The activities of the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community (ASCC) in 2010 havedistinctly reflected Vietnam’s role in orienting priorities for theCommunity and formulating a roadmap to implement these priorities withregard to ASEAN member countries’ benefits and interests.
“ThroughASEAN Socio-cultural Community’s activities in 2010, Vietnam hascontributed to asserting the Socio-cultural Community’s position in theprocess of building the ASEAN Community and its coordinating role inspecialised areas in order to realise ASEAN member countries’priorities,” Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalids, and SocialAffairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.
Ngan, who held the Chair of theASEAN Socio-cultural Community in 2010, made these assessments whilereviewing the ASCC’s performance in the past year.
ASEAN operatedsuccessfully under Vietnam ’s presidency in 2010, with its powerand central position being a driving force in a strengthened cooperativeregional architecture, Ngan said.
She said the ASEANSocio-cultural Community’s major goal was to contribute to building thepeople-centred ASEAN Community, equipped with social responsibilitiesthat aim to establish a long-lasting solidarity and unity among ASEANcountries and nations, to advance towards a common identity and amutual, cooperative and open society where people enjoyed improvedliving standards and social welfare.
To realise the above goal,ASEAN leaders in March, 2009 adopted a master plan for the ASCC designedto concentrate on promoting human development, ensure social welfareand insurance, enhance rights and social equality, ensure sustainableenvironment, create an ASEAN identity and narrow development gaps, Nganrecalled, noting that 340 activities in 40 components of the plan willbe carried out through 2015.
As the ASCC Chair in 2010, Vietnamgenerated initiatives and defined priorities for the community’soperation and cooperation in labour and social affairs, dealing withglobal challenges, developing human resources in the economic recovery,enhancing social welfare and development for ASEAN women and children,and boosting cultural cooperation to raise public awareness of ASEAN andthe building of the ASEAN Community.
The country has activelycoordinated with local ministries and sectors while consulting as wellas lobbying ASEAN member countries to agree on the contents and draftsof the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources and Skills Development forEconomic Recovery and Sustainable Growth, and the Hanoi Declaration onthe Enhancement of Welfare and Development for ASEAN Women and Children,before submitting them to the 17 th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi forapproval, Ngan said.
Besides successfully organising a host ofconferences and forums on labour, human resources and development forASEAN women and children, Vietnam enthusiastically promotedcooperation in healthcare, education and labour environments.
Regardingclimate change, Ngan said, ASEAN Environment Ministers gave the nod tocorrelations to the ASEAN Climate Change Initiative (ACCI), agreeing toestablish an ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change and coordinate withdialogue partners and international organizations in tackling currentissues relating to climate change.
On the management of naturaldisasters and humanitarian aid, the Vietnamese minister, said ASEANwould continue to play the major role in coordinating aid in theaftermath of typhoon Nargis, implement the ASEAN agreement on naturaldisaster management and response to emergency cases, which took effectfrom Dec. 24, 2009, and establish the ASEAN centre for coordinatinghumanitarian aid in natural disaster management.
Touching uponhealthcare, Ngan said, ASEAN had developed a website and communicationnetwork on newly emerging contagious diseases in the region and at thesame time was intensifying surveillance and preparedness to anyepidemics that may occur, and strengthening the responsive systemthrough multi-sectoral collaboration, the sharing of information and thepromotion of multinational accessibility.
The promotion anddefence of the rights of women, children and migrant labourers has seenremarkable advancements, with the establishment of the Committee onPromotion and Protection of Rights of Women and Children in Hanoi inApril, 2010 and the compilation of documents on protecting andenforcing the rights of migrated labourers, according to Ngan.
Reviewingproblems and challenges, Minister Ngan emphasised that theimplementation of the ASCC Master Plan needed to be sped up by raisingthe sense of self-control among ASEAN member countries, activelycarrying out agreed decisions and ensuring ASEAN initiatives wereimplemented in each of the group’s members.
From now to 2015,ASEAN needs to solidify its strategy, use a better mechanism to mobiliseand effectively manage all resources from its member countries as wellas from its partners, and better its monitoring mechanism, Ngan said.
“Theimplementation of commitments set forth within the framework of ASCC atboth national and regional levels will create important advancements incarrying out the ASCC Master Plan in service of the realisation of anASEAN Community by 2015,” Ngan said./.
“ThroughASEAN Socio-cultural Community’s activities in 2010, Vietnam hascontributed to asserting the Socio-cultural Community’s position in theprocess of building the ASEAN Community and its coordinating role inspecialised areas in order to realise ASEAN member countries’priorities,” Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalids, and SocialAffairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.
Ngan, who held the Chair of theASEAN Socio-cultural Community in 2010, made these assessments whilereviewing the ASCC’s performance in the past year.
ASEAN operatedsuccessfully under Vietnam ’s presidency in 2010, with its powerand central position being a driving force in a strengthened cooperativeregional architecture, Ngan said.
She said the ASEANSocio-cultural Community’s major goal was to contribute to building thepeople-centred ASEAN Community, equipped with social responsibilitiesthat aim to establish a long-lasting solidarity and unity among ASEANcountries and nations, to advance towards a common identity and amutual, cooperative and open society where people enjoyed improvedliving standards and social welfare.
To realise the above goal,ASEAN leaders in March, 2009 adopted a master plan for the ASCC designedto concentrate on promoting human development, ensure social welfareand insurance, enhance rights and social equality, ensure sustainableenvironment, create an ASEAN identity and narrow development gaps, Nganrecalled, noting that 340 activities in 40 components of the plan willbe carried out through 2015.
As the ASCC Chair in 2010, Vietnamgenerated initiatives and defined priorities for the community’soperation and cooperation in labour and social affairs, dealing withglobal challenges, developing human resources in the economic recovery,enhancing social welfare and development for ASEAN women and children,and boosting cultural cooperation to raise public awareness of ASEAN andthe building of the ASEAN Community.
The country has activelycoordinated with local ministries and sectors while consulting as wellas lobbying ASEAN member countries to agree on the contents and draftsof the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources and Skills Development forEconomic Recovery and Sustainable Growth, and the Hanoi Declaration onthe Enhancement of Welfare and Development for ASEAN Women and Children,before submitting them to the 17 th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi forapproval, Ngan said.
Besides successfully organising a host ofconferences and forums on labour, human resources and development forASEAN women and children, Vietnam enthusiastically promotedcooperation in healthcare, education and labour environments.
Regardingclimate change, Ngan said, ASEAN Environment Ministers gave the nod tocorrelations to the ASEAN Climate Change Initiative (ACCI), agreeing toestablish an ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change and coordinate withdialogue partners and international organizations in tackling currentissues relating to climate change.
On the management of naturaldisasters and humanitarian aid, the Vietnamese minister, said ASEANwould continue to play the major role in coordinating aid in theaftermath of typhoon Nargis, implement the ASEAN agreement on naturaldisaster management and response to emergency cases, which took effectfrom Dec. 24, 2009, and establish the ASEAN centre for coordinatinghumanitarian aid in natural disaster management.
Touching uponhealthcare, Ngan said, ASEAN had developed a website and communicationnetwork on newly emerging contagious diseases in the region and at thesame time was intensifying surveillance and preparedness to anyepidemics that may occur, and strengthening the responsive systemthrough multi-sectoral collaboration, the sharing of information and thepromotion of multinational accessibility.
The promotion anddefence of the rights of women, children and migrant labourers has seenremarkable advancements, with the establishment of the Committee onPromotion and Protection of Rights of Women and Children in Hanoi inApril, 2010 and the compilation of documents on protecting andenforcing the rights of migrated labourers, according to Ngan.
Reviewingproblems and challenges, Minister Ngan emphasised that theimplementation of the ASCC Master Plan needed to be sped up by raisingthe sense of self-control among ASEAN member countries, activelycarrying out agreed decisions and ensuring ASEAN initiatives wereimplemented in each of the group’s members.
From now to 2015,ASEAN needs to solidify its strategy, use a better mechanism to mobiliseand effectively manage all resources from its member countries as wellas from its partners, and better its monitoring mechanism, Ngan said.
“Theimplementation of commitments set forth within the framework of ASCC atboth national and regional levels will create important advancements incarrying out the ASCC Master Plan in service of the realisation of anASEAN Community by 2015,” Ngan said./.
