What ages are considered children in Vietnam? What are legal regulations on protection and care of children?
What ages are considered children in Vietnam?
Ages considered as children in Vietnam are clearly stated in Article 1 of the Law on Children 2016 as follows:
Children
A child is a human being below the age of 16.
Thus, persons under 16 years of age are considered children.
What ages are considered children under the provisions of the Civil Code in Vietnam?
Currently, the Civil Code does not provide a definition of children but only includes this term in the definition of minors.
Specifically, Article 21 of the 2015 Civil Code has the following contents:
Minors
1. Minors are persons who are under eighteen years of age.
2. Civil transactions of each child under six years of age shall be established and performed by his/her legal representative.
3. Each person who is from six to under eighteen years of age must have the consent of his/her legal representative to enter in and perform civil transactions, except for civil transactions which are performed for the purpose of meeting the needs of daily life suitable for the age group.
4. Each person who is from fifteen to under eighteen years of age is entitled to enter in and perform civil transactions by himself/herself, except for civil transactions related to real estate, movables required registration and other civil transactions as prescribed by law that are subject to the consent of his/her legal representative.
Thus, according to the Civil Code, children under 16 years old are minors.
What are legal regulations on protection and care of children in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Chapter III of the Law on Children 2016, the protection and care of children in Vietnam are regulated as follows:
- Guarantee of the care of children;
- Guarantee of children’s healthcare;
- Guarantee of child education;
- Guarantee of play and recreational activities, cultural, arts, sports and tourist activities for children;
- Guarantee of children’s information and communications activities.
In addition, under Section 1, Chapter II of the Law on Children 2016, the rights of children in Vietnam include:
- Children have the right to protection of their life and are entitled to enjoy the best conditions for living and development.
- Children have the right to be registered for birth or death, have the right to a legally registered full name and a nationality. Children also have the right to have their parents, ethnic groups and sex defined as regulated by laws.
- Children have the right to the best healthcare services, are prioritized to access and use medical prevention, examination and treatment services.
- Children have the right to be cared for and nurtured to develop comprehensively.
- Children have the right to education and study so that they can have a comprehensive development and promote their ability in the best way.
- Children are granted equal opportunities for study and education, and developing their talent, creation and invention.
- Children have the right to engage in play and recreational activities, and are granted equal opportunities for joining in cultural, arts, sports and tourist activities in conformity with their age.
- Children are entitled to have their personal characteristics and values respected in conformity with their age and the national culture. They are also entitled to have their family relationship acknowledged.
- Children have the right to use the national language and script, preserve the national characters and promote the national cultural traditions, manners and customs.
- Children have the right to freedom of belief or religion. They may follow or reject to follow a given religion and their safety and interests thereof must be ensured and protected in the best way.
- Children have the right to asset ownership, inheritance and other rights to assets as regulated by the law.
- Children have the imprescriptible right to privacy and keep personal and family secrets, all are for the best interests of children.
- Children have their honor, dignity, personal prestige, mail, telephone and telegram security and other personal information exchange types protected by the law. They are protected from and may resist illegal interventions against personal information.
- Children have the right to live with their parent(s) and are provided with the protection, caring for and education of both parents, unless they must be separated from their parents as regulated by the law or for protecting their best interests.
- In case of separation from parent(s), children must be assisted to stay in contact with their parent(s) and family, unless this might cause adverse influence on their best interests.
- Children have the right to know their natural parents, unless this might cause an adverse influence on their best interests. They are entitled to stay in touch or contact with both parents when they or their parent(s) reside (reside) in different countries or are detained or expelled. They also have their immigration facilitated to be united with their parent(s). In addition, children are protected from illegal transport to the outside of the territory of Vietnam and provided with information when their parent(s) is (are) missing.
- Children can receive the surrogate care when their parents are dead or they cannot live with their natural parents or they are affected by natural disasters and calamities or aimed conflict in order that their safety and interests are ensured and protected in the best manner.
- Children are adopted as regulated by laws on adoption.
- Children have the right to be protected, in any form, from sexual abuse.
- Children have the right to be protected, in any form, from labor exploitation. They must not work when they are under the working age and they must not work overtime or do arduous, harmful or dangerous work as regulated by the law. They are protected from being forced to do jobs or arranging in working places which cause adverse influence on their personality and comprehensive development.
- Children have the right to be protected, in any form, from violence, neglect or abandonment which harms their comprehensive development.
- Children have the right to be protected, in any form, from trafficking, kidnapping, swap and appropriation.
- Children have the right to be protected from any form of illegal use, manufacturing, transport, sale, purchase and storage of narcotic substances.
- Children have the right to be protected during proceedings and the taking of actions against administrative violations. They are entitled to defend themselves or be defended and have their lawful rights and interests protected. They are also entitled to legal aid, state their opinions and protected from illegal deprivation of the right to freedom. In addition, they are protected from torture, extortion of deposition, corporal punishment, defamation of the honor and dignity, acts violating their body, psychological pressure and other violations.
- Children have the right to all forms of special assistance and protection from impacts of natural disasters and calamities, environmental pollution and armed conflict.
- Children who are Vietnamese citizens shall have their social security benefits ensured as regulated by the law and in conformity with socio-economic conditions of regions where they are living and capacity of their parent(s) or caregivers.
- Children are entitled to access to information in a sufficient, timely and appropriate manner. They have the right to retrieve and obtain information in all forms as regulated by the law and engage in social activities in conformity with their age level, maturity level, demands and capacity.
- Children have the right to state their opinions and expectations about children's issues. They are entitled to attend meetings as regulated by the law in conformity with their age level, maturity level and development. They also have their opinions and legitimate expectations received, considered and responded to by agencies, organizations, educational establishments, families and individuals.
- Children with disabilities have all children’s rights and rights of the disabled as regulated by the law. They are entitled to special assistance, caring and education so that they can receive rehabilitation, develop their self-reliance and get social inclusion.
- Stateless children residing in the territory of Vietnam and refugee children are protected and entitled to receive humanitarian assistance and search for their parents and families as regulated by the law of Vietnam and the international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.
Which month is action month for children in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 11 of the Law on Children 2016, action month for children is held in June every year.
- The action month for children is annually organized in June to promote the “All people take care of, educate and protect children” movement; propagate, disseminate and mobilize agencies, organizations, educational establishments, families and individuals to implement policies, programs, plans and projects on children affairs, build works for children and mobilize resources for engaging in children affairs.
- The Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs shall take the prime responsibility and coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations to direct and guide the implementation of the action month for children.
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