General Assembly Session 60 meeting 38

Mr. Nguyen Duy Chien (Viet Nam)

The delegation of Viet Nam would like to express its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report under agenda item 44, on follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children (A/60/207).

The report shows clearly that much work remains to be done to achieve a world fit for children. It is our conviction that in order to succeed in all four goal areas of the Plan of Action adopted at the General Assembly's twenty-seventh special session (resolution S-27/2, annex), concerted efforts are needed at both the national and international levels.

National-level efforts include intensifying actions to develop and implement national targets that complement and reinforce those of the Plan of Action and the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2) and the increased mobilization of resources to meet those targets.

Efforts at the international level include support, assistance and cooperation among countries and between countries and the United Nations system. Such international efforts are important for helping countries with scarce resources, especially developing countries, to focus their commitments and funding on attaining the agreed targets. Therefore, adequate attention should also be given to the international dimension of implementing the Plan of Action, namely, the need for stepping up efforts aimed at fulfilling the commitments under section C of the Plan of Action.

The Vietnamese consider children to be the happiness of the family and the future of the nation and the world. A better future for all nations and the entire world can be ensured only through adequate investment in the children of today. Therefore, we consider the protection and care of children to be a shared responsibility of the State, society and the family.

As the first country in Asia and the second country in the world to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Viet Nam has developed and improved legal and institutional frameworks for the promotion and the protection of the rights of the child. In 1991, the National Assembly of Viet Nam adopted the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education. The National Assembly's Committee on Children is actively working with relevant ministries and agencies, in particular the Government's Committee on Population, Family and Children, to ensure full implementation of legislative instruments.

Viet Nam remains firmly committed to the principles and the objectives of the Declaration and Plan of Action of the twenty-seventh special session and continues to attach great importance to full implementation of the goals enshrined in it. I will mention two areas of crucial importance for Vietnamese children today.

The first area is the promotion of healthy lives. Among the four major goal areas, health care for children is among the top priorities of Viet Nam. Health care activities in the country are implemented through national targeted programmes on the prevention of dangerous diseases, on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and on food hygiene and safety. Within those programmes, a number of projects have been implemented for the direct benefit of children, including programmes on extensive immunization, the prevention of malnutrition and safe child-rearing.

In line with Millennium Development Goal 4 and the goals of the twenty-seventh special session, Viet Nam's child mortality rate has been considerably reduced. The under-five mortality rate went down from 58 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 42 per 1,000 births in 2001, and dropped further to 31.5 per 1,000 births in 2004. The child mortality rate for infants under one year of age declined from 44.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 21 per 1,000 births in 2003, and fell further to 18 per 1,000 births in 2004. That has been achieved by improving maternal health, including the elimination of neonatal tetanus, better immunization coverage, the broad distribution of vitamin A and the provision of free medical examinations for the poor. Today, 95 per cent of ethnic minority children in Viet Nam have been vaccinated against six diseases through extensive immunization programmes.

Currently, further concrete measures are being taken to address the gaps among regions of the country, as well as to further reduce malnutrition and injury-related child mortality, the latter being the greatest cause of child mortality today.

Equally important is the second area, the provision of quality education. While Viet Nam's per capita gross domestic product remains low, we are sparing no effort to provide basic education. Spending on training and education amounted to 15 per cent of the State budget in 2000 and 17.4 per cent in 2004, while spending on making primary and secondary education universal totalled 52.6 per cent of all education spending. Various strategies, programmes and plans have been developed and are being implemented, such as the development strategy for training and education for 2001-2010 and the national action plan for Education for All for 2003-2015. Their goals are compatible with those of the Millennium Development Goals and the Plan of Action of the twenty-seventh special session.

At present, almost 94.5 per cent of Vietnamese children are enrolled in primary schools, and the overall rate for girls is only a fraction of a percentage point less than that of boys. The enrolment rate for girls at all levels of education has generally risen in the period 2001-2004, with no significant differences between regions.

Efforts have been made to address educational disparities between regions in the country, especially relating to ethnic children. The boarding school system, which provides free education and accommodation for ethnic minority students, is being expanded. At present, there are seven national boarding schools for such students. Enrolment of school-age ethnic minority children has increased to between 85 and 90 per cent. Many provinces have a policy giving priority to the admission of ethnic minority children at junior and senior secondary schools. One hundred per cent of ethnic minority pupils are admitted into grades 6 through 10 at public schools. It is also the policy of the Government to provide free education, including notebooks and textbooks, for ethnic minority children, and priority is attached to their admission into universities and colleges. Six sets of textbooks and curricula have been completed in eight widely used ethnic languages.

The Secretary-General has correctly noted in his report on the follow-up to the special session of the General Assembly on children that most of the goals of "A world fit for children" will be achieved only through a major intensification of action for disadvantaged children and families. Our current national focus is in line with that recommendation. At present, the National Committee on Population, Family and Children is completing a strategy for the protection of the child for the period 2006 to 2010. Also, under the Vision 2020 programme, the strategy will devote maximum attention to the 2.35 million children living in conditions of special hardship, namely, those in rural, mountainous and remote areas, ethnic children, children from poor households, orphans, disabled children and others. The strategy is aimed at providing an enabling legal environment, a network and a mechanism for coordination among the relevant ministries and agencies, the family, schools and the community for the implementation of policies and programmes for the protection and the care of children, with special attention to children facing special hardships. It is expected that the Government will approve the strategy by the end of the year.

Viet Nam has a strong commitment and has made great efforts to promote, protect and care for children, and it is increasingly allocating new resources for children's affairs. However, as a developing country, Viet Nam still has a low level of economic development and faces certain practical constraints in terms of resources in a number of areas. In that regard, we take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to UNICEF and other international partners for their valuable support and assistance for our endeavours.

Mrs. Asmady (Indonesia)

The delegation of Indonesia, like many other Member States, is concerned about the pace of progress in implementing the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits. In that light, Indonesia appreciates the updated report of the Secretary-General (A/60/275) on the role of the Economic and Social Council in the integrated and coordinated implementation of those outcomes.

The Council has a central role to play in promoting the coordination of those outcomes throughout the United Nations system. We are troubled that the pace of implementation is slow, and we urge the specialized agencies and national Governments to continue to cooperate with the Council to ensure full implementation of outcomes. Clearly, there is need to enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of action taken to achieve the outcome goals.

Indonesia also notes that the report of the Secretary-General (A/60/207) on the progress made in implementation of the outcome document of the special session of the General Assembly on children -- better known as "A world fit for children" (resolution S-27/2) -- presents a mixed picture of such progress. This, the third follow-up report, will serve to keep the fire of enthusiasm burning on behalf of children. From the Secretary-General's report, we note that an increasing number of countries have formulated national plans of action to fulfil the commitments made at the special session. Priority issues for children are becoming more and more integrated into mainstream national planning processes. That augurs well for the future.

For its part, in 2004 Indonesia adopted the National Programme for Indonesian Children 2015. That plan has served as a catalyst for action on behalf of Indonesia's children. Just one year after its implementation, the plan has already had an impact on the health and physical security of the nation's children, who are now afforded greater protection from abuse, exploitation and violence. The plan has also led to action to combat infections among children and to ensure they receive a sound diet. Vaccine-preventable diseases are being resolutely addressed, with special attention being given to polio and measles, which have begun to resurge in Indonesia. With the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization, the Government of Indonesia has put programmes into effect in conjunction with a national immunization week. Some 24 million children have benefited.

Other aspects of children's physical well-being are being addressed as well. There are now a number of nutrition programmes in place intended to deal with protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among children. Specially targeted are children under five from poor families and poor pregnant women. Those programmes have served to reduce both maternal and newborn mortality rates.

Illiteracy is also being attacked. The Government of Indonesia has taken to heart the maxim, "a healthy mind in a healthy body". To that end, acting in concert with UNICEF and UNESCO, the Government of Indonesia has set up a number of creative learning communities for children designed to make the learning experience a thoroughly enjoyable one. Those institutions benefit from transparent management and enjoy the active support of their surrounding communities. The creative learning programme has expanded with incredible rapidity. In 2000, 79 schools offered this type of quality education. By 2004, there were 1,326 schools involved, reaching close to a quarter of a million children.

Those breakthroughs represent merely the beginning for Indonesia. We are determined to maintain the momentum that we have generated. But we are not so narrowly focused as to ignore what is happening elsewhere within our region. We are therefore happy that regional mechanisms are ensuring political support for the goals of the special session, and we would be more than willing to share experiences and best practices with our neighbours.