Vietnam’s efforts to promote rights for children On June 16, Vietnam hosted an international seminar on eliminating harmful behaviors to children on the fringes of the ongoing 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Those in attendance included speakers from the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), along with representatives from  the countries and international and nongovernmental organizations. In his speech, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nation and other international organizations in Geneva,  highlighted the countries’ great efforts in recent years to protect the rights of women and children through the implementation of relevant international conventions. Ambassador Thanh called on countries to take heed to recommendations made by the committees on the convention on the infringement of the rights of the child, especially girls, including unsound customs seriously impacting dignity, health, social status as well as the enjoyment of their rights. In regard to the situation concerning gender equality and children's rights in Vietnam, Ambassador Thanh affirmed the nation’s strong commitment to building legal policies and pooling resources to deal with challenges in this field. According to him, advocacy work, education, comprehensive consulting support are also deployed at many levels, especially in remote areas in order to promote the elimination of bad practices against women and children. He suggested countries and related Committees on the UN Conventions should step up communication and education on international and national legal documents regarding the rights of women and children, intensify a comprehensive approach to relevant legislation and policies as well as enhancing the compatibility and efficiency through sub-regional and regional cooperation with similar characteristics and socio economic circumstances. Thanh also called on the international community to join hands to turn commitments into action to eliminate unsound customs among children. At the seminar, the participants shared opinions on the bad practices of child marriage, forced marriage or child abuse, and regional countries’ commitments to cope with these challenges, and hailed Vietnam’s efforts, achievements and recommendations in this regard. The rights of women and children are one of Vietnam’s top priorities as reflected in the country’s voluntary commitments when it ran for candidacy and was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2014-2016 with high votes. These topics are also a focus of the discussions at the 29th session of the HRC transpiring at the UN headquarters in Geneva. VOV