President of the Vietnam Association for Protection of Child Rights Tran Thi Thanh Thanh makes a remark at the forum. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Practices were shared to enhance the effectiveness of the Vietnam Association for Protection of Child Rights (VAPCR) and child rights net (CRnet) in implementing state policies on child rights at a forum in Hanoi.
The event was organised on December 19 by the VAPCR and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, bringing together policy-makers alongside representatives from VAPCR provincial and municipal chapters, 33 CRnet members and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
VAPCR President Tran Thi Thanh Thanh said the VAPCR, its chapters and CRnet members have remarkably developed over the past few years, adding extra childcare workforce to Vietnam which has been experiencing lack of state childcare workers at communities.
The VAPCR and CRnet have not only provided supports to underprivileged children but also worked to promote child rights and help raise the children’s voice and design childcare policies.
At the forum, attendees put forward several solutions for the VAPCR and CRnet to overcome difficulties. They stressed the need to develop a suitable mechanism to facilitate the expansion of early intervention services and special education for social integration for children with autism.
The Ministry of Education and Training should also involve the two organisations in implementing the Government’s action plans on behavior education for students and fight against school bullying between 2012 and 2020.
Vietnam ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on February 20, 1990, becoming the first in Asia and the second in the world to approve the convention.
The Vietnamese Party and State have continually paid attention to ensuring children’s rights in laws, policies and reality. The Law on Child Protection, Care and Education, approved by the National Assembly in 1991 and amended in 2004 and 2015, along with the revision to other related codes and laws has aligned the domestic law system with the UNCRC.
The country has carried out three national action programmes targeting children during the 1991 – 2000, 2001 – 2010 and 2011 – 2020 periods.
As a result, 90 percent of Vietnamese children have been vaccinated against six dangerous diseases under the universal immunisation programme. The under-5 mortality and malnutrition rates were cut down considerably while a majority of children of school age have attended school.-VNA
