English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
State management agency
A state management agency has to be designated to carry out the specific responsibilities in
Articles 8, 9 and 26 of the Law on Gender Equality. In 25 December 2007 through the Decree on
MOLISA, this Ministry was identified as the State management agency responsible for the implementation
of gender equality. It is suggested that other responsibilities be explicitly required of
MOLISA such as: (a) monitoring compliance with international treaties and commitments; (b) providing
advice or technical assistance on gender equality matters to the Government; (c) arranging
for provision of support services for victims of gender discrimination; (d) assisting and monitoring
gender mainstreaming in Government ministries and State agencies and organizations,
including budgetary allocations for gender equality; (e) working with NGOs, national and international,
in the field of gender equality; and (f) leading and coordinating initiatives on information,
education and communication on gender equality.
Responsibilities of various agencies.
The Law on Gender Equality provides generally for the responsibilities of Government ministries
and State agencies and organizations. The Directive on Gender Equality Law provides some initial
instructions to listed ministries and agencies. However, the list of ministries and agencies is
limited. It is recommended that a list of all ministries, agencies and organizations, and each of
their specific responsibilities relating to gender equality, be contained in a decree. This will assist
implementation of the provisions of Articles 27 and 31 of the Law on Gender Equality as it will
have specific tasks for each ministry or agency to perform, hence, showing clear accountability
in cases of non-performance. It is also recommended that an interministerial mechanism on gender
equality or a revised NCFAW be established or retained respectively for the purpose of coordinating
work on gender equality among ministries/agencies. This mechanism must be under the
leadership of MOLISA.
Data collection and monitoring
Article 8 of the Law on Gender Equality requires the carrying out of statistical work, providing of
information and reporting on gender equality. There are also provisions in the Law on Gender
Equality that require the monitoring of impact, trends, progress and results for the interventions
to be effective, such as Article 31(2)(a) or provisions relating to reporting such as Article 26(4).
However, there is no specific mention as to what mechanisms should be used, procedures should
be followed and criteria should be included to determine the real situation of women, nor is there
any provision on the content of the reports.
The Statistics Law and Decree on Statistics Law contain no provisions on sex-disaggregated
data or on gender analysis. Several national strategies/plans, including the Plan of Action for
the Advancement of Women, are also in place. Although they are limited in their coverage of gender
equality issues, they can assist in tracking progress. It is recommended that clearly defined
guidelines for incorporation of gender in systematic data collection and analysis - including sexdisaggregated
data, gender indicators and gender analysis - be provided to cover the work of
GSO, other statistics offices, appropriate Government ministries and State agencies in their data
collection and analysis work. 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 in politics, economy, labour, education and
training, science and technology, culture, information, sport, public health, and family), in particular
the impact of legislation and interventions.
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Executive summary