Talk seeks ways to improve NGOs’ aid activities

Opportunities and challenges stemming from the country’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the ASEAN Community, and the aid activities of foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Vietnam were discussed at a talk in Hanoi on May 26. 

Speaking at the event, Phan Anh Son, head of the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee under the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, said that Vietnam has set up relations with around 1,000 NGOs, of which over 500 have carried out programmes and projects supporting Vietnam in numerous fields; including health, education, environmental protection, rural development and settlement of war consequences. 

According to Son, Vietnam’s participation in the TPP agreement and the ASEAN Community affects not only its Government, people and businesses, but also NGOs operating in the country. 

He suggested the organisations base their planning on the information they receive, the actual situation in Vietnam and their resources, to make long-term and sustainable programmes and projects to facilitate Vietnam’s participation in the agreement and the community. 

Tran Viet Thai, deputy head of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies under the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, emphasised the role of NGOs in assisting Vietnam’s integration process. 

He said that the organisations should help popularise information related to the agreement and the community to localities and businesses, and help them effectively implement measures related to human resource training, address commercial disputes and increase competitiveness. 

Meanwhile, head of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Kim Dung, stated that improving the implementation of issues related to employment and sustainable poverty reduction requires the involvement of many parties, including foreign organisations, in boosting legal and mechanism reforms, and improving the investment and business environment. 

At the event, participants from NGOs and foreign diplomatic representative offices in Vietnam, and Vietnamese ministries, also discussed opportunities and challenges in agriculture, and cooperation potential between NGOs and businesses during Vietnam’s integration process.

Source: Vietnam+

NGOs share experiences in gender-based violence policy in ASEAN

Representatives from non-governmental organisations from ASEAN countries gathered for a workshop opened in Hanoi on May 10, discussing NGO experience in gender-based violence (GBV) policy for an ASEAN without gender based violence.

The event is an initiative of the Gender-based Violence Prevention Network (GBVNet) facilitated by CARE International in Vietnam and the Centre for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA), and funded by the Australian Government. Reports at the workshop showed that the ASEAN region has seen significant progress in addressing violence against women in recent years through concerted policy action at both the regional and national levels. Most ASEAN member states have enacted dedicated national laws on violence against women and/or domestic violence, while some have developed National Action Plans to support the implementation of laws and policies. Government and civil society actors have provided services for women and girls who have experienced violence, including shelters, hotlines and One Stop Crisis Centres while police stations with dedicated women’s and children’s desks are now operating in several countries. Many countries have also implemented awareness-raising campaigns to reduce acceptance of violence against women. Speaking at the opening, Director of the Family Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Tuyet Anh affirmed Vietnam’s strong efforts to secure equal rights for women and girls through a range of laws and policies, adding that the country has achieved positive results in addressing violence against women and girls and ensuring their rights that has been widely recognised by the international community. Anh also noted that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has submitted important documents to the government on interdisciplinary co-ordination regulations on domestic violence prevention and a national education programme on family. The issuing of such documents in the coming time will facilitate relevant ministries, agencies and localities to develop practical action and information programmes on gender equality, she said. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Social Development Studies (ISDS) in 2016, the belief that it is natural for men to commit violence against woman because they have that right is still common. Most cases of domestic violence (98.57%) are not reported. Furthermore, GBV negatively impacts Vietnam’s economy and productivity. According to UN Vietnam, the economic loss due to GBV represented nearly 1.41% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2010. On average, women experiencing violence earn 35% less than those not abused. Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam David Devine stressed the importance of addressing GBV to achieve social balance, saying that it is necessary for governments to look into social balance issues such as gender equality and changing social norms to help promote the role of women and girls. Recent research on the experiences of civil society organisations (CSOs) in influencing GBV policy in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam shows that CSOs in ASEAN countries face obstacles in advocating for laws and policies to prevent and respond to GBV, including the legal environment in which they operate, funding, and their own organisational capacity. CSOs have had more success in advocating for policies related to GBV in the home than in public spaces and have found that “one-off” advocacy initiatives rarely work. The two-day regional workshop offers an opportunity for NGOs to discuss GBV policy, particularly as ASEAN member countries, including Vietnam, are building laws and enforcement guidelines for the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It also helps the network of NGOs in the region to closely co-operate to work more effectively on the development and implementation of GBV policies. Delegates at the event will discuss topics related to the development and implementation of policies and laws to prevent and respond to GBV, the relationship between GBV policy development and social changes, challenges and measures to GBV policy development, and an ASEAN action plan on eliminating violence against women and chances for further co-operation.

Source: Nhan Dan

NGOs as Bridging Organizations in Managing Nature Protection in Vietnam

Comanagement in Vietnamese Special-Use Forests (SUFs) has been constrained by an administrative mode of state control. Consequently, SUF Management Boards have limited scope to engage local resource users in conservation and management. Concurrently, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have developed capacities as bridging organizations between SUF Management Boards, local communities, and the government by coordinating collaboration across levels, sectors, and knowledge systems. We analyze the extent bridging roles of NGOs can overcome the constraints of administrative comanagement by facilitating knowledge sharing, a common vision, conflict resolution, and local empowerment. Our analysis is based on a national survey of SUF managers and four in-depth case studies of NGO engagement in SUFs. The results indicate NGOs are only partly able to fulfill their bridging roles and thus overcoming the dominant mode of administrative comanagement in Vietnam. We conclude that the structural barriers of state engagement with NGOs demonstrate a need to better contextualize the form and function of bridging organizations in natural resource management.

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