Information of the doctoral thesis: “Ensuring the right of access to information of ethnic minority people in Vietnam’s northern midlands and mountainous region”

Supervisor: Assoc, Prof, Dr. TuongDuy Kien.

Training Institution: Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

New academic and theoretical contributions:

The dissertation advances the theoretical foundations for ensuring ethnic minority people’s right of access to information in accordance with the requirement of substantive equality. It clarifies the concept, characteristics, role and principles of this right and establishes a framework encompassing five dimensions: the availability of information;  its accessibility; its usability and quality; the capacity to receive and exercise control over information; and mechanisms for inspection, oversight and protection of the right.

New findings and main results of the thesis:

First, the dissertation systematically assesses the current state of ensuring the right of access to information of ethnic minority people in the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region from the perspective of human rights law. The survey identifies the gap between legal recognition of the right and its enjoyment in practice, while also documenting improvements in disclosure, information provision and the expansion of access methods.

Second, the dissertation identifies distinctive barriers, including fragmented terrain, dispersed populations, economic hardship, linguistic differences, educational attainment, digital capability, access devices and the suitability of information. It establishes that these barriers stem not only from the characteristics of information recipients but also from the law, public – service responsibility, coordination mechanisms, methods of information provision, and inspection and oversight.

Third,  the dissertation proposes a coherent set of viewpoints and solutions to shift from formal guarantees of the right to substantive guarantees. These include improving the law; strengthening responsibility for disclosure and the provision of information; developing infrastructure and narrowing the digital divide; building the capacity of cadres and ethnic minority people; promoting economic, cultural and social development; and improving mechanisms for inspection, oversight and accountability.