National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh received UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific June Kunugi, and Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Sophie Kiladze in Hanoi on November 26.

National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh (R) receives UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific June Kunugi.

The meeting was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam–UNICEF cooperation and the 35th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Thanh thanked UNICEF and the CRC for their long-standing and effective support to Vietnam in child protection and care.

She stressed that UNICEF has been one of Vietnam’s most important development partners, making practical contributions to child care, education and protection over many decades, and acknowledged its close coordination in implementing national policies on children.

Reviewing recent cooperation, the Vice Chairwoman thanked UNICEF for its active assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic, the expanded immunisation programme and emergency support to disaster-hit localities. She also praised UNICEF’s close and effective collaboration with the NA’s specialised committees.

Thanh reaffirmed that child care, protection and education remain top national priorities of Vietnam.

In 2025, the NA has sharply increased funding for universal preschool education, tuition exemptions for children in public schools and support for those in non-public institutions, alongside investment in 248 semi-boarding schools in border and disadvantaged areas.

She said the legislature will continue integrating children’s issues into law-making and budget planning.

For her part, Kunugi extended condolences over Vietnam's losses caused by recent natural disasters and emphasised UNICEF's continued emergency and recovery support since 1975.

She praised Vietnam’s strong commitments in health care, nutrition, water, sanitation and child protection, expressing hope for effective implementation of the 2024 Law on Justice for Minors.

Amid global challenges such as economic and financial volatility, climate change, migration and population ageing, she described Vietnam as a model for placing children at the centre of development policies. She also welcomed the Vietnamese Government’s adoption of the Action Plan to implement CRC recommendations.

Meanwhile, Kiladze said that the CRC is developing a joint declaration on strengthening the role of parliaments in implementing and monitoring children’s rights, and called for enhanced experience-sharing among national legislatures.

She expressed admiration for Vietnam’s budget allocation for children’s affairs and affirmed the CRC’s readiness to cooperate and support Vietnam in advancing child rights priorities.

Going forward, the NA Vice Chairwoman and UNICEF leader expressed their wish to further strengthen coordination, mobilise resources and expand technical support to help Vietnam achieve its sustainable development goals, particularly in child protection and care, with a focus on disadvantaged children, those in remote and ethnic minority areas, and initiatives in education and human resource development for the country’s socio-economic progress.

Kunugi has made important contributions to child-related affairs in Vietnam since her early years as a UNICEF communications officer in the 1990s.

She has provided active support to Vietnam, particularly in recent flood and storm responses. Meanwhile, Kiladze is an international expert in child rights with extensive experience supporting Vietnam’s efforts to realise children’s rights.

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