Redefining children as those under the age of 18 is key to helping younger people access child protection services before they are legally classed as an adult (Photo: nhandan.com.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Redefining children as those under the age of 18 is key to helping youngerpeople access child protection services before they are legally classed as anadult.
That was the key message from a workshop which broke downresults of a recent study called “Implications of adjusting the legal age ofchildren in Vietnam”.
The workshop was held on August 30 in Hanoi by the Instituteof Legislative Studies under National Assembly and the United NationsChildren’s Fund (UNICEF).
Vu Cong Giao, head of the research group, said the purpose ofthe study was to evaluate in a comprehensive and specific way the legal andpractical issues relating to the issue and propose solutions on the amendmentson children's legal age in the 2016 Law on Children.
The study was conducted in the capital city of Hanoi and fourprovinces, Tra Vinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh.
It outlined four key elements as foundations for the legalage adjustment of children in Vietnam including the interest of the Party,State and society in child protection, care and education; requests from thecountry’s international integration; the demand for protection and care ofchildren aged 16-17 year and the State's ability to respond.
“If a child was defined as a person under the age of 16 years- as per the Law on Children – it means that nearly three million minors aged16-17 in Vietnam have been excluded from essential protection that is criticalto develop their potential in safety before reaching full adulthood,” said RanaFlowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.
She said without a clear legal basis for care, protection andsupport, they were at high risk of sexual abuse, dropping out of school,marrying at early age, engaging in child labour or having an abortion.
“These experiences have a negative impact on childrenthemselves, and also on the quality of the labour force and ultimately on thecountry’s sustainable development,” Flowers said.
“There is an urgency to act, to address these pressingissues, and invest better in education, health, nutrition, and protection ofthis critical age group.”
The study said the adjustment of the legal age of Vietnamesechildren to 18 years was appropriate, necessary and would have a positiveimpact.
It proposed the National Assembly and Government consider andamend provisions in Article 1 of the 2016 Law on Children. The amendment wouldnot only bring it into accordance with the constitutions’ age of maturity butalso promote consistency across the different laws.
The change would harmonise in line with the Convention on theRights of the Child (CRC) which set the legal of children at under the age of18 years.
The difference between Vietnam and CRC are hinderinginternational cooperation relating children, including the collecting ofstatistics on children in Vietnam as well as report on the implementation ofCRC and Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations. Thus, the adjustmentof legal age would solve the problem.
Although the adjustment might affect the country’sexpenditure, it would not result in massive cost to State Budget, Giao said.
For example, the budget spending for children which stood at 774billion VND (33.3 million USD) last year, would increase by 97 billion VND (4.1million USD) with the adjustment, he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security over the pastyear showed minors aged 16-17 accounted for 68 percent of the total number ofpersons under the age of 18 who commit crime, said Pham Manh Hung, fromCriminal Police Department under the Ministry of Publicity.
Due attention should be paid to these groups as they weretransitioning to adulthood, he said.
Hung highlighted the need to strengthen disseminationcampaign to raise their awareness on law obedience.-VNS/VNA
