This message was conveyed by the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung while delivering a speech at the 65^th session of Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 23.Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung

The meeting is being held virtually at the UN headquarters in New York with the participation of high-ranking delegations from 193 UN member nations, and representatives of international and regional organisations.

Taking place from March 15-26, the session features a number of events surrounding the theme “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”

Speaking at the general discussion, Dung expressed his appreciation and high consensus with the themes of the meeting, which he said are also the priorities the Government of Vietnam is promoting. 

The enhancement of women’s participation and policy-making in social life and the elimination of violence against women and girls do not stop at commitments but also have become a vivid reality in Vietnam, he stated, adding that those efforts have brought about many encouraging results, with the proportion of Vietnam’s female lawmakers reaching 27.31% as of September 2020, higher than the world average.

The minister stressed that the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic are also common problems globally, requiring all UN member states to exert further efforts, show greater unity, and increase mutual sharing and support.

Women and girls should be placed at the centre of the recovery effort and guaranteed equal access to care and protection services, he said, affirming how women’s representation, voice and role are even more indispensable now in all national decisions.

Within the framework of the session, the Vietnamese delegation has been and continues to actively participate in and contribute to the meeting’s content, documents and common conclusions./.