Top legislator hails UNICEF’s support of child protection in Vietnam
Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception for Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam Rana Flowers in Hanoi on June 25.
 |
| Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam Rana Flowers (Photo: VNA) |
The bilateral cooperation programmes aim to reach all children, especially the most vulnerable ones, ensuring they have equal opportunities for development, Ngan said.
Rana Flowers said she hopes to receive more support from the NA Chairwoman and cooperation from the legislative body’s agencies to promote the implementation of children’s rights in Vietnam.
She noted that 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Vietnam was the first Asian country to ratify.
This year, the UNICEF wants to cooperate with Vietnam to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the convention, she said.
Chairwoman Ngan said Vietnam is ready to coordinate with the UNICEF to mark this event, and the country will send delegates to participate in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2019.
She expressed her satisfaction over the sound and effective cooperation between the UNICEF and the Vietnamese legislature, particularly the NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, in improving the capacity of elected deputies in supervising the enforcement of children’s rights in Vietnam from 2006 to present, in the spirit of ensuring no one is left behind, especially vulnerable groups like children and women.
The top legislator affirmed that as a responsible member of the UN, Vietnam has carried out many programmes and projects integrating the rights of children into law-making programmes.
She said lawmakers and voters pay great attention to child protection. Children, women and ethnic minority people are always a focus of discussions about education, health care and social welfare.
The Chairwoman also shared with her guest information on Vietnam’s investment in children’s comprehensive development, highlighting healthcare programmes such as improving reproductive health, reducing the rate of infant fatalities, and implementing maternity leave as stipulated in the Labour Code.
She added that recently, the NA decided to conduct supreme supervision on the implementation of policies and laws on preventing child abuse in 2020.
She also discussed with the UNICEF Chief Representative the impacts of migration, climate change, and urbanisation on children.
