Laws of Vietnam

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Population Ordinance of January 9, 2003;

At the proposal of the Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Population, Family and Children,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Regulation scope

This Decree details and guides the implementation of a number of articles of the Population Ordinance regarding the population size, population structure, population quality, measures to realize the population work and organize the implementation of population work.

Article 2.- Objects of application

This Decree applies to the State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, economic organizations, people’s armed force units and all Vietnamese citizens; foreign organizations operating in Vietnam, foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam (hereinafter referred collectively to as agencies, organizations, individuals), except otherwise provided for by international treaties which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded to.

Article 3.- Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms and phrases below shall be construed as follows:

1. Foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam mean foreign nationals and Stateless persons, who permanently reside, work and earn their living in Vietnam.

2. The size of family with few children means each couple has one child or two children.

3. Population size regulation means the quantitative change in the population of a country, a region, a geo-economic zone or an administrative unit.

4. Population consultancy means the comments, analysis, guidance for agencies, organizations and individuals to correctly understand the population information so as to implement the population work properly.

Article 4.- Objectives of the population policy

The objectives of the population policy are to maintain that each couple has one child or two children in order to stabilize the population size, ensure the population structure and rational population distribution, to raise the population quality.

Article 5.- Responsibilities of agencies and organizations in the population work

Agencies and organizations shall, within the scope of their respective tasks and powers, have the responsibilities:

1. To organize the implementation of the legislation on population:

a) Elaborating and organizing the implementation of regulations, charters or other proper forms in accordance with law provisions so as to attain the objectives of the population policy.

b) Organizing the application of measures suitable to their conditions; creating conditions and providing means and funding support for their members to implement the population work.

c) Creating conditions for their members to implement their regulations, charters or other rules; the village codes or conventions of communities on population.

d) Including the population work norms into their routine activity plans.

e) Examining, evaluating, making preliminary and sum-up reviews of the materialization of the objectives of the population policy.

2. To create conditions for individuals, family members to implement the population policy:

a) Providing information on, propagating, campaigning for, and education in, population.

b) Providing diversified, quality, convenient and safe population services directly to people.

3. To incorporate population elements in socio-economic development plannings, plans and programs.

4. To socialize the population work.

Article 6.- Responsibilities of individuals, family members in implementing the population policy

1. To materialize the objectives of the population policy on the basis of the standards on families with few children, with abundant, equitable, progressive, happy and sustainable life.

2. To create conditions to help individuals attain the objectives of the population policy suitable to their age groups, health conditions, study and labor conditions, work, income, child raising and education, in line with the socio-economic development programs and plans of localities and the State.

3. To implement the legislation and policies on population; regulations, charters or other rules of agencies, organizations; conventions, village codes of communities.

Article 7.- Information on population

Population information shall cover the following principal contents:

1. Knowledge about population, reproductive health, family planning, gender equality, hereditary diseases, measures to raise the population quality.

2. Contents and measures of regulating the population size, structure, raising the population quality and distribution of population.

3. Rights and responsibilities of individuals and family members in implementing the population policy.

4. Other population-related contents.

Article 8.- Assorted population services

Assorted population services include:

1. The supply of information, data; means and products in service of the work of propagating, campaigning for, educating in, and counseling on, population.

2. Provision of contraceptive means; reproductive healthcare service, family planning; health check before marriage registration; examination of diseases and health problems related to hereditary elements, called hereditary diseases for short.

3. Population quality-raising services.

4. Other population services as provided for by law.

Article 9.- To strictly prohibit acts of obstructing, forcing the implementation of family planning, including:

1. Intimidating, infringing upon the honor, dignity; infringing upon the bodies of persons who apply contraceptive measures, persons who give birth only to boys or only to girls.

2. Coercing, imposing to apply measures for contraception, child bearing, pre-mature birth, close childbirth intervals, giving birth to many children, giving birth only to boys, giving birth only to girls.

3. Causing difficulties to persons who voluntarily apply contraceptive measures.

Article 10.- To strictly prohibit acts of selecting fetus gender, including:

1. Propagating, disseminating methods of fetus gender creation in forms of organized talks, writings, translation, photocopying of books, newspapers, documents, pictures, photos, recorded videos, recorded audio tapes; storing, circulating documents, means and other forms of propagation and dissemination of fetus gender creation methods.

2. Diagnosing to select fetus gender by methods of determination thereof via symptoms, pulse feeling; blood, gene, amniotic fluid, cell tests; ultrasonics,...

3. Getting rid of fetuses for reason of gender selection by methods of abortion, supply and use of assorted chemicals, drugs and other measures.

Article 11.- To strictly prohibit the production, trading, import and supply of a number of contraceptives, including:

1. Contraceptives incompatible with quality standards and goods labels under the current law provisions.

2. Low-quality contraceptives as concluded in writing by competent bodies through quality inspection and expertise.

3. Contraceptives with expired use dates inscribed on products, product packages or those with use dates not yet expired but already notified by competent bodies for not continuing to use them.

4. Contraceptives not yet permitted by competent State bodies for circulation in Vietnam.

Article 12.- To strictly prohibit a number of acts of propagating, disseminating information on population, including:

1. Propagating and disseminating information on population in contravention of the Party’s lines and policies and the State’s laws.

2. Propagating and disseminating information on population inaccurately, untruthfully, causing adverse impacts on the implementation of the population work, social life and other fields.

3. Abusing the propagation and dissemination of information on population, reproductive health and/or family planning to distribute documents and/or articles, or committing other acts contrary to fine customs, practices and social ethics.

Chapter II

POPULATION SIZE, POPULATION STRUCTURE

Section 1. POPULATION SIZE

Article 13.- Measures to adjust the population size

1. Elaborating, and organizing the implementation of, programs, projects and plans on socio-economic development, hunger elimination, poverty reduction, raising of people’s material and spiritual life, contributing to adjustment of the population size suitable to the socio-economic development in the new period.

2. Elaborating, and organizing the implementation of, programs, projects and plans on reproductive healthcare and/or family planning to build up families with few children, firmly maintain the rate of substituting births in order to stabilize the rational population size.

Article 14.- Objectives of productive healthcare, family planning

1. To ensure conditions for individuals and couples to attain the objectives of the population policy; women to give birth to children within the age bracket of twenty two and thirty five; to select the interval of three to five years between childbirths; to apply contraceptive methods suitable to the economic, health, psychological and other conditions of each individual, each couple.

2. To raise the health of people, particularly minors, pregnant women, nursing women; to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates among mothers and infants; to apply measures to prevent, combat and treat reproductively infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS.

Article 15.- Reproductive health care and family planning measures

1. To propagate to and educate people in reproductive healthcare, family planning, particularly to propagate to and educate minors in reproductive healthcare.

2. To provide directly to people services on reproductive healthcare and family planning in a diversified, qualitative, convenient and safe manner.

3. To encourage material and spiritual incentives; to adopt social policies to step up the implementation of reproductive healthcare and family planning among people.

4. To raise the capability of organizing and implementing programs, projects and plans on reproductive healthcare and family planning.

5. To detect and handle in time acts of law violation in reproductive healthcare and family planning.

Article 16.- Contents of management of programs, projects and plans on reproductive healthcare, family planning

1. To implement programs, projects and plans according to assigned tasks.

2. To ensure the attainment of objectives, the performance of tasks, solutions and operations of programs, projects and plans.

3. To efficiently use the funding sources assigned for management.

4. To inspect, examine and evaluate the implementation of programs, projects and plans.

Article 17.- Rights and obligations of each couple, individual in the implementation of family planning

1. The rights and obligations of each couple, individual are inseparable from one another in the implementation of family planning. Each couple, individual shall have the responsibility to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations towards the State and the society.

2. Each couple and individual shall have the rights:

a) To decide on childbirth time, the number of children and the interval between childbirths, which are suitable to the size of families with few children, the socio-economic development objectives and the population policy of the State in each period; suitable to age groups, to the health, study, labor, working, income and child raising and education conditions of the couples and individuals on the basis of equality.

b) To select and apply contraceptive measures suitable to economic, health, psychological and other conditions.

c) To be provided with information and services on family planning.

3. Each couple and individual shall have the obligations:

a) To adopt the size of families with few children- with one child or two children, with abundant, equal, progressive, happy and sustainable life.

b) To apply contraceptive measures, to practice family planning.

c) To respect the interests of the State, the society and communities and the legitimate interests of agencies and organizations in birth control and population size adjustment.

d) To observe the law provisions on population; the regulations, charters or other rules of agencies, organizations; conventions or village codes of communities on population and family planning.

e) To fulfill other obligations related to reproductive healthcare, family planning.

Article 18.- Forms of propagating, campaigning for, education and counseling on, population, reproductive health, family planning

1. Forms of propagating, campaigning for, education and counseling on, population, reproductive health and family planning shall include:

a) Propagating and campaigning on the mass media, Internet.

b) Providing direct propagation, mobilization and consultancy.

c) Organizing the teaching and learning thereof in educational establishments in the national education system.

2. Agencies, organizations and individuals that are assigned the propagating and counseling tasks shall have the responsibility to regularly propagate, campaign for, educate and counsel on, population, reproductive health and family planning for their members and the entire society.

Article 19.- Responsibilities of establishments providing services on reproductive healthcare, family planning

1. To provide consultancy to service users.

2. To observe the regulations on reproductive healthcare and family planning standards.

3. To ensure the quality of safe and convenient facilities, technical services.

4. To monitor and settle side-effects and complications caused to users (if any).

Article 20.- Forms of providing services on reproductive healthcare, family planning

1. To distribute on the basis of communities, to supply free of charge, to socially market, to sell freely at requests, contraceptive means of different kinds.

2. To employ the mobile technical teams, State-run medical establishments and private medical establishments to provide medically technical services under the provisions of law.

Article 21.- Conditions on contraceptive users and conditions on persons and establishments that provide family planning services

1. Conditions on contraceptives users:

a) To voluntarily use contraceptives.

b) To be knowledgeable and aware of contraceptive measures.

c) Having no medical contra-indications.

2. Conditions on persons and establishments that provide family planning services:

a) Persons who provide family planning services must have professional knowledge and skills suitable to each contraceptive measure according to the Health Ministry’s regulations.

b) Establishments which provide family planning services must satisfy all material conditions, hygiene, professional qualifications of their officials, equipment and facilities according to the Health Ministry’s regulations.

Section 2. POPULATION STRUCTURE

Article 22.- Social services on caring for aged people

1. Guiding, advising and assisting family members in performing the obligations to support, take care of and assist the aged people in their families.

2. Popularizing knowledge and skills to take care of aged people.

3. Providing services on nurture, medical examination and treatment, organization of activities and entertainment as well as other services for aged people.

4. The State encourages organizations and individuals to develop social services so as to take care of, assist, and promote the role of, the aged people.

Article 23.- Gender equality

1. Propagating the gender equality; eliminating all forms of gender discrimination; creating conditions for the female to take initiative in caring for their reproductive health, family planning and to enjoy equality in education, training, raising of their all-sided qualifications and participation in social activities; the male to practice family planning.

2. Eliminating all biases against young girls; protecting the legitimate rights and interests of young girls in daily-life activities, medical examination and treatment, learning, entertainment and recreation and all-sided development.

Article 24.- Protecting ethnic minorities

1. Expanding the propagation of, education in, and provision of services on, reproductive healthcare and family planning for ethnic minority people in deep-lying and remote regions, areas with difficult and particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

2. Competent agencies and organizations shall prioritize investment in programs, projects and/or plans on reproductive healthcare and family planning for all ethnic minority people in deep-lying and remote regions, areas with difficult and particular difficult socio-economic conditions.

3. Adopting policies and measures for, providing assistance and material as well as spiritual support in, effecting reproductive healthcare and family planning and raising of life quality for people of ethnic minorities in deep-lying and remote regions, areas with difficult and particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

Chapter III

POPULATION QUALITY

Article 25.- Pre-marriage registration health checks

1. Encouraging males and females to have their health checked before their marriage registration, which covers contents related to hereditary diseases; sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS infection.

2. Establishments providing health checks shall notify the results thereof and give advises on the diseases’ impact on health to both males and females; keep secret the health check results as provided for by law.

Article 26.- Health checks and hereditary diseases

1. Persons whose family members have suffered from mental diseases, hereditary ailments, or been in the danger of having genetic defects; persons who have been infected with toxic chemicals; and people who have had frequent contacts with toxic chemicals and contagious diseases, should be mobilized to have health checks before deciding to have children.

2. The Population, Family and Children Offices of the commune/ward level shall have to propagate, mobilize and create conditions for, persons being in high risk of hereditary diseases to go for examination of hereditary diseases.

3. Establishments performing the examination of health and hereditary diseases shall have to notify the examination results to, advise the examined persons or persons in their families on the diseases’ impacts on their childbirth, raising of children, and keep secret the examination results as provided for by law.

Article 27.- Propagating and guiding families to apply measures to raise the population quality.

1. Propagating, guiding, mobilizing and assisting individuals and family members in the knowledge, measures and methods to raise the population quality. For new measures, the propagation, material and spiritual support and experimentation thereof are required so that individuals and family members actively respond to and participate in the implementation thereof.

2. Enhancing the responsibilities of agencies and organizations in activities of incorporating population and/or family planning programs into programs on increasing family welfare, supporting individuals and family members in participating in projects on life betterment and access to basic social services. Building and perfecting the model of integrating population activities with sustainable family development.

Article 28.- Raising population quality of communities

Elaborating, and organizing the implementation of, plans, programs and projects on health, nutrition, clean water, environmental sanitation, social order, building up of civilized lifestyle and cultured families, income increase and other issues, contributing to raising the population quality of communities, in line with the socio-economic development in each period.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

Article 29.- Responsibilities of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies

1. The ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies shall have to organize the implementation of the population work in their agencies and organizational systems in appropriate forms; promulgate internal regulations, statutes or other forms to achieve the population policy objectives.

2. The Committee for Population, Family and Children:

a) To submit to the Government or the Prime Minister for promulgation or to promulgate according to its competence legal documents on population and organize the implementation thereof nationwide.

b) To elaborate, organize and direct the implementation of, strategies, programs, plans, annual and long-term budget estimates and guide the implementation of the population work.

c) To organize and coordinate the implementation of population work among State agencies, associations, organizations and individuals participating therein.

d) To mobilize, manage and use resources for the implementation of population work according to its competence.

e) To organize and manage the work of gathering, processing, exploiting and storing information and data on population.

f) To organize and manage the work of training, fostering officials and employees involved in the population work.

g) To organize and manage the scientific research and application as well as technological transfer in the field of population.

h) To organize, manage and implement the propagation, dissemination of, and mobilize people to observe, the legislation on population.

i) To effect international cooperation in the field of population.

j) To manage service organizations operating in the field of population.

k) To examine, inspect the observance of the legal documents on population; to settle complaints and denunciations, and handle violations of the legislation on population according to the provisions of law.

l) To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry in, guiding forms of provided services on non-clinical contraception; ensure the quantity, quality and categories of contraceptive means; to regulate in time contraceptives and meet demands of agencies and organizations which provide family planning services.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall guide other ministries, branches and provincial/municipal People’s Committees in incorporating the population elements into the socio-economic development planning and plans of ministries, branches and localities; synthesize annual and long-term plans; mobilize sources of domestic capital, aid capital, foreign loan capital and other capital sources for the population work.

4. The Finance Ministry shall propose policies and mechanisms to mobilize investment capital sources for the population work; balance funding sources; guide and examine the use of funding for the implementation of the population work.

5. The Health Ministry shall prescribe the norms on productive healthcare and family planning; guide the criteria on equipment and material conditions necessary for types of organizations providing productive healthcare and family planning services; ensure the system of providing clinical contraceptive services as well as services on reproductive healthcare, pre-marriage registration health checks and examination of health and hereditary diseases; assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Committee for Population, Family and Children in training technicians and professionals, investing equipment and facilities and building material foundations at all service lines, ensuring convenience, safety and quality of services provided directly to people.

6. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Committee for Population, Family and Children, the Health Ministry and the concerned ministries as well as branches in, elaborating programs and contents on education in population, productive health, family planning, gender equality; direct and organize the lecturing on population, reproductive health, family planning, gender equality; train and foster the contingent of teachers in the contents of education on population, reproductive health, family planning, gender equality, suitable to the pedagogic requirements of each study branch, level and grade.

7. The Justice Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Committee for Population, Family and Children in elaborating the contents of propagation and education of the legislation on population.

8. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall direct the mass media agencies, cultural, art, creation and performance units in carrying out activities of population information, education and communications; coordinate with the Committee for Population, Family and Children in guiding the contents of population information, education and communications.

9. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall coordinate with the Committee for Population, Family and Children in building up and consolidating the organizational apparatus and organize the implementation of the programs on retraining of officials involved in work related to population, the family and children.

10. The General Department of Statistics shall organize the work of population statistics, annual surveys on population fluctuation, general census; assume the prime responsibility in organizing the appraisal and assessment of the quality of information and data on population.

Article 30.- Responsibilities of the People’ Councils, the People’s Committees at all levels

1. To be responsible for the objectives and efficiency of the population work in their localities; to direct and organize the coordination among departments, branches, mass organizations, social organizations in the implementation of population work in their localities.

2. To concretize a number of policies and regimes to suit the characteristics of their localities in order to attain the objectives of the population policy.

3. To formulate mechanism and policies on mobilization of human and financial resources for the implementation of the population work in the localities.

4. To apply measures suitable to local socio-economic conditions in order to attain the objectives of the population policy.

5. To direct and organize the incorporation of population elements in the local socio-economic development plannings, plans and policies.

6. To inspect, examine, supervise, evaluate and preliminarily and finally review the implementation of the population work in the localities.

Article 31.- Proposing Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations within the scope of their tasks

1. To organize the implementation of population work within the system, including:

a) Promulgating regulations, charters or other forms in order to attain the objectives of the population policy.

b) Organizing the application of measures suitable to the specific conditions and circumstances of their respective organizations in order to attain the objectives of the population policy; creating conditions for and mobilizing members of their organizations to be exemplary in materializing the objectives of the population policy, regulations, charters or other rules of their organizations.

c) Periodically evaluating, preliminarily and finally reviewing the materialization of objectives of population policy.

2. Giving comments on formulation of policies, plannings, plans on population, legal documents on population and participating in supervising the implementation of the law provisions on population.

3. Coordinating with the Population, Family and Children Offices of the same level in propagating, educating and mobilizing the entire population to materialize the objectives of population policy and providing population services according to competence.

Article 32.- Complaints, denunciations about population work

1. Agencies, organizations and individuals may complain about administrative decisions and/or administrative acts of competent State bodies, officials and/or employees in the implementation of policies and legislation on population.

2. Individuals may denounce with competent State agencies about acts of violating the legislation on population.

3. The competence, order and procedures for settling complaints and denunciations shall comply with the law provisions on complaints and denunciations.

Chapter V

COMMENDATION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 33.- Commendation

1. Agencies, organizations and individuals recording achievements in the population work shall be commended and/or rewarded according to law provisions on commendation.

2. Agencies and organizations shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, take measures to encourage individuals and families to well materialize the objectives of the population policy, including:

a) Formulating policies on material incentives in the socio-economic policies and insurance policies for the attainment of objectives of the population policy.

b) Applying various forms of material and moral incentives in order to encourage individuals, families, organizations and communities to well materialize the objectives of the population policy, well implement the work of population propagation, mobilization, education and service provision.

Article 34.- Handling of violations

Those who commit acts of violating the provisions of this Decree and other relevant law provisions shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; if causing damage, they must pay compensations therefor according to law provisions.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 35.- Implementation effect

This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

To annul Decision No.162/HDBT of October 18, 1988 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) on a number of policies on population and family planning.

Article 36.- Implementation responsibilities

1. The Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Population, Family and Children shall have to guide the implementation of this Decree.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies, the presidents of the provincial/municipal People’s Committees, the heads of agencies, the heads of organizations and individuals shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI