Vietnam Human Rights Fund 2017-2021 Under the Vietnam Human Rights Fund, the Commission has two initiatives – the Human Rights Education Partnership, and the Advancing Responsible Business Conduct Partnership. Supported by DFAT, both Partnerships aim to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in Vietnam, over the 2017–2022 period. 1. Human Rights Education Partnership This program focuses on assisting the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (the Academy) in its mandate to implement the Prime Minister’s decree on embedding human rights education into the Vietnamese curriculum, and to build the capacity of Vietnamese government agencies and educational institutions to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights through education. In the 2020– 2021 period, the program team has: • supported the Academy in publishing online learning courses on human rights on the Academy’s website • supported the Academy in seeking copyright permissions from various UN agencies for publishing Vietnamese language translations on key human rights publications • liaised with the Academy on promoting and supporting the distribution of the Vietnamese language version of RightsApp • entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asia Pacific Forum of Human Rights Institutions on the translation of the Human Rights Education Manual into Vietnamese. 2. Advancing Responsible Business Conduct Partnership This Partnership with the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) aims to advance responsible business conduct in Vietnam through increasing the human rights knowledge and capabilities of businesses and future business leaders. Under this Partnership, the Commission has partnered with VCCI to deliver training to lecturers from business schools on responsible business conduct (see case study below) and has developed guidance for the apparel and footwear industry. The Commission and VCCI launched the Responsible Business Conduct and the Apparel and Footwear Industry guidance and accompanying fact sheet in April 2021, in Hanoi. Opening remarks were delivered by Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, Secretary General VCCI, and Ms Robyn Mudie, Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, signalling both Vietnam’s and Australia’s commitment to the issue of responsible business conduct. Annual Report 2020–2021 Australian Human Rights Commission 69