The Deputy Minister for Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep, gave an account of Vietnam’s progress in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child between 2007 and 2011 at the 60 th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in Geneva on May 31.

When talking to the Vietnam News Agency in Geneva , Deputy Minister Diep said the discussion had been open and constructive.

The committee raised a number of questions on the problems Vietnam faces in implementing the convention, and solutions the Vietnamese government has taken to address the issues of child labour, gender equality, access to education, the gap between regions and adoption, said the deputy minister.

According to Diep, the committee highlighted Vietnam ’s achievements in child care, protection and education and said its legal system has met the principles and requirements of convention.

Vietnamese children now receive better care and protection and exercise their right to attend school and express their opinions in national children’s programmes.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said that one of the biggest challenges for the country is its lack of financial resources to invest in children.

It recognised Vietnam ’s strong commitment to continue to bring its legislation up to international standards, deal with weaknesses in the child care system, and receive more resource to the protection, education and the rights of the child.

Vietnam was one of seven countries reporting to the session, which opened on May 29 and will end on June 15. The country was the first Asian nation and the second country in the world to ratify the convention on February 20, 1990.-VNA