International cooperation urged to safeguard children's rights

Relevant ministries and sectors have been asked to strengthen international cooperation to ensure that children's rights are upheld in line with global standards and practices.

This is part of a plan recently approved by Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long for implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, ensuring the full and effective realisation of children's rights in Vietnam.

The plan aims to assist ministries, sectors and both central and local authorities in clearly defining their responsibilities for implementing the UN committee's recommendations.

It also seeks to enhance coordination among agencies to implement children's rights comprehensively and effectively, ensuring they act in the children's best interests.

Ministries, sectors and local authorities will review and develop their own roadmaps to implement the recommendations based on the functions and responsibilities of each. The roadmaps will also be integrated with existing child-related programmes and policies.

The plan will carry out a range of tasks, including reviewing and improving the legal and policy framework to promote children's rights in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant international conventions to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Communication, education and social advocacy efforts will be boosted to raise awareness, sense of responsibility, knowledge, and skills of implementing children's rights. Besides, the plan will also enhance the professional capacity for personnel working in child protection and related areas at all levels and sectors, promote inter-agency coordination, and run activities and models focused on child care, education and protection.

It also aims to develop a service system that ensures the implementation of children's rights and addresses issues related to children, inspect the implementation of children's rights and related matters, and build and improve the quality of child data systems linked with the national resident database and specialised databases.

Budget funds will be prioritised for implementing children's rights and addressing child-related issues in line with practical circumstances and the Government’s financial capabilities.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is tasked with leading and coordinating with relevant ministries, sectors, and local authorities to oversee and carry out the plan.

Authorities must proactively allocate resources for implementing targets and solutions while integrating the recommendations into the national target programmes and related projects.