Vietnam affirmed its efforts for gender equality at the UN forum

On February 3, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha and the Vietnamese interdisciplinary delegation successfully conducted the defense session of the 9th National Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

During the discussion session, the Vietnamese delegation demonstrated the country’s journey of continuous efforts in institutionalizing the provisions of the CEDAW Convention into the national legal system.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha affirmed that Vietnam always considers gender equality as a goal throughout the country’s development process and has issued a system of synchronous support policies to encourage and create the most favorable conditions for women to exercise equality in political, economic, cultural and social rights.

The highlight in this report is the realization of the Constitution through legal regulations such as the 2019 Labor Code with many progressive regulations promoting substantive gender equality, the 2024 Social Insurance Law expanding social security coverage for women, or the 2024 Land Law, which represents an important step forward in asset management from a gender lens.

The Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control 2022 has completely changed thinking by focusing on people experiencing violence, supporting the affected groups, mainly women and girls.

Along with that, the 2017 Legal Aid Law expanded free support for vulnerable groups of women, from poor households, ethnic minorities in extremely difficult areas to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.

The issue of gender equality is also spread to the fields of economics and governance with the 2025 State Budget Law affirming the requirement to ensure gender in national resource allocation.

The 2017 Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises not only ensures equality in business opportunities but also prioritizes resources for businesses owned by women or employing many female workers. The Population Law 2025 marks an important shift towards respecting human rights and promoting women’s right to self-determination.

According to the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, Vietnam has made a leap forward when ranked 74 out of 148 countries, up 9 places compared to 2022. This recognition from the international community is even more meaningful when Vietnam is taking on the role of a member of the Executive Council of the UN Agency for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment for the 2025-2027 term.

The CEDAW Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, with the core principle that the law must eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, both direct and indirect.

Discrimination is defined as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of sex which affects or is intended to impair or disable the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil and other fields”.

Article 2 of CEDAW requires member states to condemn discrimination against women and “take all appropriate measures, including legal measures, to amend or eliminate provisions, regulations, customs and practices that discriminate against women”.