English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
It is also recommended that a gender equality monitoring mechanism be put in
place that looks into monitoring and evaluating progress in the areas designated in
CEDAW and the Law on Gender Equality (including politics, economy, labour, education
and training, science and technology, culture, information, sport, public health, and
family), in particular the impact of legislation and interventions. It should also generate
more data on women in disadvantaged groups; for example, women with disabilities,
women living with HIV/AIDS, women caring for people living with HIV/AIDS, poor
women, women in the informal economy, rural women, and women in remote and
mountainous regions. It should specify clearly what will be monitored, evaluated and
reported on, as well as the coordination/cooperation system necessary to have a comprehensive
understanding of impact, results, trends and progress. Benchmarks and
indicators must be improved on all aspects of gender equality to enable better measurement
of progress. Indicators must also be improved to reflect emerging issues and
trends. This mechanism can input into assessment/review of the National Strategy for
the Advancement of Women, ‘Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women’ and
CEDAW State Party Reports, as well as monitoring the implementation of the Law on
Gender Equality pursuant to Article 36 of this law.
Indicator 17
Does legislation require that strategies and plans be put in place
to ensure promotion and protection of gender equality
The Law on Gender Equality provides that the state management agency will formulate
and implement national strategies, policies and goals on gender equality. 209 This is also one
of the contents of State management and responsibility of the state management agency. The
‘National Strategy for Advancement of Women’ and ‘Plan of Action for Advancement of
Women’, the key policy documents relating to gender equality and women’s rights, were formulated
by NCFAW as part of the tasks assigned to it. See Indicator 16.
Other strategies and plans are also in place, which focus to a certain extent on protection
and promotion of gender equality, such as the CPRGS, SEDS and SEDP. The basis for
socio-economic strategies and plans can be found in the Constitution. 210 In contrast to the
SEDS, which does not give prominence to gender issues, the SEDP contains explicit mention
of gender equality. 211 Gender equality is one of the eight main tasks under the SEDP. In the
list of main targets to be achieved, two targets explicitly relate to women: (a) create 8.0 million
jobs for labourers (1.6 million annually), 50 percent of whom are women; and (2) reduce maternal
mortality to fewer than 60 per 100,000 live births. 212
The SEDP contains a section on the development orientation of all sectors and fields in
the five years from 2006 to 2010. One section of 21 sectors is the implementation of gender
equality, empowerment of women and children’s rights protection. It contains a long list of
measures to achieve gender equality and protect children, which are based on the CPRGS.
107
209
Law on Gender Equality, Articles 8 and 26
210
See Constitution, Articles 84(3), 120 and 122(4)
211
Wells, op. cit., p. 65
212
Ibid.
General undertakings to eliminate discrimination and ensure equality (Articles 1-3 of CEDAW)