Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Viet Nam *

1.The Committee considered the ninth periodic report of Viet Nam (CEDAW/C/VNM/9) at its 2180th and 2181st meetings (see CEDAW/C/SR.2180 and CEDAW/C/SR.2181), held on 3 February 2026. The list of issues and questions raised by the pre-sessional working group is contained in CEDAW/C/VNM/Q/9, and the responses of Viet Nam are contained in CEDAW/C/VNM/RQ/9.

A.Introduction

2.The Committee appreciates the submission by the State Party of its ninth periodic report. It also appreciates the State Party’s written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by the pre-sessional working group. It welcomes the oral presentation by the delegation and the further clarifications provided in response to the questions posed orally by the Committee during the dialogue.

3.The Committee commends the State Party on its high-level delegation, which was headed by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Thi Ha Nguyen, and included representatives of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Phan Dung Mai, and other members of the Permanent Mission

B.Positive aspects

4.The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the consideration in 2015 of the State Party’s combined seventh and eighth periodic reports (CEDAW/C/VNM/7-8) in undertaking legislative reforms, in particular the adoption of the following:

(a)Act No. 113/2025/QH15 on population, removing restrictions on the number of children per couple, in 2025;

* Adopted by the Committee at its ninety-second session (2–20 February 2026).

(b)Act No. 89/2025/QH15 on State budget, which affirms the requirement to mainstream gender equality in budget management and allocation, in 2025;

(c)Act No. 53/2024/QH15 on human trafficking prevention and combat, in 2024;

(d)Act No. 31/2024/QH25 on land, which prohibits gender-based discrimination in land management and use, in 2024;

(e)Act No. 13/2022/QH15 on domestic violence prevention and control, in 2022;

(f)Act No. 11/2017/QH14 on legal aid, expanding access to free legal aid to women from poor and near-poor households, ethnic minority women and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, in 2017;

(g)Act No. 04/2017/QH14 on the support of small and medium-sized enterprises, which provides preferential support mechanisms for enterprises owned by women, in 2017.

5.The Committee welcomes the State Party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework with a view to accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the adoption of the following:

(a)National action plan on women and peace and security (2024–2030), in 2023;

(b)National strategy on gender equality (2021–2030), in 2021;

(c)National communication programme on gender equality for 2030, in 2021;

(d)Programme on enhancing the equal participation of women in leadership and management positions at all policymaking levels (2021–2030), in 2021;

(e)Programme on prevention and response to gender-based violence (2021–2025), in 2020;

(f)National action plan on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (2020–2025), in 2020;

(g)National comprehensive sexuality education curriculum and teacher guidelines, in 2018;

(h)Scheme on reduction of child marriage and close-kin marriage in ethnic minority areas (2015–2025), in 2015.

C.Sustainable Development Goals

6. The Committee welcomes the international support for the Sustainable Development Goals and calls for the realization of de jure (legal) and de facto (substantive) gender equality, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, throughout the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Committee recalls the importance of Goal 5 and the mainstreaming of the principles of equality and non-discrimination throughout all 17 Goals and urges the State Party to recognize women as a driving force of sustainable development in the State Party and to adopt relevant policies and strategies to that effect.

D.Parliament

7. The Committee stresses the crucial role of the legislative power in ensuring the full implementation of the Convention (see A/65/3 , part two, annex VI) and invites the National Assembly to implement, in line with its mandate, the present concluding observations between now and the submission of the next periodic report under the Convention.

E.Principal areas of concern and recommendations

Constitutional and legislative framework

8.The Committee notes the State Party’s recent legislative and policy efforts to advance gender equality. However, it notes with concern:

(a)The absence in the State Party’s legislation of a definition of discrimination against women by State and non-State actors, covering both direct and indirect discrimination in the public and private spheres, as well as intersecting forms of discrimination, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, despite the State Party’s commitment under the universal periodic review and the development of its Master Plan to implement the accepted recommendations;

(b)That, in view of the State Party’s strategic position in electronic supply chains and foreign direct investment, the due diligence obligations under article 2 (e) of the Convention are not sufficiently implemented with regard to the responsibility of business enterprises to prevent and remedy discrimination against women, including in global supply chains.

9. The Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Incorporate into its Constitution or other appropriate legislation a definition of discrimination against women covering direct and indirect discrimination in the public and private spheres, as well as intersecting forms of discrimination, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, the Committee’s general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States Parties under article 2 of the Convention, and target 5.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals on ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere;

(b) Strengthen binding due diligence requirements for business enterprises, ensure accountability for gender-based discrimination by non-State actors and provide effective remedies for women victims of such discrimination.

Access to justice

10.The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption of Act No. 11/2017/QH14 on legal aid, expanding access to free legal aid to women from poor and near-poor households, ethnic minority women and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. However, the Committee notes with concern:

(a)The limited and inconsistent use of the Convention by the judiciary, including by the Supreme People’s Court, despite the adoption of guiding resolutions and the introduction of precedent-setting cases, as well as the lack of publicly available data on gender-related cases and judgments invoking the Convention;

(b)The maintenance of the death penalty for 10 types of crime, despite the recent abolition of the death penalty for several other offences;

(c)The lack of access to justice for women in detention.

11. Recalling its general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Strengthen the application of the Convention by courts at all levels, ensure that guiding resolutions and cases establishing precedent are fully aligned with the Convention’s substantive equality framework, and collect and publish data on cases of gender-based violence and discrimination against women, including those making reference to the Convention;

(b) Consider the full abolition of the death penalty for all crimes and, pending such abolition, issue a formal moratorium on the death penalty;

(c) Ensure access to justice and adequate conditions for women in detention and set up independent and confidential complaint procedures that are easily accessible for women in detention, in line with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 65/229 and contained in the annex thereto, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 70/175 and contained in the annex thereto.

Women human rights defenders

12.The Committee notes with concern that women human rights defenders, in particular those working on environmental protection, land rights and the rights of ethnic minority and Indigenous communities in the State Party, are facing restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

13. Recalling its general recommendation No. 33, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Guarantee the application of article 20 of the Constitution to adopt effective measures for the protection of women human rights defenders, women journalists and women activists, including their due process rights and their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association;

(b) Raise awareness of the contribution of women human rights defenders, women activists, women journalists and non-governmental organizations, especially those headed by women, to the implementation of the Convention in the State Party.

Women and peace and security

14.The Committee notes with appreciation that the first national action plan (2024–2030) for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security includes climate change and disaster response dimensions. However, it is concerned that women are not represented in full gender parity in the women and peace and security agenda, including cross-border conflicts and disputes, in particular at the decision-making level.

15. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, and recommends that the State Party:

(a) Strengthen the effective implementation of the first national action plan (2024–2030) for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, in cooperation with women’s civil society organizations and women human rights defenders, ensure that it takes into consideration the full spectrum of the Council’s agenda on women and peace and security and incorporate a model of substantive equality that addresses gender-based violence and discrimination, including intersecting forms of discrimination, against women in all spheres of their lives;

(b) Ensure women’s equal and inclusive representation in peace negotiations, conflict resolution, defence, security and diplomacy, including international security talks, and peace efforts in all current and potential future border conflicts with neighbouring States.

National machinery for the advancement of women

16.The Committee is concerned that the capacity of the national machinery, composed of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the National Committee for the Advancement of Women and the Viet Nam Women’s Union, to fulfil its mandate is significantly constrained by recent restructuring and inadequate resources. It is also concerned at the lack of gender-disaggregated data on the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights, which limits the adoption and effective implementation of targeted and informed strategies and programmes.

17. The Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Continue to strengthen its national machinery by providing it with a strong mandate, unified monitoring framework and adequate human, technical and financial resources;

(b) Establish a coordinating committee with adequate human, technical and financial resources and institutional support to ensure gender mainstreaming across all ministries and government agencies;

(c) Allocate adequate resources for systematic and comprehensive data collection in areas where women are underrepresented, undertake dedicated surveys, enhance administrative data sources and build the capacity of the National Statistics Office to compile disaggregated data in order to inform evidence-based decision-making and legislative action in areas covered by the Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals.

National human rights institution

18.The Committee regrets that the State Party has not established a national human rights institution.

19. The Committee recommends that the State Party establish an independent human rights institution with a broad mandate to promote and protect human rights, including women’s rights, in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134 , annex). It also recommends that the State Party seek technical assistance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in that regard.

Temporary special measures

20.The Committee takes note of the State Party’s efforts to introduce temporary special measures to increase the representation of women in political and public life. However, it notes with concern the limited use of temporary special measures in other areas in which women, including rural women, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, Indigenous women, women with disabilities and migrant women, are underrepresented and disadvantaged, such as in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in leadership positions in public administration and in certain economic sectors.

21. In line with article 4 (1) of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Avail itself of technical assistance to promote understanding of the non-discriminatory nature and importance of temporary special measures to achieve substantive equality of women and men among parliamentarians, policymakers, judges, law enforcement and other public officials, employers and members of the private sector and the general public;

(b) Adopt temporary special measures, such as preferential recruitment and gender-responsive public procurement, and effectively implement existing strategies and programmes to accelerate the achievement of substantive equality of women and men in all areas covered by the Convention in which women are underrepresented or disadvantaged, such as in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in leadership positions in public administration and in certain economic sectors, with particular attention to women with disabilities, rural women, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, Indigenous women and migrant women.

Gender stereotypes

22.The Committee acknowledges the measures taken by the State Party to address gender stereotypes, including the incorporation of gender mainstreaming into textbooks under the 2018 General Education Curriculum. However, it notes with concern:

(a)The persistence of gender stereotypes and discriminatory social norms regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, accentuated by the traditional preference for sons and the overemphasis of the traditional roles of women as mothers, wives and caregivers, thereby undermining their social status, autonomy and career opportunities and exacerbating the high levels of gender-based violence against women and girls, including sexual and domestic violence and sexual harassment, in the State Party;

(b)The absence of a comprehensive strategy to address gender stereotypes in political discourse, the media and the education system at all levels.

23. The Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy, including for the digital space, targeting community and religious leaders, teachers, girls and boys and women and men, to eliminate stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, and develop targets and indicators to systematically measure the impact of the strategic interventions undertaken;

(b) Amend the Act on the Media to include specific provisions to address gender stereotypes, including by using gender-responsive language, in order to combat the objectification of women and to promote positive media portrayals of women as active agents of change; build the capacity of public officials and media professionals to address gender stereotypes and promote equal sharing of domestic and childcare responsibilities between women and men ; and further promote equal sharing of domestic and childcare responsibilities between women and men.

Gender-based violence against women and girls

24.The Committee commends the State Party for strengthening its legislative and policy framework on sexual and gender-based violence against women; domestic violence, including increased penalties; and sexual harassment in public spaces. However, it notes with concern:

(a)The high incidence of gender-based violence against women and girls, including sexual and domestic violence, its underreporting, low prosecution and conviction rates, the lack of capacity to enforce protection orders, the lenient sentences for perpetrators and the stigmatization of survivors;

(b)The absence of comprehensive legislation specifically criminalizing all forms of gender-based violence against women, including psychological, technology-facilitated and climate-induced violence, and the inadequate protection from gender-based violence of women and girls facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including rural women and girls, older women, women and girls with disabilities, women and girls belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, Indigenous women and girls, migrant women and girls and lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women;

(c)That, despite some measures taken by the State Party to combat gender-based online violence, such as the adoption of the Cyber Security Act in 2025, the incidence of online violence involving image-based sexual abuse, including deepfake, non-consensual distribution of sexual, nude or intimate photos or videos and/or images of women and girls and cyberbullying, is increasing;

(d)That survivor and victim support services remain limited and are inadequately funded, in particular in rural, mountainous and ethnic minority areas.

25. Recalling its general recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, as well as target 5.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals on the elimination of all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Intensify awareness-raising efforts among the general public on the criminal nature of all forms of gender-based violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, and on the need to report such cases and protect survivors from reprisals, stigmatization and revictimization;

(b) Adopt comprehensive legislation to ensure that all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls are specifically criminalized, including psychological, technology-facilitated and climate-induced violence, taking into account the special protection needs of disadvantaged and marginalized groups of women, including rural women, older women, women and girls with disabilities, women and girls belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, Indigenous women and girls, migrant women and girls and lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women;

(c) Strengthen the implementation of national regulatory procedures and due diligence mechanisms to prevent cyberattacks, cyberbullying and cybertrafficking, including synthetic media, deepfake, doxing and other new forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, ensure that there are mechanisms in place in the State Party to hold social media platforms accountable for user-generated content and bring perpetrators of online violence and harassment to justice, and ratify the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime;

(d) Adequately fund victim support services, expand the network of specialized, inclusive and accessible shelters for women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence and the provision of psychosocial counselling, and provide women and girls who cannot safely return to their homes with financial support, education, professional training, income-generating opportunities and affordable housing.

Trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution

26.The Committee takes note of the State Party’s strong political commitment and efforts to strengthen its legal and institutional framework to combat trafficking in women and girls, including the adoption of the Act to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Persons in 2024 and the national programme on human trafficking for 2026–2031. However, it notes with concern the dramatic increase in cross-border trafficking to neighbouring States, as well as the increasing prevalence of border towns becoming criminal hubs for trafficking in women and girls, and in particular:

(a)The persistent deficiencies in the enforcement, coordination and monitoring of anti-trafficking measures, including the absence of a centralized, disaggregated national database on trafficking; limited transparency regarding investigations; impunity, corruption and officials’ complicity in trafficking cases; and directives discouraging cooperation with international organizations;

(b)Structural barriers to gaining access to assistance, including reduced budget allocations, shortages of trained counsellors and psychologists, inequitable geographical distribution of shelters and support services, and insufficient reintegration assistance, disproportionately affecting women and girls in rural, remote and border areas;

(c)Widespread exploitation linked to labour export companies and recruitment schemes, as well as the lack of access to protection, support and remedies for victims who are trafficked for labour abroad;

(d)The discrepancy between the high number of inspections of high-risk establishments and prosecutions of suspected traffickers and the low number of formally identified victims, especially among migrant, Indigenous and ethnic minority women and girls who are exploited through labour migration schemes and online scam and gambling operations;

(e)That prostitution is considered an administrative violation, resulting in arrests and fines of women in prostitution and their stigmatization, and the limited availability of comprehensive exit programmes offering alternative income generating opportunities.

27. Recalling its general recommendation No. 38 (2020) on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Address the nexus between trafficking and organized crime networks by strengthening law enforcement coordination, especially between countries and along borders; investigate, prosecute and adequately punish law enforcement officials complicit in trafficking and ensure transparency by publishing information on investigations and outcomes; and launch more awareness-raising campaigns about trafficking using materials distributed in the languages of Indigenous and minorities populations;

(b) Adopt a victim-centred approach to investigations by standardizing victim identification and referral procedures nationwide, systematically screening high-risk groups, including migrant, Indigenous and ethnic minority women and girls and returnees from exploitative labour and online scam operations, and providing regular, gender-sensitive training to law enforcement and border officials;

(c) Increase the number and funding of inclusive and accessible shelters for victims of trafficking, ensuring nationwide coverage, and establish mobile outreach units and satellite support centres in underserved areas, staffed by multidisciplinary teams that include social workers, healthcare providers and legal professionals, with a view to ensuring that services are accessible to victims regardless of their geographical location or economic status;

(d) Strengthen regulation and oversight of labour recruitment and export companies, ensure accountability for abuses, enhance cross-border cooperation – particularly in border regions – and guarantee that Vietnamese migrants abroad have access to effective consular protection and assistance;

(e) Ensure the application of the non-punishment principle to guarantee that women in prostitution are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct consequence of exploitation, provide them with witness protection in criminal proceedings and strengthen exit programmes for women wishing to leave prostitution, including by providing alternative income-generating opportunities.

Participation in political and public life

28.The Committee welcomes the State Party’s efforts aimed at increasing women’s representation in political and public life. However, it notes with concern that women remain underrepresented in decision-making positions in the National Assembly, the Cabinet, the judiciary, the public service, the foreign service, the defence and security institutions, the private sector and international organizations, owing mainly to persistent sociocultural norms, patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes that confine girls and women to traditional roles as mothers and wives. While acknowledging gender quotas within the Communist Party of Viet Nam, the Committee is concerned at the lack of legally binding obligations, clear benchmarks and parity quotas.

29. Recalling its general recommendations No. 40 (2024) on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems and No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, as well as target 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals on ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Introduce targeted measures, including temporary special measures, in line with article 4 (1) of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25, such as parity quotas, to increase the representation of women at all levels of decision-making in the National Assembly, the Cabinet, the judiciary, the public service, the foreign service, the defence and security institutions, and the State Party’s delegations to peace negotiations and international organizations;

(b) Provide campaign financing and capacity-building for women politicians and candidates on political campaigning, leadership and negotiation skills and raise awareness, in collaboration with the media, among politicians, religious and community leaders and the general public of the importance of the full, independent and democratic participation of women on an equal basis with men in political and public life as a requirement for achieving political stability and sustainable development in the State Party;

(c) Strengthen the implementation of the programme on enhancing equal participation of women in leadership and management positions at all policymaking levels (2021–2030) and provide capacity-building for women managers in the private sector; raise awareness among private sector entities of the importance of the equal participation of women in leadership positions; and incentivize public and private listed companies to increase the number of women on boards and in leadership positions.

Nationality

30.The Committee notes with concern:

(a)That women from ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Christian women from Hmong, Montagnard and Khmers-Krom communities, face significant economic barriers in gaining access to timely birth registration and identity documents, as well as long distances to registration offices and language barriers, and that parents, in particular mothers, face pressure to renounce their religious beliefs to obtain documentation, which places them in situations of de facto statelessness, limiting their access to education, formal employment, health services and freedom of movement;

(b)The situation of internally displaced Hmong women and undocumented migrant women who are excluded from the household registration system and therefore unable to register marriages or obtain birth certificates for their children;

(c)That single migrant women with limited financial resources are unable to pay childbirth-related costs, in which case hospitals often refuse to issue birth notifications, preventing the birth registration of their children.

31. With reference to its general recommendation No. 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, and its general recommendation No. 39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Adopt concrete and targeted measures to prevent and resolve de facto statelessness, particularly among Indigenous women, internally displaced women and undocumented migrant women, and ensure the issuance of birth certificates and identity documents to women and their children, regardless of religious affiliation, ethnicity or migration status;

(b) Ensure that birth registration is universal, free of charge and accessible, including by eliminating indirect costs, strengthening mobile registration units in remote areas, providing interpretation services in minority languages and ensuring that hospitals and health facilities systematically issue birth notifications irrespective of parents’ marital status or ability to pay;

(c) Ensure that the household registration system does not result in discrimination against women, and guarantee that lack of household registration does not prevent women from registering marriages or obtaining birth certificates for their children;

(d) Consider ratifying the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Education

32.The Committee notes with appreciation the significant progress made by the State Party in the field of education, in particular by providing compulsory and universal education at the primary and upper secondary levels, and by promoting gender-sensitive education. However, it notes with concern:

(a)That, despite the State Party’s efforts to make education compulsory and inclusive, not all schools and universities are accessible for girls and young women with disabilities;

(b)That women remain underrepresented in non-traditional fields of study, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics and information and communications technology (ICT) at the tertiary level, owing in part to the persistence of gender stereotypes;

(c)That, despite the adoption of literacy and lifelong learning programmes, Indigenous women and girls and women and girls belonging to ethnic minorities, rural and low-income communities continue to face obstacles to gaining access to education;

(d)The stigmatization of and high dropout rates among pregnant adolescent girls, young mothers and married girls, as well as the lack of a binding national protocol to guarantee their re-entry into and retention in the education system;

(e)The lack of sex-disaggregated data on enrolment, retention and completion rates at the secondary and tertiary levels, as well as the lack of information on how data informs policy and resource allocation.

33. Recalling its general recommendation No. 36 (2017) on the right of girls and women to education, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Ensure that all women and girls with disabilities have access to quality inclusive and accessible education, aiming to improve not only their access to but also their retention in schools;

(b) Continue the implementation of and further strengthen measures aimed at addressing gender stereotypes and structural barriers that may deter or discourage young women and girls from pursuing studies and careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics and ICT, including artificial intelligence;

(c) Strengthen access for girls and women from disadvantaged groups, including Indigenous women and girls and women and girls belonging to ethnic minorities, rural and low-income communities, to quality and inclusive education at all levels;

(d) Continue to effectively implement and strengthen existing regulations and policies to ensure the reintegration and retention in education of pregnant students, young mothers and married girls, with adequate action protocols and support services;

(e) Provide updated sex-disaggregated data on enrolment, retention and completion rates at the secondary and tertiary levels in its next periodic report.

Employment

34.The Committee welcomes the State Party’s efforts in the area of employment, in particular the adoption of the Labour Code in 2019, the removal of the list of prohibited occupations for women, expanded parental leave, clear provisions on the prohibition of sexual harassment, as well as measures taken to gradually reduce the retirement age gap between women and men to two years by 2035. However, it notes with concern:

(a)The lack of enforcement of the existing national legal framework to counter discrimination and ensure equal opportunities in the workplace; the persistence of the gender wage gap and occupational segregation; the underrepresentation of women in higher paid and decision-making positions, particularly in emerging sectors such as ICT and artificial intelligence; and the lack of updated and sex-disaggregated data;

(b)That many women, particularly those in informal employment, including migrant women, rural and ethnic minority women and Indigenous women, lack access to labour, maternity and social protection as well as to complaint mechanisms, and face discrimination based on pregnancy and maternity;

(c)The significant gender gap in pension coverage and benefits, especially among older women, resulting from lower lifetime earnings, informal work and unpaid care responsibilities.

35. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 13 (1989) on equal remuneration for work of equal value, and target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals on achieving, by 2030, full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men and equal pay for work of equal value, and recommends that the State Party:

(a) Enforce the provisions of the Labour Code (2019), regularly review wages in sectors where women are concentrated and strictly enforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, in line with the International Labour Organization Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100);

(b) Strengthen sex-disaggregated data collection in the area of employment, intensify legislative and policy measures to promote the transition of women to employment in the formal economy and ensure that women employed in the informal economy, including in domestic work and agriculture, as well as migrant women, rural and ethnic minority women and Indigenous women, are covered by labour and social protection;

(c) Ensure the implementation of maternity protection, including for women working in the informal economy; facilitate the return to work of young mothers, including by adopting policies for breastfeeding and childcare facilities in workplaces; and promote the equal sharing of household and childcare responsibilities between women and men, especially by introducing paid paternity leave and expanding the care economy and care services for children, older persons and persons with disabilities;

(d) Continue its efforts to address the root causes of unequal pension benefits for women and men and adopt targeted measures to reduce the gender pension gap, including by recognizing and computing unpaid care work performed by women towards pension benefits; extend the coverage of social protection, such as minimum wages, paid leave and maternity leave, to women in the informal economy and self-employed women; and strengthen flexible working arrangements for both women and men.

Health

36.The Committee takes note of the State Party’s commitment to improving access for women to healthcare, including through its commitment to the International Health Partnership for UHC30. However, the Committee notes with concern:

(a)The lack of implementation mechanisms for existing legislative and institutional frameworks on health and the lack of financial resources allocated to health services, as well as the lack of sex-disaggregated data in the area of health to inform policies;

(b)Significant discrepancies in access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, between urban and rural areas, and the limited access to health services for women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, women with limited education, adolescent girls, and women with disabilities due to barriers such as costs, long distances to health facilities, limited availability of psychological support, lack of culturally appropriated services and lack of privacy;

(c)That, despite the decrease in the maternal mortality rate to 44 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, it remains high (100–150 per 100,000) in mountainous and Indigenous and ethnic minority areas owing to lack of access to skilled personnel, lack of emergency obstetric care, lack of health infrastructure, language barriers and unaffordability;

(d)The high rates of early pregnancy, unsafe abortion and child marriage, as well as the lack of age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning, and the high level of unmet contraceptive needs.

37. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health, and targets 3.1 and 3.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births and increase access to family planning services, and recommends that the State Party:

(a) Strengthen the application of legislation related to health, intensify the mobilization of national budget resources for health, including to compensate for the reduction in official development assistance allocations, and collect sex-disaggregated data to inform policies and resource allocations;

(b) Ensure that all women and girls, in particular rural women and girls, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, Indigenous women, women with limited education, adolescent girls, and women with disabilities, have access to affordable modern contraceptives; intensify efforts to raise awareness of the use of contraceptives and of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including through age-appropriate sexuality education; accelerate awareness-raising campaigns on the health implications of early pregnancy, child marriage and de facto sex imbalance; and ensure access to trained health professionals for victims of harmful practices and gender-based violence;

(c) Intensify efforts to reduce maternal mortality, especially in mountainous and Indigenous and ethnic minority areas, including by improving access to antenatal, perinatal and postnatal health services and emergency obstetric services provided by skilled birth attendants throughout the territory of the State Party;

(d) Ensure that women and girls, including rural women and girls, unmarried women, and women and girls with disabilities, have adequate access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, including family planning, modern contraceptives and safe abortion and post-abortion services, and collect qualitative data about the abortion services (i.e. accessibility, privacy, stigma and quality of care and counselling provided).

Economic and social benefits

38.The Committee commends the State Party for its significant progress in poverty reduction and its policies and measures to promote women’s economic empowerment. It notes, however, with concern:

(a)The need to further support disadvantaged groups of women, in particular rural women heads of households, women with disabilities, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, women survivors of gender-based violence, women living in poverty and women in unpaid work, who have limited access to economic and social benefits and decent work and lack opportunities for meaningful participation in decision-making at all levels on social and economic policies;

(b)That women remain underrepresented in leadership and high-income positions and as board members in enterprises, and continue to face structural barriers to economic empowerment and unequal access to social benefits;

(c)That women entrepreneurs still face constraints in gaining access to production resources, financing channels, loans and credits and market information.

39. The Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Address the feminization of poverty by mainstreaming gender into national strategies and action plans and ensure that women, especially those belonging to disadvantaged groups, in particular rural women heads of households, women with disabilities, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, Indigenous women, women survivors of gender-based violence, women living in poverty and women in unpaid work, can meaningfully participate in the implementation, monitoring, evaluation and renewal of these strategies and action plans and have adequate access to social benefits;

(b) Establish binding corporate governance frameworks requiring gender diversity in leadership positions and in the membership of boards of enterprises, with enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance;

(c) Increase women’s access to low-interest loans without collateral and other forms of financial credit, expand their access to production resources, capital and technologies, business networks and resources and provide gender-specific start-up and scale-up funds, venture capital, financial technology and ICT and entrepreneurship opportunities to promote the economic empowerment of women.

Rural, Indigenous and ethnic minority women and disaster risk reduction and climate change

40.The Committee notes that the State Party is severely affected by climate change. It also notes the participation of the Viet Nam Women’s Union in the National Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, as well as the State Party’s commitments under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment adopted in 2025. However, it notes with concern:

(a)That rural women, women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, Indigenous women, migrant women, women with disabilities and women living in poverty are disproportionately affected by climate change, landslides, floods and loss of biodiversity, as they often live in exposed areas and lack the necessary coping mechanisms to increase their climate change resilience;

(b)That rural, Indigenous and ethnic minority women face discriminatory patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that restrict their access to decision-making and ownership, control and use of land, as well as limit their access to basic services, water, sanitation, electricity, renewable energy, education and housing.

41. In line with its general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women and its general recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change, the Committee recommends that the State Party integrate and mainstream a gender perspective into all agricultural and rural development strategies and plans, enabling rural women to act and be visible as stakeholders, decision makers and beneficiaries, and in particular:

(a) Dismantle patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes that impede equal access by rural women, Indigenous women and ethnic minority women to land and productive resources;

(b) Intensify efforts to ensure adequate infrastructure and service delivery in rural areas to promote access for rural, Indigenous and ethnic minority women to education; formal employment; climate-smart agriculture and technology to increase agricultural productivity; health services, including sexual and reproductive health services; social protection; housing; adequate water and sanitation; and modern farming technology and information, including about food harvesting techniques, preservation, storage, processing, packaging, marketing and entrepreneurship;

(c) Ensure that rural, Indigenous and ethnic minority women are able to participate effectively in planning and decision-making related to rural infrastructure and services and in the planning, adoption, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of agricultural and rural development policies;

(d) Incorporate a gender perspective into climate change and disaster risk reduction strategies, legislation, policies, financing and programmes to address the specific and unique needs of women and girls, and build their resilience and effective adaptation to climate change;

(e) Ensure that women equally and actively participate in the creation and operation of new funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage, as decided at the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2022.

Women and girls facing intersecting forms of discrimination

Women with disabilities

42.The Committee takes note of the establishment of the National Committee on People with Disabilities in 2015. It notes with concern, however, that women and girls with disabilities continue to experience intersecting forms of discrimination and have limited access to decision-making in political and public life, sexual and reproductive health services, inclusive education, employment and vocational training, justice, sport and cultural life.

43. In line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 18 (1991) on disabled women, and the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2025 ( CRPD/C/VNM/CO/1 ), the Committee recommends that the State Party strengthen its legislative, institutional and policy frameworks on disability, and involve women and girls with disabilities in public decision-making and ensure that they have adequate access to inclusive education, employment, justice and health services, in particular sexual and reproductive health services, sport, recreational opportunities and cultural life.

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and girls

44.The Committee notes that the State Party does not criminalize same-sex relationships, and that the Civil Code (2015) recognizes the right to gender reassignment and gender affirmation, as well as change of name. However, it is concerned that, in practice, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and girls continue to face high levels of gender-based violence, intersecting forms of discrimination and stigmatization. It is also concerned that, despite the existing provisions on non-discrimination in access to and provision of health services, in particular sexual and reproductive health and mental health services for women and girls from the lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, there is a need to ensure their effective implementation and monitoring.

45. The Committee recommends that the State Party take urgent measures to prevent – and protect lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and girls from – discrimination and gender-based violence, and effectively enforce the implementation of its national legislation on the provision of health services, in particular sexual, reproductive and mental health services.

Marriage and family relations

46.The Committee notes that the State Party’s legislative framework on marriage and family relations affirms principles of voluntary marriage, monogamy and equality between spouses and guarantees equal rights to marital property, parental responsibilities and inheritance. However, it notes with concern:

(a)That the Act on Marriage and Family (2014) includes references to “traditional” marriages and family practices, which may represent a serious risk of perpetuating gender stereotypes, and that, in practice, women continue to face unequal access to and control over family property, assets and inheritance;

(b)The prevalence of child marriage, particularly among ethnic minority girls and those in rural and mountainous areas, despite the fact that the minimum age of marriage is set at 18 years for women and 20 years for men;

(c)The persistently high sex ratio at birth, as well as the long-term effects of gender-biased sex selection.

47. Recalling its general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations and its general recommendation No. 29 (2013) on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, the Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Expedite the planned review of the Act on Marriage and Family (2014), repeal the references to “traditional” family practices, set the minimum age of marriage at 18 years for both women and men, without exceptions, and intensify its efforts to ensure that women and men have equal rights in marriage and family relations;

(b) Address the root causes of child marriage, especially in rural, remote and mountainous areas, encouraging reporting and ensuring the prosecution and adequate punishment of those responsible, in accordance with joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2019) on harmful practices;

(c) Address son preference and gender-biased sex selection by integrating gender-transformative approaches into policies, enforcing prohibitions on gender-biased sex selection and the related penalties in Decree No. 117/2020/ND ‑ CP and promoting public education that reaffirms the equal value of all children, while ensuring women’s reproductive autonomy and access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and services.

Optional Protocol to the Convention and amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention

48. The Committee encourages the State Party to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention and to accept, as soon as possible, the amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee.

Data collection and analysis

49.The Committee notes with concern the lack of data collection in many areas relevant to the implementation of the Convention.

50. The Committee recommends that the State Party promote and build capacity for the use of relevant technology in the collection of statistical data, including data on the prevalence of gender-based violence against women and girls and trafficking in women and girls, access to education and the socioeconomic status of women, disaggregated by age, ethnicity, race and disability status, for the design and implementation of tailored and gender-responsive legislation, policies, programmes and budgets.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

51. Following the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Committee calls upon the State Party to reaffirm its implementation and to re-evaluate the realization of the rights enshrined in the Convention in order to achieve substantive equality of women and men.

Dissemination

52. The Committee requests the State Party to ensure the timely dissemination of the present concluding observations, in the official languages of the State Party, to the relevant State institutions at all levels (national, regional and local), in particular to the Government, the ministries, the parliament and the judiciary, to enable their full implementation, as well as to civil society, including non ‑ governmental organizations, in particular women’s organizations, to raise full awareness within the State Party.

Ratification of other treaties

53. The Committee notes that the adherence of the State Party to the nine major international human rights instruments would enhance the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in all aspects of life. The Committee therefore encourages the State Party to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, to which it is not yet a Party.

Follow-up to the concluding observations

54. The Committee requests the State Party to provide, within two years, written information on the steps taken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 17 (b), 17 (c), 29 (a) and 47 (a).

Preparation of the next report

55. The Committee will establish and communicate the due date of the tenth periodic report of the State Party in line with a future clear and regularized schedule for reporting by States Parties (see General Assembly resolution 79/165 , para. 6) and following the adoption of a list of issues and questions prior to reporting, if applicable, for the State Party. The report should cover the entire period up to the time of its submission.

56. The Committee requests the State Party to follow the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents ( HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6 , chap. I).