New Population Law is a big step Forward

To continue sustainable development progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), population issues need to be fully integrated into overall development strategies. The United Nations Population Fund in Viet is supporting the central government to develop a New Policy Direction on Population.

Being a middle-income country on a track to achieve most of the MDG targets by 2015, disparities between urban and rural areas, among geographical areas, and population groups in Viet Nam still exist. A new Policy Direction on Population is considered to be a solution and this decision was a concrete outcome of the Conference on Policy Direction of Population and Development in Viet Nam that took place Friday 15. August.          

"As Viet Nam develops a new Population Law, it is an excellent opportunity for Viet Nam to highlight the consistency between the Constitution and laws, and elaborate the commitment to International Conference on Population Development from 1994 into enforceable legal provisions, that is to protect and fulfill the rights of couples and individuals to have free and responsible decision on reproduction," said Mr. Arthur Erken, UNFPA Representative in Viet Nam.

New Population Law should ensure the needs of different population groups, particularly vulnerable groups. Mr. Pham Van Linh, Vice Chairman of the the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education noted: "In order to address the challenges on population issue, it's necessary to adjust the population law and policies in the coming years to meet the needs of the new context."

Viet Nam is developing a new Population Law to demonstrate the policy direction in the new phase taking into account lessons learnt and experiences from the implementation of the Population Ordinance as well as lessons learned from other countries.

More information about the conference on New Population Law can be found in Joint Media Release