Developing New Legislation to Govern Vietnamese NGOs

By Karla W. Simon*

At present, there are few NGOs in Viet Nam, in part because the legal and policy framework for their existence is dated and extremely limited. With few exceptions, at all levels of government from the central down to the district, village and commune, only government entities are available to respond to social and economic needs. These include both most ministries and mass organizations such as the Fatherland Front, Youth Union, Woman’s Union, and Veterans Union. These have millions of members and meets a broad range of social and economic needs. The mass organizations are state-managed, staffed and controlled.

The basic legal regime for Vietnamese NGOs (VNGOs) can be found in several laws and regulations. Initially, associations were authorized under the 1957 Law on the Right to Establish Associations. The 1992 Constitution provides for VNGOs by guaranteeing citizens rights to become involved in organizations that benefit society and recognizes international organizations. The Civil Code of Vietnam, adopted in 1996, provides a more detailed system for dealing with domestic VNGOs. Under the Civil Code, a domestic NGO can be legally formed in Vietnam if:

“It is authorized by a competent State authority; has an organizational structure; independently owns and is liable for property; and, independently enters into legal relations in its own name”.

The Civil Code recognizes the following types of not-for-profit legal persons: social and socio-professional organizations, social and charitable funds and other organizations, as provided by law. Requirements for the contents of a VNGO charter are also found in the Civil Code. Given its explicit language, the Civil Code of Vietnam seems to be the leading authority for the right to establish VNGOs and may have superseded the previous law on associations.

Operating under this legal and policy framework there are about 30 officially recognized NGOs that are affiliated with either a government ministry or mass organization. They seem to operate with some degree of autonomy from the government and have been formally sanctioned by the Government. Most are centered around Hanoi. Examples include the Highland Education Development Organization (HEDO), Toward Ethnic Women (TEW), Education For Nature (ENV) and Vietnam Save Association for Disabled Children.

There are three types of such organizations:

• Those that have their origin in mass organizations or other state bodies;
• Groups of researchers that are university or hospital based; and
• Small organizations that work through private operations to meet local needs. TEW, noted above, is one such organization. It has a handful of employees and operates a not for profit handicraft store in Hanoi. It helps to promote village-level, ecologically sound farming projects. The TEW director is a government employee.

It should be noted that for the past few years an inter-ministerial committee in Viet Nam has been drafting a new NGO law. They have produced a number drafts. It appears that the work of this committee has been frustrated by political opposition to the enactment of an NGO law. However, it now appears that Viet Nam is fully committed to enact such legislation and in fact has committed itself to do so in the context of joining the World Trade Organization.

In October 2001, the Government of Viet Nam formally requested the assistance of Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in organizing a two and a half day workshop to examine the current status of NGO law in Viet Nam, in other nations and other related issues. The workshop took place in December in Hanoi and served to help identify next steps needed to enact legislation favorable to the development of strong and effective NGOs in Viet Nam. Participants included two international experts from ICNL – Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon, ICNL’s co-founders, local representatives from INGOs and those in the Government of Viet Nam with responsibility for and interest in the development of a local NGO movement. Funding for the Workshop was provided by USAID.

The Workshop attendees demonstrated a keen interest in the subject and seem to be genuinely committed to helping to put into place a new Vietnamese NGO law. Topics discussed included identifying a series of next steps and the timetable needed to enact a national NGO law. The discussion also mentioned likely roadblocks to enactment and means to address these hurdles.

*Karla W. Simon is Co-Founder (with Leon Irish) of ICNL and General Editor of the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law (IJNL). She is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for International Social Development at the Catholic University of America and can be reached at simon@law.edu.