Within the framework of the 91st session of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), on September 12 and 13 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Vietnamese delegation had a dialogue with the CRC on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Vietnam.

The delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha.

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the UN, WTO, and other international organizations in Geneva also attended the delegation.

This dialogue session was conducted when Vietnam had submitted the 5th and 6th periodical national reports on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Vietnam to the CRC and the Report of answering the list of questions of the CRC Committee for Vietnam.

Dialogue session between the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and Vietnam on children's rights. (Photo: Thanh Nien)

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha said that at this 91st session, the CRC highly appreciated Vietnam's profound preparation process for the submitted reports.

All members of the CRC welcomed Vietnam's achievements, reflected in the process of law-making, and policy-making as well as carrying out measures in the field of children's rights.

During the meeting, members of the CRC raised hundreds of questions to Vietnam. The Vietnamese delegation also discussed with the Committee in a frank, open, focused, and comprehensive manner.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha, the fact that members of the CRC asked so many questions also showed interest in the achievements and challenges that Vietnam is facing to help Vietnam further promote and protect children's rights in the spirit of the UN Convention.

This is also an opportunity for the Vietnamese delegation to exchange information and clarify some issues of concern to the CRC.

Deputy Minister Ha affirmed: "It can be said that the overall assessment of the reports and the results achieved this time by Vietnam is very positive”.

Regarding the next steps to conduct the recommendations of the CRC, Deputy Minister Ha said that after this meeting, Vietnam will have about 4-5 years to carry out the measures.

Based on the previous experience, in the coming time, relevant ministries and sectors, led by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs as the focal point, will analyze and evaluate the recommendations of the CRC. Then, an action plan will be developed and submitted to the Prime Minister based on consultation with all stakeholders.

Deputy Minister Ha said: "Based on this Action Plan, we will also review, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of recommendations and action programs in the fields related to legislation, policy development, and detailed measures. These are the steps we have taken in previous reporting cycles and this approach has been highly appreciated by the Committee. Vietnam is willing to cooperate with other countries and the UN agencies in the process of carrying out recommendations, as well as sharing Vietnam's experience in this process."

Children living in the Highland of Vietnam. (Photo: Thoi Dai)

According to the Director of the Department of Children Dang Hoa Nam, this time, CRC assessed that Vietnam achieved comprehensive results.

Firstly, the Committee highly appreciated Vietnam for its progress in the development and amendment of laws, especially the Law on Children in 2016 compared with the Law on Protection, Care and Education of Children in 2004.

The Law on Children issued in 2016 has broader provisions on children's rights, and at the same time, the scope of application of most of the provisions has also been expanded. Accordingly, children's rights are not only guaranteed to Vietnamese who are living in Vietnam.

The 2016 Law on Children also provides a clearer mechanism for planning and monitoring the implementation of children's rights at all levels of management, while ensuring appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the realization of children's rights and solving children-related problems.

The Law stipulates a new inter-sectoral coordination organization for children established by the Prime Minister to direct, coordinate and harmonize the handling of issues related to children as well as the exercise of rights of children. It also includes a new chapter on children's right to participation in Chapter V and more detailed provisions on three levels of child protection and respite care in Chapter IV.

It also provides a more complete definition and regulation of groups of "children with special circumstances", shifting from a case-by-object approach to a more systematic, responsive approach that provides an adequate and ongoing response to prevention, early intervention, and response services based on the individual needs of the child and family.

Secondly, the Committee also spoke highly of the efforts of the Government of Vietnam in linking economic development with social and sustainable development.

Vietnamese government not only focuses on economic development but also on social development, including issues related to children such as education and training, health care, hunger eradication, and poverty alleviation… to ensure human rights in general and children's rights in particular.

Guiding disabled children at the Center for Rehabilitation and Support for Disabled Children in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Thoi Dai)

Thirdly, the Committee is interested in newly emerged issues related to children's rights in the current context of many changes. For example, climate change and the world economic recession have significantly affected people's livelihoods as well as the implementation of issues related to children and the realization of children's rights in Vietnam.

Especially since 2020, the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has caused serious impacts on the economic and social development of Vietnam.

Director General Dang Hoa Nam said that Vietnam's active participation in the dialogue mechanism of the CRC and carrying out the recommendations of the Committee is very meaningful to the realization of children's rights in the country.

It demonstrates that Vietnam has responsibly fulfilled its obligations as a member state of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This also contributes to the Party and State's proactive foreign policy and active international integration.

At the same time, through this process, Vietnam also shares with the members of the CRC and other countries its experiences in promoting and ensuring children's rights.

Vietnam also has the opportunity to discuss with the Committee issues and challenges that need to be overcome, and learn from international experiences to put into specific plans and strategies for better ensuring children's rights in Vietnam.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most comprehensive international convention that protects and promotes children's rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989.

Vietnam is one of the first countries in the world to have signed and ratified this Convention, on 26/1/1990 and 28/2/1990 respectively.

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