Chương 3 Luật Bảo vệ, chăm sóc và giáo dục trẻ em 2004: Trách nhiệm bảo vệ, chăm sóc và giáo dục trẻ em

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CHILD PROTECTION, CARE AND EDUCATION

Article 23.- Responsibility for birth registration

1. Parents or guardians have the responsibility to make timely birth registration for children.

2. The People's Committees of communes, wards and townships (hereafter referred to collectively as commune-level People's Committees) have the responsibility to effect birth registration for children; and mobilize parents or guardians to make timely birth registration for their children.

3. Children of poor households are exempt from the birth registration fee.

Article 24.- Responsibility for child care and nurture

1. Parents and guardians are the first persons responsible for the care and nurture of children, giving them the best conditions for development; when meeting with difficulties which cannot be overcome by themselves, they may ask for help from concerned agencies and/or organizations in order to fulfil their child-care and -nurture responsibility.

2. Parents, guardians and other adults in the families must set good examples for children in all aspects; have to build their respective families into wealthy, equal, progressive and happy ones, thus creating a healthy environment for comprehensive development of children.

3. Parents and guardians have the responsibility to care for a regime of nutrition suitable to children's physical and mental development according to their age groups.

4. In case of divorce or other cases, the fathers or mothers who do not directly bring up their minor children shall be obliged to contribute to the nurture of their children till they become mature, and have the responsibility to care for and educate their children according to law provisions.

Article 25.- Responsibility to ensure that children live with their parents

1. Parents have the responsibility to ensure conditions for their children to live with them.

2. In cases where children are adopted, the hand-over and reception of children for adoption and the bringing of children abroad or from overseas into Vietnam must comply with law provisions.

3. In cases where children whose mothers and/or fathers are serving imprisonment sentences and who have no one to rely on, the People's Committees at all levels shall organize the care and nurture of those children at surrogate families or child-support establishments.

Article 26.- Responsibility to protect children's life, body, dignity and honor

1. The family, State and society have the responsibility to protect children's life, body, dignity and honor; and take measures to prevent accidents for children.

2. All acts of infringing upon children's life, body, dignity and honor shall be handled in time and strictly according to law provisions.

Article 27.- Responsibility to protect children's health

1. Parents and guardians have the responsibility to implement the regulations on health check, vaccination, medical examination and treatment for children.

2. Public medical establishments have the responsibility to guide and organize the primary health care, disease prevention and treatment for children.

3. The Ministry of Education and Training has the responsibility to organize school healthcare.

The Ministry of Health has the responsibility to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in guiding the application of measures to prevent school diseases and other ailments for children.

4. The State shall adopt policies to develop the health cause, diversify medical examination and treatment services; exempt or reduce medical examination and treatment as well as function rehabilitation charges for children; and assure medical examination and treatment funding for children under 6 years old.

In the annual budget-balance plans of the Health Ministry and the People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereafter referred collectively to as the provincial-level People's Committees), the Government shall earmark a separate budget for free medical examination and treatment for under-6 children at the central and local public medical establishments.

5. The State encourages organizations and individuals involved in humanitarian and charity activities to contribute to medical treatment funding for children suffering serious diseases.

Article 28.- Responsibility to ensure children's right to study

1. The family and State have the responsibility to ensure that children can exercise their right to study and finish the universal education program; and create conditions for them to study at higher levels.

2. The school and other educational establishments have the responsibility to provide the all-sided moral, intellectual, aesthetic, physical and vocational education for children; and take initiative in closely coordinating with the family and society in child protection, care and education.

3. Preschool education establishments and general education establishments must meet the necessary conditions on the contingent of teachers, material foundations and teaching facilities in order to ensure the education quality.

4. The people in charge of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers' Brigades at schools must be professionally trained and fostered, have good health and moral qualities, love their jobs and children and be given conditions to fulfil their tasks.

5. The State shall adopt policies for preschool and general education development; policies for school tuition fee exemption and reduction, granting of scholarships and social supports in order to realize social justice in education.

Article 29.- Responsibility to ensure conditions for children's recreational, entertainment, cultural, artistic, physical training, sport and tourist activities

1. The family, school and society have the responsibility to create conditions for children to join in recreational, entertainment, cultural, artistic, physical training, sport and tourist activities suitable to their age groups.

2. The People's Committees at all levels have the responsibility to elaborate plannings for, and invest in the building of, recreational, entertainment, cultural, artistic, physical training, sport and tourist facilities for children in their respective localities.

The material foundations reserved for children's study, recreational and entertainment activities must not be used for other purposes affecting their interests.

3. The State shall adopt policies to encourage organizations and individuals to invest in, and build material foundations in service of children's recreational and entertainment activities.

4. Publications, toys, radio or television broadcasting programs, artistic or cinematographic programs, if having contents unsuitable to children, must bear warnings or indicate the age of children not allowed to use them.

Article 30.- Responsibility to ensure the right to develop aptitudes

1. The family, school and society have the responsibility to find out, encourage, nurture and develop children's aptitudes.

2. The State encourages organizations and individuals to nurture and develop children's aptitudes; create conditions for children's cultural houses, schools, organizations and individuals to nurture and develop children's aptitudes.

Article 31.- Responsibility to ensure the civil rights

1. Parents and guardians have the responsibility to protect children's legitimate rights and interests; and represent children in civil transactions under law provisions.

2. Parents, guardians or concerned agencies and organizations must preserve and manage children's properties and hand them back to children according to law provisions.

3. In cases where a child causes damage to other person(s), his/her parents or guardian must pay compensation therefor according to law provisions.

Article 32.- Responsibility to ensure the right to access information, express opinions and participate in social activities

1. The family, State and society have the responsibility to create conditions for, and help children to access appropriate information, develop their creative thinking and express their aspirations; and listen to and meet children's legitimate aspirations.

2. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and schools have the responsibility to organize children's participation in social and collective activities, suitable to children's demands and age groups.

Article 33.- Responsibilities of agencies and organizations in the work of child protection, care and education

Within the ambit of their tasks and powers, agencies and organizations have the responsibility to:

1. Propagate, mobilize for, and educate in, child protection, care and education;

2. Develop social welfare for children, create favorable conditions for children to exercise their rights, perform their duties and develop physically, intellectually, mentally and ethically;

3. Provide child-care and -support services.

Article 34.- Responsibilities of Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations

1. Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations have the responsibility to:

a/ Propagate among, and educate their members and individuals as well as people to well observe the legislation on children;

b/ Mobilize the family and society to well perform the work of child protection, care and education;

c/ Care for and protect children's interests, supervise the observance of the legislation on children, make necessary proposals to the concerned State agencies for performance of the above-mentioned tasks; and prevent acts of infringing upon children's legitimate rights and interests.

2. Vietnam Women's Union, apart from implementing the provisions in Clause 1 of this Article, have the responsibility to coordinate with the concerned agencies and organizations in organizing and guiding the nurture of children into healthy ones and teaching of children into good persons.

3. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, apart from implementing the provisions in Clause 1 of this Article, has the responsibility to organize and guide activities of adolescents and children; and take charge of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers' Brigade.

Article 35.- Responsibilities of the communications and propaganda agencies

1. To propagate and disseminate the Party's undertakings and policies, and the State's laws on child protection, care and education.

2. To introduce typical progressive models, good people and good deeds in the work of child protection, care and education; detect and criticize acts of infringing upon children's rights and prohibited acts committed by children.

Article 36.- Responsibilities of the law-defending bodies

1. To protect or coordinate with the concerned agencies and organizations in the protection of, children's legitimate rights and interests; to take initiative in preventing and promptly detecting, stopping and handling acts of violating the legislation on child protection, care and education.

2. To coordinate with the family, school and society in educating children who commit acts of law violation.

3. The handling of children committing acts of law violation is aimed mainly to educate and help those children to realize their wrong-doings, redress such wrong-doings and make progress.

Article 37.- Responsibilities of the State

1. The State shall adopt policies to invest in, socialize and expand international cooperation for development of the cause of child protection, care and education.

2. The State shall adopt policies to create conditions for children of war invalids, martyrs and people with merits to the country, children of ethic minorities and poor households, children residing in areas meeting with socio-economic difficulties or special socio-economic difficulties, to enjoy children's rights; and policies to render supports for families to perform child protection, care and education responsibilities.

3. The People's Committees at all levels have the responsibility to organize birth registration, study activities and health care for children of families without permanent residence registration, right at the places where their parents are working or living.

4. The People's Committees at all levels have the responsibility to develop networks of schools, medical establishments, cultural houses, sport establishments, recreational and entertainment spots for children; encourage organizations and individuals to set up establishments providing consultancy to children, parents, guardians and the population on child protection, care and education.

Article 38.- Supporting activities for the cause of child protection, care and education

The State shall support scientific and technological works, literary and artistic works, all initiatives and jobs done for the benefit of the cause of child protection, care and education; encourage organizations of all economic sectors to set aside part of their welfare funds or profits for the work of child protection, care and education.

Article 39.- Child- support funds

1. Child-support funds are set up for the purpose of mobilizing voluntary contributions of domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals, international aids and State budget supports for the cause of child protection, care and education.

2. Child-support funds must be mobilized, managed and used for the right purposes under the State's current financial regulations.