Hanoi, 21st February 2020 – State agencies should be fully aware of and practise their important roles and responsibilities in providing transparent information when required by citizens, following guidance from the Ministry of Justice, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the Law on Access to Information (LAI) implementation.
This is one of the key recommendations from the latest research “Initial Assessment on implementation of the LAI” based on a survey with more than 250 state agencies across the country and an in-depth study in eight provinces and cities including Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Dien Bien, Son La, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Da Nang.
The research is shared at an European Union-funded workshop entitled “Sharing Experiences on Promoting the Implementation of the Law on Access to Information” in Hanoi on 21st February 2020, organised by the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW), CARE International in Vietnam, Oxfam in Vietnam and several coalitions of social organisations.
At the workshop, participants from the Ministry of Justice, the Ethnic Council, the Office of the National Assembly provincial justice departments, news agencies, academia, and social organisations analysed and discussed the current situation of the LAI implementation.
The implementation of the Law on Access to Information (LAI), effective since 1st July 2018, has brought about positive results but more efforts and commitment from both the government and people are needed to bring in authentic effectiveness.
The dissemination and raising awareness about the Law and its guidance documents has not been prioritised. Staff from many state agencies have not known that providing information as requested by citizens is their public administration responsibilities. This has caused barriers for citizens to feel confident in accessing to information they need.
Meanwhile, citizens are yet to understand their own rights to access to information and their benefits, showing hesitation in requesting information from state agencies.
The guiding role of the Ministry of Justice and Provincial People’s Committees is highlighted in the discussion. Experts recommended that the Ministry develop a checklist of nine responsibilities for information provision and share it with all ministries and state agencies, People’s Committees, and Department of Justice in all 63 provinces and cities. A monitoring mechanism should be in place to report the task completion progress.
Experts also pointed out that Vietnam has not made the best use of its favorable technology foundation for disseminating laws and policies. The country currently has 59.2 million people using internet, accounting for 60 per cent of the population.
“We can expect better and more concrete results from implementing the Law on Access to Information,” said Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Ha, Director of CEPEW, on behalf of the research team, “We appreciate the Government Portal launched in December 2019; that is one great step to get the Government closer to citizens and vice versa. We should take this further by joint efforts in which the role of the press and mass media is critical”.
This workshop follows the first one held in March 2019 on the same topic. Both received financial support by the European Union and were organised by CEPEW, CARE, and Oxfam in collaboration with three coalitions, FORLAND, Vietnam Mining Coalition, Clean Water Alliance, and NorthNet – a network of more than 10 social organisations in the northern mountainous areas of Viet Nam.
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About CEPEW
The Centre for Education Promotion and Empowerment for Women (CEPEW) is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1997.
During over 20 years, CEPEW has implemented various programmes to increase poor women’s economic capacity and women’s political participation, to contribute to ending gender-based violence, and take part in different networks as well as coordinate policy advocacy processes to promote gender equality and the rights of vulnerable groups in Vietnam.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cepewvietnam/
About CARE International in Vietnam
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organisation fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. In 100 countries and territories around the world, CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. To learn more, visit www.care-international.org.
CARE International in Vietnam is a creative and dynamic organisation which has worked with Vietnamese and international partner organisations since 1989 in over 300 projects. We recognise that the key to achieving equitable development outcomes lies in addressing deeply rooted, structural underlying causes of poverty and injustices which contribute to the exclusion and vulnerability of particular groups in society. Our long term programme goals in Vietnam are that Remote Ethnic Minority Women (REMW) and Socially Marginalised People (SMP) in urban areas equitably benefit from development, are resilient to changing circumstances and have a legitimate voice. To learn more, visit www.care.org.vn and www.facebook.com/CAREinVietnam
About Oxfam in Vietnam
Oxfam is a confederation of 19 organisations working together in more than 90 countries. We are part of a global movement for change, empowering people to create a future that is secure, just, and free from poverty.
Oxfam in Vietnam is working to seek transformative changes in policies, practices and beliefs in ways that will fundamentally improve the lives of poor and marginalized women and men, and ensure that all citizens have the same opportunity to enjoy their rights. Our activities in Vietnam focus on rural development, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response, civil society development, ethnic minorities, and women’s empowerment.
Website: www.oxfam.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oxfaminvietnam/
About FORLAND
FORLAND is a network of organisations and individuals in Vietnam working in the forestry sector. FORLAND was formed in 2012 with the purpose of contributing to the development and improvement of policies promoting better management and development of forest resources, and to improving the livelihoods of communities connected to land and forests.
About Clean Water Alliance
Clean Water Alliance is a network of non-governmental organisations, scientific organisations, media organisations, regulatory agencies, communities, enterprises, experts, scientists, and lawyers working together to monitor the formulation and implementation of policies protecting clean water and preventing water pollution, and to contribute to the drafting of Vietnam’s Law on Clean Water.
About Vietnam Mining Coalition
Vietnam Mining Coalition is a network of non-governmental organisations, scientific organisations, regulatory agencies, media organisations and researchers sharing a common concern about effective governance of mineral resources and mitigation of environmental and social impacts of the mining industry in Vietnam.