traditions 4.2.2 The influence of value of human rights in Thai customary law in Northwest Vietnam to the law The value of human rights in Thai customary law has an impact on the law, consistent, supplemented and replaced to make the most powerful adjustment to the social relations among the Thai ethnicity This is an indispensable and objective impact which needs to be researched and developed in the appropriate direction to contribute to the improvement of the legal system as well as improve the efficiency of the law implementation process in reality 2.5 Applying values of human rights in customary laws and traditions to the implementation of human rights in the world and in Vietnam 2.5.1 Applying values of human rights in customary laws and traditions to the implementation of human rights in some nations In countries where customs and traditions are an important source of laws (like the United Kingdom), the State considers customs and traditions If it is in accordance with the common interests of the ruling class and towards social development, the State recognizes it as an integral part of the legal system 12 In Malaysia, custom is one of the most important sources of law Each locality has its own traditions, some of which are valid and recognized by courts and applied as legal provisions in written documents and case laws In Indonesia, the Aat custom plays an important role in legal system of this country The traditions adjust a great range of social relations in the fields of land, family marriage, inheritance 2.5.2 Applying value of human rights in customary laws and traditions in the implementation of human rights in Vietnam Currently, the value of human rights in customary law has been applied in a number of fields, namely establishing cultural village conventions, formulating reconciliation teams, managing environmental resources As a consequence, in fact, both foreign countries and Vietnam have been using human rights values in customary law in their own way This proves that the value of human rights in the legislative history is an indispensable content in the social life of multi-ethnic and multi-religious nations 2.5.3 The meaning of applying human rights values in customary laws and traditions in implementing human rights First, it will ensure the implementation of principle of "people's power" in reality Second, it will meet the need to build a served state Third, it is a method that some local governments act really for the people‟s interests Chapter THE IMPACTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VALUES OF THAI’S COSTUMARY LAWS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAI’S COMMUNITY IN THE NORTHWEST VIETNAM NOWADAYS 3.1 Some values of human rights of Thai's customary laws in Northwest Vietnam 3.1.1 Respect and protect children's rights according to Thai’s customary laws 13 Firstly, Thai‟s customary laws protects children It shows special care, protection children when they are still in the womb until birth, and growing up Secondly, Thai‟s customary laws cares about children Parents not only have to work to earn food and clothes, but also have the responsibilities to raise their children and look after them until they reach maturity Thirdly, Thai‟s customary law cares about education for children Methods of education must be based on age and gender and need to be persistent, supple and regular The content of education for children is very diverse, including the contents of obedience, eating and saving, and solidarity; especially, Thai people attach importance to the education of labor willings 3.1.2 Respect and protect the equal rights of women according to Thai’s customary laws In the past, Thai society is patriarchal system, so that Thai‟s women in general are not promoted, but they still have an important position and role in creating, transmitting, preserving and developing cultural values of this ethnic group 3.1.3 Respect and protect cultural rights according to Thai’s customary laws Customary laws protect and preserve the language and spiritual culture of the Thai people (preserve the treasure of Thai folk knowledge; preserve the culinary culture; preserve the residential culture; preserve the costume culture) Many activities of Thai people have contributed to preserving and promoting the traditional values, these activities are operated according to the strict rules of customary laws, and customary laws has a role to preserve the traditional values, protecting the inherent cultural rights of Thai people 3.1.4 Protect human life, honor and dignity of human beings according to Thai’s customary laws - About murder crime, “committing murder in any form, burning village, making aggression and destroying village will be punished death penalty if the offender is caught” That regulation shows that customary laws are not only very strict but also being humane nature - About the crime of infringing upon the honor and dignity of 14 people, the customary laws pay much attention to words, voice, and behavior among family members or members of the village, so there are provisions in a separate chapter on crimes of “cruelly cursing people”, and identifies this as one of causes of crime, having a strong effect on building a strong community It can be seen that most penalties in customary laws are mainly fines, few strong sanctions, compared with current criminal sanctions that are completely inconsistent and unsuitable for the situation of crime prevention In addition, customary laws are very concerned about protecting petitioners and accusers of criminal acts, by prohibiting reciprocal action About less serious matters, customary laws also define mediation in resolving disputes and disagreements between two or more parties by mediating and negotiating with the participation of third parties 3.1.5 Respect, protect property rights according to Thai’s customary laws In Thai customary law, the concept of property as: human being, as a social entity, can exist and develop only when there are certain facilities This ownership issue, there are not property relations in Thai‟s customary law Thai‟s costumary laws mainly determines ownership of natural resources such as land, forests, mountains, rivers, etc and those ownerships are jointly owned by the community, individuals and families with the land and forest areas of Thai‟s ethnic community 3.1.6 Protect land and environmental resources according to Thai’s customary laws Thai customary laws contain community knowledge about the proper management and use of natural resources, pay special attention to the ownership and right to use natural resources In some respects, the determination of public ownership of personal property and individual use rights is one of the important factors contributing to the good management and proper use of forest and land resources, water sources, other forest products Regulations on the protection of water sources, forbidden forests, watershed forests, hunting, exploitation of forest bees, etc in the direction of rational exploitation of these resources also contribute to the exploitation and protection of natural resources sustainably 15 3.2 Impact of human rights regulations in Thai’s customary laws on the implementation of human rights in Thai’s community in Northwest Vietnam nowadys 3.2.1 Overview of the political, economic and social situation in the Northwest provinces of Vietnam where Thai’s communities reside Nowadays, the Northwest provinces of Vietnam include 06 provinces: Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai, which are particularly important strategic areas of economy – society, defense, security, foreign affairs of the Northwest region and the whole country There are many ethnic minorities living together, of which Thai majority The central orientation in upcoming time of the Northwest provinces is focusing on rational and effective exploitation of the potentials and strengths to accelerate the economic growth rate; to clearly and synchronously improve the socio-economic infrastructure system to meet the requirements of economic development, people's daily life and national defense and security 3.2.2 Awareness of Thai’s customary laws of officials, civil servants, public employees and awareness of the implementation of human rights in Thai ethnic minority area in Northwest Vietnam 3.2.2.1 Situation of survey subjects Students conducted a sociological survey with the main subjects are officials, civil servants and public employees working at commune level The reasons for this choice is officials, public servants and public employees have been implementing policies and laws, so that they are close to people and have necessary knowledge about the customs and habits of Thai people 3.2.2.2 Awareness of officials, public servants and public employees at commune level about Thai’s customary laws Raising awareness on the role of Thai‟s customary laws has been concerned by commune authorities in Thai ethnic areas, expressed in some specific contents through the summary of sociological survey The total number of people who clearly know Thai‟s customary laws accounts for 9%, the number of people who know Thai‟s customs accounts for 64%; 9% of people know few of Thai‟s customary laws and 18% people did not know Thai‟s customary laws Thus, the number of people who know Thai‟s customary laws is quite high (73%) This confirms that most of the 16 communal cadres, civil servants and officials have basic knowledge of Thai‟s customary laws, which is a favorable factor in the implementation of Thai human rights according to Thai‟s customary laws in the Northwest 3.2.2.3 Current situation of application of human rights values in Thai’s customary laws to protect human rights of communal officials in ethnic minority areas in Northwest Vietnam nowadays When being asked about the need to understand Thai‟s customary laws of commune officials in implementation of human rights, the responses were 100% There is no opinion that official have not to know about Thai‟s costomary laws on implement human rights based on the values of Thai customary laws This is the basis for proposing solutions to improve Thai people's awareness of customary laws for civil servants Answering questions about the internal difficulties of commune officials working in ethnic minority areas, the comments showed that 100% answered that there were difficulties The causes of these difficulties are: 20% of language barrier; lack of knowledge of Thai‟s customary laws is 41%; professional qualifications, working capacity accounts for 40%; other reasons are 20% This is also one of the important information for the author to propose suitable solutions in this thesis 3.2.2.4 Awareness of exercising human rights in Thai’s community based on the values of Thai’s customary laws of civil servants The survey on the awareness of applying Thai‟s customary laws in the implementation of human rights showed that: 23% of respondents applied a lot; 54% of the respondents partially applied; 15% of respondents did not applied; and 8% of unclear ideas 3.2.2 Current status of implementation of human rights in Thai’s community in Northwest Vietnam nowadays 3.2.3.1 Survey subjects Students selected 11 communes in provinces: Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh and Yen Bai to survey The main criteria for selection are those of ethnic Thai areas, where the majority of Thai people live 3.2.3.2 Results of human rights A survey of 11 communes with the majority of Thai residents shows that a number of Thai officials, public servants and officials, especially leaders, heads and some specialized officials, have applied customary law in their work (accounting for more than 60%) 17 About environmental resource protection: The surveyed communes propagandized and mobilized people to manage and protect forests, afforestation, most of the afforestation movement was focused Social order and safety: The total number of violations of social order and safety in 11 surveyed communes in years is 595 cases, so on average, each commune had 11 violations Regarding to education and training: Through the general policy of the Party, the State and the creativity of the Party committees, the district and commune authorities in Thai villages, some localities have built plan to organize Thai‟s letters, Thai‟s language as well as customs, habits of Thai people 3.2.3.3 Limitations of the application of Thai’s customary laws about human rights in some ethnic minority communes in Northweste Vietnam The percentage of people who know Thai‟s customary law is not high, only 17%; The number of people who know Thai „scustomary laws is less than half (1/2) of the surveyed population and the fact that there is still some ignorant knowledge of Thai‟s customary laws The situation of potential social safety and order is complicated, drug evils grow rapidly, the number of addicts increases gradually, the rate of successful detoxification is still low Some fields of cultural management have not met the requirements, the situation of evangelization to remote areas remains, child marriage in Thai people has not been completely overcome Economic in Thai ethnic minority area is underdeveloped, currently lacking resources for development, especially in the implementation of policies to support and ensure the rights of disadvantaged group in society Education and training are still inadequate compared to other areas in the delta, teaching and learning quality is limited, and the percentage of schools meeting national standards is low 3.2.4 Causes of results and limitations on application of human rights values in Thai’s customary laws in implementation of human rights of Thai ethnic in Northweste Vietnam 3.2.4.1 Causes of the achieved results - Objective reasons 18 Because of correct guidelines and policies of the Party and the State on economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, on the preservation and promotion of cultural identities of ethnic groups, on the construction of a political system that has had a profound impact decisively to the thoughts and actions of officials, party members and people In addition, the funding of socio-economic and cultural development projects of foreign organizations and individuals is also an important factor leading to the above results - Subjective reasons Firstly, the initiative and creativity in the way of thinking, doing, especially the awareness of enhancing the effectiveness of state management through the application of Thai‟s customary laws have initially been promoted, social work in some areas has been interested by authorities Secondly, the commune political system has been constantly strengthened and promoted effectively Thirdly, training and retraining officials is focused, so the qualifications and competencies of officials and civil servants are gradually improved 3.2.4.2 Causes of the shortcomings and limitations - Objective reasons There are not enough systematic, effective and specific policies for remote areas and ethnic groups, especially policies on socio-economic development, policies on conservation and promotion of cultural identity in general - Subjective reasons Firstly, in despite of many efforts, sometimes the role of the political system has not been promoted highly; the initiative and creativity government is still limited; the thought of waiting and relying of officials, party members and people is slowly overcome Secondly, although the values of Thai‟s customary laws are very large, but the sense of applying it to community management has not been properly cared for by officials, party members and people Thirdly, the intellectual level is not equal; staff qualifications are still inadequate, limited in professional skills, lack of working skills as well, lack of understanding of customs and practices, including Thai‟s officials 19 Chapter INHERITANCE AND PROMOTING THE VALUES OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAI’S CUSTOMARY LAWS IN NORTHWEST VIETNAM IN THE PRESENT 4.1 The concept of inheriting human rights values of Thai’s customary laws in Northwest Vietnam nowadays 4.1.1 It is necessary to have an objective attitude when proposing and implementing solutions to preserve and promote human rights values of Thai’s customary laws Based on the development goals of culture to determine: Which traditional cultural values are still appropriate; which progress should be preserved and promoted; what traditions are outdated, negative needs to pass; what cultural values are positive, in accordance with the receptive ethnic tradition; which values are not appropriate should prevent their spontaneous intrusion 4.1.2 Inheriting the values of human rights in Thai’s customary law must be based on the Constitution and laws, ensuring socialist legislation Applying Thai‟s customary laws only within Thai community The manipulation must ensure that it does not conflict with the basic principles of the law, but must aim to promote the law, making Thai community understand the law more, respect the law and enforce the law better 4.1.3 Inheriting the human rights values in Thai’s customary laws must be based on the viewpoint of promoting the nation's good traditional values in building an advanced culture imbued with national identity The inheritance of human rights in Thai‟s customary laws can only be implemented after the progressive laws have been determined, meeting the management and self-management requirements at the commune level 4.1.4 Inheriting the values of human rights in Thai’s customary laws must be associated with building a strong communal political system, promoting commune democracy and the role of prestigious people in Thai community The inheritance of human rights in Thai‟s customary laws in exercising human rights in Thai community should pay attention on the principle of respect, guarantee democracy, voluntariness and masses, and 20 avoid creating oppressive impulses So that, it will constraint promote the initiative and creative characteristic of Thai community 4.1.5 Inheriting the values of human rights in Thai’s customary law must be associated with the implementation industrialization and modernization of rural agriculture In the context that the whole country is focusing on implementing the goals of building a new countryside, the implementation of human rights in Thai ethnic minority areas has a huge significance of promoting economic and social development movements, maintaining order and security in the countryside Especially, it is meant to mobilize people to promote internal resources to build agricultural infrastructure and rural transport infrastructure 4.1.6 Inheriting the values of human rights in Thai’s customary laws must ensure equality, solidarity among ethnic groups, strengthening conciliation Inheriting the values of human rights in Thai‟s customary laws must be associated with strengthening conciliation, reconciliation of internal conflicts among families, clans, ethnic groups and even religious conflicts, in order to protect common interests Its mission is protection of legitimate interests of the community, the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, ensure political security and social order and safety 4.2 Solutions to promote human rights values of Thai’s customary laws in Northwest Vietnam in the present 4.2.1 Group of organizational solutions 4.2.1.1 Unifying policies and viewpoints of implementation - Unifying the ideas, leadership views, directing the organization to collect and systematize customary laws and institutions to apply Thai‟s customary laws in the implementation of human rights into Thai ethnic community - Establishing a communal steering committee on collecting, systematizing customary laws, institutionalizing and applying in state management attached to the commune's new rural construction steering committee - Propagating guidelines and issued documents of leadership and direction; creating trust and unified awareness for people 4.2.1.2 Establishing a team of consulting on traditional practices 21 in the villages and a council of consulting on customs in the commune - Consultancy group of customs and traditions in wards, villages - Consultancy Council of customs and traditions at the commune level 4.2.2 Group of technical solutions 4.2.2.1 Collecting customary laws - Collecting scope is the communes in the Northwest region where Thai people reside in concentration (and it can be directed to implement in whole country) - The object of the collection is from published materials and sources of information (including documents in ancient Thai language and oral materials ) 4.2.2.2 Systematizing customary laws Systematizating customary laws is the way of assessment, classification, order and content of customary laws in groups and fields and towards ratification and promulgation of customary laws Besides, it is compared with customary laws with human rights laws as a basis for proposing solutions to formulate regulations In this content, the Commune Steering Committee should closely guide the Consultancy Council of customs and practices, the Consulting Group of customs and traditions in the implementation process and can invite professional staffs in the district to assist 4.2.3 Group of solutions to improve the capacity of entities 4.2.3.1 Improve capacity to apply customary laws to entities after customary laws has been codified Firstly, on the basis of codified content of the law, the Steering Committee for application of customary law at the commune level leads the Consultancy Council of customs and practices on drafting documents guiding the values of customary laws and requirements in state management Secondly, organize training workshops at commune level on the content of customary laws and clearly state the need to ensure and implement human rights Thirdly, organize awareness propagation conferences for people in the groups This content must be organized separately according to each group and village Fourthly, build recording tapes and disks for broadcasting on commune radio stations and loudspeakers of villages and wards 4.2.3.2 Improving the qualifications of all official and civil 22 servants at commune level The effective implementation of human rights based on Thai‟s customary law depends on two subjects: people and officials, of which officials and civil servants are a very important and decisive subject They decide the success of the implementation process 4.2.3.3 Promoting the role of prestigious people in Thai community When exercising human rights based on Thai‟s customary laws, it is necessary to focus on promoting the role of the village leader or the prestigious person in the village community, this practice can be considered as the best "way" to bring the Party and State policies on human rights come to the people 4.2.3.4 Promote the role of commune party organizations and mass organizations in the villages The commune party organization in rural areas is the core of leadership in rural communities Through the revolutionary movement of the masses in the locality, the Party officials at the commune level are able to grasp the people's aspirations, summarize the initiatives of the masses, and contribute to setting guidelines and policies of the Party 4.2.4 Solution on financial resources The process of collecting and assessing customary laws and inheriting human rights in customary laws requires funding for implementation The implementation process related to propaganda, preliminary, summarizing needs to integrate the propaganda funding sources of the commune If possible, it can be integrated with the law propagation conferences of the district Council for Education Dissemination and Education (this council plans to disseminate to the village every year) 4.2.5 Organization and implementation solutions 4.2.5.1 Some solutions are directly related to the topic - Propaganda: It is necessary to mobilize the commune political system, with the support of the district political system to widely disseminate among the people on requirements, views, inheritance solutions and promotion of values of human rights in Thai‟s customary laws in exercising human rights over the Thai community in the Northwest - Inspection and supervision: The commune administrations need to 23 formulate inspection and supervision plans in the process of implementing each specific time Promptly detect and supplement deviations; strictly handle manifestations of abusing Thai‟s customary law - Evaluating and learning experience: In the first stage of implementation, conferences for experience need to be hold regularly, not necessarily to be hold monthly or quarterly, but depends on the difficulties of the process of implementation 4.2.5.2 Some indirect solutions are systematic from central to local government - For Central government: The implementation of ethnic policies such as preserving cultural identities, vulgarities, customs, languages and scripts of ethnic minorities - For provincial government: The provincial Party and government need to establish steering committee to collect, handle and apply customs and practices of ethnic minorities - For district government: Under the direction of the provincial Steering Committee, it is necessary to set up a working group to advise the district People's Committee to check, urge and directly participate in activities of collecting, handling and applying customary laws in order to suit local specialties and facilities - For commune level: The chairman of the communal people's committee is responsible for directing the relevant members of the commune to coordinate with relevant levels in performing the tasks to ensure the progress and requirements - For wards and villages: The board of management and selfmanagement of villages should coordinate closely with organizations and individuals in the process of collecting, processing and applying customary laws 24 CONCLUSIONS Through the study of customary laws, the values of human rights in Thai‟s customary laws in Vietnam shows that, customary laws have been having important influences, both positive and negative ways on current legislation in the Thai‟s community Therefore, it is necessary to have a consistent orientation view and practical, feasible solutions to promote the positives and limit the negative sides of those effects The view on promoting the values of Thai‟s customary laws in the Northwest is the common view of our Party and State This view has been concretized in the socio-economic development policies of the Northwest region of our State throughout the past In order to continue promoting positive factors, limiting the negative effects on the human rights values of Thai‟s customary laws in Northwest Vietnam, it is necessary to implement well the proposed solutions such as: Collecting and evaluating customary laws, clarifying the values of human rights in customary laws; raising the awareness of the Party and authorities about customary laws, raising more and more effective practical actions to promtote the values of customary laws By those ways, the role of customary laws has been promoted in order to effectively implement human and civil rights in the construction of modern Vietnamese rural areas, to build an advanced and imbued culture of Vietnamese./ ... ensure the implementation of human rights in Thai? ??s community in Northwest Vietnam The thesis? ??s objects The thesis? ??s objects are Thai? ??s customary law in the Northwest Vietnam and the value of human. .. Chapter THE IMPACTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VALUES OF THAI? ??S COSTUMARY LAWS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAI? ??S COMMUNITY IN THE NORTHWEST VIETNAM NOWADAYS 3.1 Some values of human rights of Thai' s... surveying the enjoyment of human rights of Thai ethnic people in the Northwest; surveying results of implementing inheritance measures and promote human rights values in Thai? ??s customary laws of