UN expert urges Viet Nam to close compulsory rehabilitation centres for sex workers
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 5 December 2011 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, UN expert urges Viet Nam to close compulsory rehabilitation centres for sex workers, 5 December 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4eddfc2a2.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
"Detainees are denied the right to be free from non-consensual treatment as well as the right to informed consent in all medically related decisions," said Special Rapporteur on the right to health Anand Grover, who concluded his visit to the country today.
Mr. Grover called the practices "ineffective and I wholeheartedly support the closure of the rehabilitation centres.counterproductive," and encouraged the Government to close down the centres and instead support its population's participation in formulating and implementing all decisions regarding their health.
"I wholeheartedly support the closure of the rehabilitation centres," said Mr. Grover. "It is essential to ensure that the considerable resources now invested in these centres are used instead to expand alternative treatments for injecting drug users."
Mr. Grover praised the Government for starting pilot community-based initiatives and methadone programmes, which help reduce withdrawal symptoms in drug users and are "less costly and more effective in reducing drug use and facilitating the reintegration of injecting drug users back into the society."
