Seminar urges revision to laws on disaster prevention, control
A seminar in Hanoi on March 8 highlighted the need to overhaul legal documents relating to natural disaster prevention and control with children’s rights taken into consideration.
A rescuer carries a little girl to safe place during a flood in Cam Lo district, central province of Quang Tri. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar in Hanoi on March 8 highlighted the need to overhaul legal documents relating to natural disaster prevention and control with children’s rights taken into consideration.
It was organised by the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, UNICEF, and the US Agency for International Development.
Vu Xuan Thanh – Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Deputy Chief of Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control – said that in recent years, the Party, State and Government have promoted concerted structural and non-structural solutions to minimise the impact of natural disasters. Relevant mechanisms, policies and laws have also been perfected.
However, laws and legal documents on disaster prevention and control must continue to be reviewed and amended in order to facilitate appropriate actions in response to the reality of increasingly unpredictable and extreme impact of climate change, he noted.
Mizuho Okimoto-Kaewtathip, Chief of Social Policy and Governance at UNICEF Vietnam, said law revision should pay more attention to disaster risk mitigation, preparations, responsibility improvement at all sectors and levels, and improvement of data to serve effective planning, management and response.
The role of schools in promoting communities’ awareness and resilience to natural disasters is especially important. Therefore, laws should be amended in a way that promotes children’s role as the main factor of changes to create disaster-safe communities, she said.
Climate change impact is unavoidable, but with a more comprehensive legal framework, Vietnam can prove its efforts towards sustainable development so that no one and no child is left behind, she added.
Dr. Ian F. Wilderspin, a disaster risk and climate change specialist, said although the number of legal documents is rising fast, they are still unable to cover all fields and not detailed enough to regulate all disaster prevention and control activities.
He proposed that Vietnam review all laws and legal documents related to disaster risk management and specify issues that need to be prioritised for amendment. Additionally, disaster risk management guidelines should switch their focus from disaster response to disaster risk mitigation and climate change adaptation. –VNA
You should also see
Localities get ready for fourth FDI boom
As the year 2024 is expected to witness the start of the fourth wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Vietnam, localities nationwide are getting ready to absorb foreign capital flows.
See more
Society
Vietnamese youth pledge to join hands in climate change response
A representative of Vietnam has affirmed the youth’s commitment to joining hands in climate change response, while attending a plenary session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum in New York on April 17.
Society
Russian, Vietnamese university rectors gather in Moscow
The second forum of rectors of Russian and Vietnamese universities took place at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU) on April 18.
Society
Vietnamese women link up to enhance role, position
The Hanoi Association for Women Entrepreneurs (HNEW) and the Vietnamese Women Forum in Europe (VWFE) signed an agreement on April 18 on cooperation to enhance the role, position and contributions of Vietnamese women in socio-economic areas.
Politics
Prime Minister pays tribute to legendary founders of Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 18 attended a ceremony to offer incense to Vietnam’s forefathers Hung Kings at Hung Temple in Phu Tho province on the occasion of the Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day, which falls on the 10th day of the third lunar month every year.
Society
Overseas Vietnamese in Laos, France, Irsarel commemorate Hung Kings
The General Association of Vietnamese in Laos and the Vietnamese Association in Vientiane on April 18 held a ceremony to observe the commemorative anniversary of the Hung Kings, the legendary nation founders.
