COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD REVIEWS REPORT OF VIET NAM

The Committee on the Rights of the Child considered today a second periodic report of Viet Nam, hearing a Government delegation describe legislative and practical reforms taken over the past decade to improve the situation of the country's children.
Le Thi Thu, Minister and Chairperson of the National Committee on Population, Family and Children of Viet Nam, who introduced the report, said that since 1993, when the Committee reviewed Viet Nam's initial report, the country had undergone profound political, economic, and social changes, many of them intended to aid in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Responding to questions put by Committee members, the Government delegation said among other things that increased investment had been made in social and educational programmes for children; that compulsory primary education had been extended to 94 per cent of Vietnamese children; and that steps were being taken to reduce a high rate of infant mortality, especially in rural and remote regions.
The Committee's formal concluding observations on the report of Viet Nam will be issued towards the end of its three-week session, which concludes on 31 January.
Other members of the Vietnamese delegation were Le Van Bang, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ngo Quang Xuan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office and other organizations in Geneva; Le Do Ngoc, Director of the Family Department; Nguyen Trong An, Deputy Director of the Children Department; Dang Nam, Deputy Director for Communication and Education; Cao Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director for International Cooperation of the Committee on Population, Family and Children; Truong Trieu Duong, Minister Counsellor, and Nguyen Thiep, Counsellor, of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam in Geneva; Le Hoai Trung, Deputy Director, and Ta Van Thong, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Nguyen Cong Hong, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice; Nguyen Thi Hoang Lan, from the Government Office; and Ha Thi Lan Anh, a representative of Vietnamese Children.
Viet Nam, as one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, must present periodic reports to the Committee on national efforts to implement the treaty.
The Committee will meet in private session Thursday to continue its consideration of draft concluding observations on country reports already reviewed this session. At 10 a.m. Friday, it is scheduled to take up a second periodic report of the Czech Republic (document CRC/C/83/Add.4).
Second Periodic Report of Viet Nam
The report (document CRC/C/65/Add.20) reviews steps taken to implement provisions of the Convention since the submission of Viet Nam's initial report in 1993. The report covers such areas as civil rights and freedoms, family environment and alternative care, basic health and welfare, education, leisure and cultural activities, and special measures.
It states that over the years, Viet Nam has undergone positive and comprehensive changes that have had a great positive impact on the population, including on children -- the result of effective implementation of the "correct policy of renewal" -- "doi moi" -- initiated by the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in 1986. The policy has led to considerable political and socio-economic, cultural and civil achievements and has created favourable conditions for the implementation of the Convention.
Implementing child rights is one of the focuses of human rights in Viet Nam, the reports states. A National Programme of Action for Children has played an important role in national and local socio-economic programmes and decision-making, and has been carried out in smooth coordination with international cooperation programmes, especially those of UNICEF, and other programmes of action of social bodies and mass organizations.
Presentation of Report
LE THI THU, Minister and Chairperson of the National Committee on Population, Family and Children of Viet Nam, said that since 1993, Viet Nam had undergone enormous and profound changes in all political, economic, and social fields, these had had a great impact on implementation of the Convention. The comprehensive "doi moi" process had been further accelerated, yielding significant achievements and living up to the expectations of the Vietnamese people. As a result, the process had received the strong support and active participation of the entire Vietnamese people and had been highly appreciated by the international community.
The Vietnamese economy continued to achieve sustained and relatively high growth, Ms. Le said. The country's average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had increased by 7 per cent annually; new progress had been made in agricultural restructuring; high growth had been registered in the fishery, industry, export and services sectors; and inflation was under control.
Ms. Le said in spite of economic difficulties, Viet Nam had managed to allocate in its national budget and to mobilize resources from people and various economic sectors for the development of education and training, science and technology, culture, health care, protection of environment, and the addressing of social issues. Universal primary education had been achieved and illiteracy eradicated in 2000. The rate of poor households had been reduced to 16 per cent in 2001 and to 14.3 per cent in 2001 and 2002. Greater attention was being paid to the protection and care of children. Programmes had been established on education and training, poverty alleviation, employment, and reproductive health care for mountainous communes and ethnic minorities; and remote and poor areas had been given priority for investment.
Ms. Le said the Vietnamese economy still had many weaknesses, including low competitiveness and efficiency and a low pace of economic restructuring. Cultural and social development had not yet met new requirements. Urgent social issues had not been fully addressed; the unemployment and underemployment rates remained high; social evils and crime had not yet been rolled back; and traffic accidents were on the rise.
Viet Nam had continued with greater efforts to harmonize the Convention with national legislation, Ms. Thu said. National legislation relating to the rights of the child had been amended. The spirit of the Convention had been imbued in the drafting and revising process of such fundamental laws as the Penal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Labour Code and Law on Marriage and Family. The rights of the child had been reinforced through more provisions in the country's legal system. Great efforts had been made to create a child-friendly legal system.
Ms. Le said the Government was cooperating with other countries and international organizations to provide more resources for the realization of national goals for children. To assist in achieving the goals set in the National Programme of Action for Children (2001-2005), the Government had signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Over 400 foreign non-governmental organizations had implemented projects focusing on children. Many foreign governments also had provided Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) for the implementation of child rights.
HA THI LAN ANH, a child speaking on behalf of Vietnamese Children, said she was happy that things had changed in her country, and that the views of children were now being heard. She had represented her country's children during the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children. Over the last five years, Vietnamese children had been able to participate in programmes and decisions concerning them. She reminded Vietnamese authorities that Vietnamese children still needed further improvements in the health sector, particularly in relation to safe drinking water, prevention of traffic accidents and protection against HIV/AIDS.
Discussion
Committee Experts raised numerous questions under the main subjects of general measures of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and the legal definition of children in Viet Nam. Questions were posed on such issues as participation of children and NGOs in the preparation of the report; monitoring of the implementation of the Convention; allocation of funds for the realization of child rights; the number and kind of complaints lodged by children concerning their rights; the involvement of the private sector in the implementation of child rights; the support provided to disabled children; and the implementation of child rights in remote and mountainous regions.
Responding, members of the Vietnamese delegation said among other things that the National Committee on Population, Family and Children monitored and coordinated activities dealing with children. The Committee had 10 departments and branches in all regions. The Committee had also participated in the amendment of laws concerning children.
Vietnamese children had benefited from the economic stability and growth of the country, as more services had been made available to them, the delegation said. Social services were more accessible to children and to population at large. Health-care services had been made available to disadvantaged children. The implementation of the "doi moi" reform policy had been beneficial to children in all spheres, including in the promotion and protection of child rights. The renewal policy had ensured equal access to social services in all regions. However, such equality had not yet been realized in rural areas, and the Government had to intensify its efforts in those regions.
The National Committee in 2001 had received 927 complaints of violations of child rights, the delegation said. The recommendations formulated by the Committee to the competent authorities had been accepted to resolve the complaints. The Committee also continued to collect complaints in the provinces and other remote areas.
In addition to assistance received through international cooperation, the Government had allocated significant amounts of money for the implementation of the rights of the child, the delegation said. Children were also the main beneficiaries of social investments made by the Government. The authorities in 2001 had distributed US$85 million to NGOs working in the promotion and protection of child rights. And UNICEF had allocated significant funds each year for child protection in the country.
Children in Viet Nam were informed of their rights through various mechanisms, the delegation said. Mass media awareness-raising programmes had been carried out on regular basis, and schools were providing education on the rights of the child. NGOs were also instrumental in disseminating information on the provisions of the Convention. The Government had expanded counselling centres for children with the view to guiding them on issues concerning their rights. The reform policy had provided new opportunities and challenges for the children of Viet Nam.
Committee Experts went on to raise questions under the main issues of general principles of the Convention; civil rights and freedoms; and family environment and alternative care. The questions focused, among other things, on the right to life, survival and development; the national plan for road safety; the high rate of abortion (40 per cent of pregnancies); respect for the opinion of the child in courts; the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; measures concerning children without parental care; the situation of street children; the clearing of Agent Orange, the gas sprayed by the United States during the war against Viet Nam; the provision of education in minority languages; the fate of 150,000 orphaned and abandoned children; and the promotion of domestic and international adoption.
Members of the Vietnamese delegation said, among other responses, that the effort to universalize education had yet to cover some parts of mountainous and remote areas. However, 94 per cent of Vietnamese children were attending compulsory primary schools. The policy on eradication of illiteracy had been strengthened by several measures. UNICEF had contributed significant assistance to the Government in its efforts to implement educational programmes for children.
Viet Nam was frequently devastated by typhoons and floods, and these natural disasters had a negative impact on the rights of the child, the delegation said. Besides measures against natural disasters, the Government had taken steps to protect children from road accidents and drowning, particularly in the Mekong River Delta. The causes of such incidents had been investigated and appropriate measures taken to remedy the situation. The Ministry of Labour had also carried out programmes to reduce child mortality from accidents. One-third of the country's accidents affected children, and the number of victims was high.
The "orange gas" sprayed by the United States against Viet Nam during the war between the two countries still affected some newborn children, the delegation said. The people of Viet Nam were still feeling the damage and devastating environmental effects of the gas.
The country's 1995 Civil Code regulated child adoption and the nationality issues of citizens married to foreigners, the delegation said. Ten thousand children had been adopted since the new law entered into force. Many of the children had adopted by French families; the next most frequent country of adoption was Sweden. The adopting families fully complied with the conditions for adoption set by Viet Nam. These included visits to the adopted children by representatives of Viet Nam. Viet Nam was not yet a party to the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoptions.
Corporal punishment against a child was considered a crime, the delegation said, and educational campaigns had been launched to change attitudes on corporal punishment.
The administration of the juvenile justice system had still to be strengthened to deal properly with the children in conflict with the law, the delegation said. The Government was eager for international assistance in that area.
Because of a decline in the traditional "extended families" system and the growth of the nuclear family system, some children might lack support in the event they were deprived of a parental environment, the delegation said. A survey had shown that one-parent families, particularly headed by women, were on the rise. The Government had been working to reinforce the family and to improve the situation of children, who were the first to be affected by breakdowns in the family structure.
Committee Experts went on to pose numerous questions under the main subjects of basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures. The questions focused, among other things, on the situation of disabled children; regional disparities in education; the high rate of school dropouts; participation of children in cultural activities; mobile libraries for children living in remote areas; the promotion of breastfeeding; and the connection between dropouts and child labour.
Responding, the members of the Vietnamese delegation said among other things that the Government was making efforts to close the existing gap in education between regions. Incentives were provided for teachers who volunteered to be transferred to remote and ethnic areas, thus allowing them to receive higher salaries. Many schools in the remote areas were no longer "bamboo-schools" -- they had been rebuilt through the restructuring programmes introduced by the Government. Teaching was provided in minority languages; and the number of universities in minority regions had increased to five.
Before 1988, the rate of birth registration was 70 per cent; now it was more than 90 per cent, the delegation said. A lack of staff for birth registration still did not allow for registration of all new births.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breastfeeding was a problem in the country, the delegation said. In order to reduce child malnutrition, the Government had encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children. Thus the practice was increasing for children under 4 months of age.
Infant mortality was high in Viet Nam, the delegation said. The rate was still higher in the remote areas and in regions where medical stations were far away. Deliveries in remote regions were carried out at home, with resulting risks to newborn children.
There were no children under 18 years of age employed in State enterprises, the delegation said. The private sector was subjected to State labour inspections in attempts to prevent child labour.
Preliminary Concluding Remarks
GHALIA MOHD BIN HAMAD AL-THANI, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Viet Nam, said she had enjoyed the discussion with the members of the delegation, who had provided new information on the situation of children in the country. The second periodic report had shown that further measures had been taken to implement the Convention. Some work still had to be done so that Vietnamese children could fully realize their rights. The State party should be encouraged to take further action to allow children to participate in activities concerning them.
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