English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
PART V
Part V is divided into the specific areas that follow Articles 1-16 of CEDAW. Each area will discuss
the: (a) obligations under CEDAW; (b) selected indicators; and (c) relevant legal provisions in
Vietnamese legal documents
In relation to the obligations under CEDAW, excerpts from the text of CEDAW, GRs and
Concluding Comments on Viet Nam 2007 will be provided. These are the main provisions that
will be used in the review. The original texts of these provisions are provided for easy referral
and to be able to provide the reader a concrete text for their use and advocacy.
As to the selected indicators, as CEDAW is a comprehensive instrument that looks into
all aspects of civil, political, economic, social, cultural and other spheres of life, there can be
numerous indicators to measure compliance. A total of 117 indicators and 33 sub-indicators,
which covered a wide range of issues, were used in the review. The term ‘indicators’ is used
in a different sense in this review. The selected indicators are more in the nature of key questions
or lines of inquiry to elicit information necessary for analysis rather than development
programming indicators. They are utilized to provide guidance as to which issues are to be
focused upon and answered. The selected indicators are in no way exclusive. For this review,
they were chosen with special consideration to the: (a) gender equality situation in Viet Nam,
in particular, issues and/or matters identified as priority by the State, academics and
researchers, and NGOs; (b) issues of concern raised by the CEDAW Committee in Concluding
Comments on Viet Nam 2007; and (c) extent of legal documents on the particular issues.
On the relevant legal provisions in Vietnamese legal documents, the following are discussed
in an intertwined manner: (a) relevant legal provisions; (b) the situation of women in
the particular area; (c) analysis of legal provisions and recommendations. In relation to relevant
legal provisions, as explained earlier, the focus was placed primarily on legal documents
from the National Assembly and its Standing Committee. Also considered were documents
issued by offices, ministries and agencies at the central level, as well as national plans and
strategies where relevant. In relation to the situation of women, reliance was placed on secondary
sources. The purpose is to provide a brief context as to the situation of gender equality
and women, so as to understand the legal provisions better. In some cases, information on
the impact of legal provisions is not available, which makes it difficult to measure substantive
equality or de facto equality. As to analysis and recommendations, they are provided based on
the obligations under CEDAW and the legal framework, situation of gender equality, and feasibility
and appropriateness of their application in Viet Nam. The analysis and recommendations
also bear in mind the various kinds of legal documents in Viet Nam and Vietnamese practice
of legislative drafting. A review of Vietnamese legal documents will show that what may be
appropriate content of a Vietnamese legal document may not be so in legal documents of
other countries. The author noted these in developing the recommendations. Also, it is obvious
that not all solutions to equality and non-discrimination are legal. Hence, although most of
the recommendations are for legal reform, there are several suggestions that do not relate to
drafting, amending or repealing legal documents but will assist in its implementation and
enforcement of gender equality provisions.
Introduction
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