Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân (right) hosted a reception for Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Việt Nam Rana Flowers. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân hosted a reception for Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Việt Nam Rana Flowers in Hà Nội on Tuesday.
The NA leader highly appreciated the support of the organisation in protecting children’s rights in Việt Nam.
The bilateral co-operation programmes aim to reach all children, especially the most vulnerable ones, ensuring they have equal opportunities for development.
Rana Flowers said she hoped to receive more support from the NA Chairwoman and co-operation from the legislative body’s agencies to promote the implementation of children’s rights in Việt Nam.
She noted that 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Việt Nam was the first Asian country to ratify.
This year, the UNICEF wants to co-operate with Việt Nam to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the convention.
Chairwoman Ngân said Việt Nam would be ready to co-ordinate with the UNICEF to mark this event, and the country would send delegates to participate in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2019.
She expressed her satisfaction over the sound and effective cooperation between the UNICEF and the Vietnamese legislature, particularly the NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, in improving the capacity of elected deputies in supervising the enforcement of children’s rights in Việt Nam from 2006 to present, in the spirit of ensuring no one is left behind, especially vulnerable groups including children and women.
The top legislator said as a responsible member of the UN, Việt Nam had carried out many programmes and projects integrating the rights of children into law-making programmes.
She said lawmakers and voters paid great attention to child protection. "Children, women and ethnic minority people are always a focus of discussions about education, health care and social welfare."
The Chairwoman also shared with her guest information on Việt Nam’s investment in children’s comprehensive development, highlighting healthcare programmes such as improving reproductive health, reducing the rate of infant fatalities, and implementing maternity leave as stipulated in the Labour Code.
She added that recently, the NA decided to conduct supreme supervision on the implementation of policies and laws on preventing child abuse in 2020.
She also discussed with the UNICEF Chief Representative the impacts of migration, climate change, and urbanisation on children. VNS