English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
The major mass organizations are the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Viet Nam
Fatherland Front, Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour, Viet Nam Peasant’s Association,
Viet Nam War Veterans Association and Viet Nam Women’s Union. The Viet Nam Fatherland
Front is also an umbrella organization for 29 organizations, including the other mass organizations.
Membership in the mass organizations (excluding the Viet Nam Fatherland Front) is an
estimated 32 million. 74 These mass organizations have a historical relationship with the
Communist Party of Viet Nam and they are often given responsibilities in legal documents. For
example, the Viet Nam Women’s Union was the lead drafting agency for the Law on Gender
Equality (No. 73/2006/QH11 of November 29, 2006) (Law on Gender Equality). Mass organizations
are, in many ways, arms of the Communist Party of Viet Nam that address needs of
their constituents as well as disseminate information on the Communist Party of Viet Nam and
Government. The mass organizations have strong welfare projects and they do important work
on service delivery relating to health, disaster relief, education and poverty alleviation. 75
The Viet Nam Women’s Union is focused on women’s advancement and gender equality.
It led the drafting of the Law on Gender Equality. The Viet Nam Women’s Union was established
in 1930 to support the women’s emancipation movement and to mobilize women to fight
for an independent Viet Nam. 76 It operates at four levels: central, provincial, district and commune.
77 This organizational set-up ensures that the Viet Nam Women’s Union has considerable
outreach at the grassroots level. It has around 12 million members, which is about 50 percent
of women aged 18 and over. 78 However, ethnic minority women who cannot speak
Vietnamese might be poorly represented and serviced by the Viet Nam Women’s Union. 79 The
President is a member of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, as are many of its officers. 80
Generally, Viet Nam Women’s Union programmes/projects are directed to poor women
living in rural or remote and mountainous regions, and women in difficult or disadvantaged situations
due to war or economic changes. 81 Viet Nam Women’s Union activities include savings
and credit schemes for poor women, literacy classes and job-related training, training for the
general population on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, assistance for victims of trafficking,
and promoting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development for women including
business start-up and management skills. Much of its work might more appropriately belong to
executive agencies, such as Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET) and Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). 82
44
There is limited information on professional associations and umbrella organizations.
They include varied types of organizations; for example, the Viet Nam Lawyer’s Association,
Viet Nam Red Cross, Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, Viet Nam
74
Ibid.
75
Kelly, Paula-Frances, ‘Reflections on Social Work Development in Viet Nam: A Study of Save the Children Sweden’s
Support to Social Work 1993-2001’, National Political Publishing House, Ha Noi, 2003 (Kelly), p. 82
76
Wells, op. cit., p. 61
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid.
79
Ibid.
80
Ibid., pp. 61-62
81
Ibid., p. 62
82
Ibid., p. 61
Structures of governance