English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank UNIFEM CEDAW Southeast Asia Programme for supporting this publication.
She is especially grateful to Vu Ngoc Binh, Viet Nam National Coordinator, CEDAW
Southeast Asia Programme, UNIFEM Viet Nam for his guidance and critical comments on this
review to ensure its relevance to Viet Nam’s situation and context. The author appreciates his tireless
support in providing the references for this research, in particular relevant Vietnamese legal documents,
as well as his updates on new developments in the country that are pertinent to this review.
The author also wishes to thank, in no particular order, all those who have provided written and/or
oral comments to the draft of this review, as follows: Shoko Ishikawa, Programme Manager, CEDAW
Southeast Asia Programme, UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office; Lee Waldorf, Human
Rights Advisor, UNIFEM New York; Luz Lopez Rodriguez, Philippine National Coordinator, CEDAW
Southeast Asia Programme, UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office; Adrienne Reilly, UN
Volunteer, Specialist in Rights-based Approaches, UNAIDS Viet Nam; Sarah de Hovre, Technical Officer
for Health and Human Rights/Trade and Public Health, WHO Viet Nam; Marjatta Tolvanned-Ojukangas,
Section Chief for Health and Nutrition, UNICEF Viet Nam; Nguyen Quoc Binh, Project Officer for
Education, UNICEF Viet Nam; Julie Bergeron, Project Officer for Child Protection, UNICEF Viet Nam;
Geetanjali Narayan, Chief of Planning, UNICEF Viet Nam; Vu Tuan Minh, Legal Officer, UNICEF Viet
Nam; Vu Thi Yen, Senior Development Officer, Canadian Embassy in Viet Nam; Jacqueline Delima
Baril, First Secretary, Canadian Embassy in Viet Nam; Ha Hoang Hop, Consultant, Norwegian Embassy
in Viet Nam; Amparita Sta. Maria and Tricia Oco, Ateneo Human Rights Center; and Gender and
Community Development Network (GENCOMNET).
Special thanks go to Richelle A. Chiongson for her administrative assistance, Matthew Coghlan
and Vu Ngoc Binh for their editing. The author also acknowledges the support from Ricardo Chiongson,
Erlinda Abada Chiongson and Emmett Cunningham.
Rea Abada Chiongson, September 2008
NOTE ON THE AUTHOR
Rea Abada Chiongson is a lawyer and a member of the faculty of law of the Ateneo de Manila
University, Philippines. She received her political science and law degrees (B.A. and J.D.) from
the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and her master of laws degree (LL.M.) in international
human rights law from Columbia University in New York, USA. She is the recipient of the
Fulbright Graduate Student Programme Scholarship in 1999-2000.
Chiongson is recognized as an expert on gender equality, human rights and international law. She
is also one of the leading specialists on the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) and other international human rights standards, and their implementation at
the national level. She provides technical assistance, training and similar capacity building activities to
governments, experts, NGOs and advocates in several countries.
Chiongson worked in Viet Nam as a consultant on various initiatives, including preparation and
adoption of the Law on Gender Equality, development of the UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality,
writing of the first Viet Nam NGO CEDAW report, mainstreaming gender into legal aid work, and drafting
a training manual on CEDAW. Presently, she works with UNIFEM CEDAW Southeast Asia
Programme providing technical assistance in assessing compliance of national laws with CEDAW, and
developing national capacity on gender equality in the Southeast Asian region.
CEDAW and the Law: