The following are remarks by Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at the UNGA High-Level Meeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fourth World Conference on Women in New York on October 1, 2020.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly. Photo: VNA

Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations came into being, with the aim of saving future generations from the scourge of war and promoting development and social progress. At the Fourth World Conference on Women fifty years later, the ideals of equality and respect for human dignity once again came to the fore in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, one of the most comprehensive documents on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Efforts to realize the objectives of this blueprint have strengthened legislative frameworks to empower women and create equal opportunities for women to take up decision-making positions. Importantly, these efforts have facilitated more cohesive national, regional and global implementation mechanisms. This is gradually guiding the world closer to the ideal of an equitable, progressive society where gender barriers cease to exist.

Today, gender equality and the empowerment of women are top priorities at international and regional parliamentary fora. The 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliaments held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on August 17 and the recent 41st ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Hanoi highlighted the role and contributions of women in all aspects and in response to emergencies, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Promotion of gender equality and women's rights is a consistent policy of Vietnam. This is enshrined in our Constitution and guaranteed in practice. President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese hero of national liberation and UNESCO-recognized great man of culture, once stressed: “Failure to emancipate women means failure to emancipate half of humankind”. Vietnamese women have been a vital force and made immense contributions throughout our history, be it in the cultivation of the Vietnamese cultural identity, or in the development of the Vietnamese society.

The National Assembly of Vietnam has adopted wide-ranging legal documents to advance women’s empowerment and encourage their participation across economic, political and social domains. It also supervises the enforcement of legislation and implementation of Government policies in these matters.

This year, in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the ASEAN Chair and the President of the 41st ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Vietnam has championed initiatives on women and girls at these critical institutions. We will continue working with all partners towards a truly equal society and a world of sustainable peace and development.