Decision No. 449/QD-TTg approving the ethnic minority affairs strategy through 2020

40 THE PRIME MINISTER Decision No. 449/QD-TTg of March 12, 2012, approving the ethnic minority affairs strategy through 2020 THE PRIME MINISTER Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government; Pursuant to the 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy; At the proposal of the Minister, Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and the Minister of Planning and Investment, Issue nos 09-10/Marcb 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) DECIDES: Article l. To approve the ethnic minodty affairs strategy through 2020 with the following principal contents: 1. Viewpoints To pursue the consistent implementation of the policy of equality, unity, munral respect and assistance among ethnic minodties for collllllon progress, ensuring stability, development and integration. To comprehensively develop socio­ economic fields and prioritize infrastructure development, poverty reduction and human resource development in ethnic minority areas; to step by step form economic centers in ethnic minority areas. To make development investment together with the implementation of the social secmity policy and the harmonious settlement of people's interests. To sustainably develop ethnic minodty areas, contribute to political stability and national defense and security assurance. To mobilize all investment resources for socio-economic development in ethnic rninodty areas with state budget allocations being a major source. Ethn ic minori ty affairs and the implementation of the ethnic minodty policy are the mission of the entire Party, people and army and the whole political system. 2. General objectives To develop socio-economic fields in a comprehensive, fast and sustainable manner so as to accelerate poverty reduction in ethnic minority areas and nanow the development © Vietnam Law & Legal Forom Issue nos 09-10/March 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) gap among ethnic groups; to gradually reduce areas with special difficulties; to step by step fonn economic, cultural and scientific centers in ethnic mino1ity areas; to develop human resomces in ethnic minority areas; to increase the quantity and quality of ethnic min01ity cadres; to consolidate the grassroots political system; and to finnly maintain the great national lmity bloc and ensure stability, defense and secmity. 3. Specific objectives To raise people's knowledge and develop human resources in ethnic minority areas: The rate of working-age ethnic minority people receiving training and retraining will be over 50 percent, of whom 20 percent will receive vocational training; all areas will have pe1manently built schools and houses for teachers, and necessa1y areas will have donnitories for students; 95 percent of school­ age children will go to school; the sn1dent rate will reach 300 per 10,000 people; the proportion of people working in agiiculture will make up around 50 percent of the total workforce. Ethnic minority personnel affairs: A rational proportion and strncture of ethnic minority cadres must be ensured for the political system at all levels, especially the system of administrative agencies in ethnic minority areas; key positions must be held by ethnic 1ninority people; 70 out of 100 percent of trained commune-level cadres and civil servants will possess collegial or higher degi·ees. Poverty reduction in ethnic 1ninority areas: The number of poor households will drop four percent annually; the N 011hwestern, Central Highlands and Southwestern regions, central coastal areas, Eastern Trnong Son and fonner revolutiona1y bases will strive to help four 41 to five percent of ethnic minority households escape pove1ty eve1y year; dilapidated houses will be eliminated, more than 70 percent of houses will meet quality standards and the average per-capita income in ethnic mino1ity areas will quadrnple the current rate; the shortage of land and water for production will be fundamentally settled; a great quantity of commodities with high economic value will be gi·adually manufactured for consumption and export; and the insurance policy for a number of commodity fann products will be properly implemented. Infrastrncture in ethnic minority areas: 100 percent of inter-commune roads will be asphalted or concreted and more than 50 percent of hard-surface village and hamlet roads will meet technical standards as stipulated in the progi·am on building a new countiyside; over 95 percent of households will have regular access to electricity; 100 percent of households will have access to hygienic water; communes will have post and telecom services; almost all villages and hamlets will have access to the Internet. Cultural and social affairs in ethnic minority areas: To preserve and uphold national cultural traits; 100 percent of households will have access to television; to better meet the demand of receiving radio and digital television channels; to comprehensively develop ethnic minority people intellectually, morally, physically and spilitually and their sense of civic responsibility and law abidance. 100 percent of health stations meeting national standards will have doctors and health insurance policy for ethnic minority people will be properly implemented. Grass roots political system and defense © Vietnam Law & Legal Fornm 42 and security in ethnic minority areas: To build the political system, enhance the great national unity bloc, ensure stability, security and defence, social order and safety in ethnic minority areas. Living environment in ethnic minority areas: To minimize losses caused by environmental incidents and naniral disasters; to re-anange livestock and cattle breeding areas and latrines to ensure rnral environmental sanitation. 4. Major tasks a/ Developing education and training and improving the quality of ethnic 1ninority human resources To refo1m education policies at all levels, expand the teaching and learning of ethnic minority languages in general schools; to renovate and improve the quality of policies to appoint ethnic minority sn1dents to universities, colleges and professional seconda1y schools; to improve the quality and efficiency of boarding schools for ethnic minority students; to expand pre-university faculties at universities for ethnic minority students; and to devise suitable suppo1t policies for ethnic minority pupils and sn1dents at each education level, giving priority to areas with special difficulties. To diversify and quickly develop different fo1ms of training, re-training and vocational training in ethnic minority areas; to prioritize on-the-job training and introduce vocational training programs into boarding schools; to develop the models of vocational training schools linked with enterprises for ethnic minority students to meet local socio-econo1nic development requirements, prioritize training of children in ethnic 1ninority areas, mountainous, border, remote and deep-lying areas. Issue nos 09-10/Marcb 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) To attach special impo1tance to discovering, training and re-training high-quality ethnic minority human resources. To have an information technology training and re­ training program for grassroots leaders in ethnic minority areas to meet the requirements of the new context. To fo1m a contingent of ethnic minority workers, entrepreneurs and intellectuals with good health, professional knowledge and industrial working style, thus meeting the requirements of the industrialization and modernization period. To implement skills training and retraining models and programs to fo1m a new generation of farmers who are capable of applying scientific and technological advances and adapting to the market mechanism in ethnic minority areas. To implement rotation and incentive policies to encourage and attract good scientists and managers to work in socio-economic development in highland and border communes and areas with special difficulties. b/ Building a contingent of ethnic minority cadres To well plan, train, retrain, use and treat ethnic minority cadres. To develop a contingent of capable, talented and intellectual ethnic minority leaders to meet the requirements and tasks of the new period. To rearrnnge training goals of universities and vocational training schools in the northern mountainous, Central Highlands and Southwestern regions to enhance the training and retraining of ethnic minority officials and human resources. To simultaneously study the building of the Ethnic Minority Affairs Institute specializing in training intellecn1als © Vietnam Law & Legal Forom Issue nos 09-10/March 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) and cadres for ethnic mino1ity areas to meet the requirements of the cause of national industiialization and modernization. To prioritize job placement for ethnic minority pupils and students after graduation. c/ Developing production and accelerating hunger eradication and poverty reduction in ethnic minority areas To stmcture the economy toward lowering the propo1tion of agriculture and increasing the propo1tions of industi·ies and services; to adopt a livelihood changing and employment generation policy to stabilize and improve the living conditions of ethnic minorities. To effectively implement the vocational training and labor expo1t program in ethnic minority areas. To bring into play comparative advantages and establish zones specialized in producing goods such as coffee, cashew nuts, pepper, rubber, tea and timber for export in ethnic minority areas in the Central Highlands. To develop zones specialized in commercial maize cultivation for domestic animal feed production, develop hi-tech flowers and vegetables as well as fa1ms for concenti·ated breeding of buffaloes, cows and pigs in a number of ethnic minority areas in the northern mountainous region; to devise a policy to attract investment in processing indust1y to increase the value of spearhead products. To develop rice production with the establishment oflarge-scale intensive cultivation zones and develop fruit trees to form concentrated goods production areas, and combine expo1t with eco-garden tourism in ethnic minority areas in the southwestern region. To control diseases and increase the productivity, quality and efficiency of fa1m 43 products. To devise policies to subsidize, invest and develop the processing industly and the consumption of ethnic minority products. To create an equal opportunity for ethnic mino1ity people to access development resources and benefit from social welfare and se1vices; to create a favorable enviromnent to attract all resources in mral and agiicultural development, especially investment from small- and medium­ sized enterprises employing more ethnic minority workers; to fundamentally settle the shortage of and disputes over production and housing land for ethnic minorities, particularly in the No1thwestern, Central Highlands and Southwestern regions. To focus resources on well implementing progi·ams suppo1ting ethnic minority areas such as housing and planning of poor households and those living in flood-prone areas and along the river and sti·eam banks toward stability and sustainable development. di Developing socio-economic infrastiucttll'e in ethnic minority areas To concentrate resources on developing socio-economic infrastlucttll'e in ethnic mino1ity areas with the primaiy focus on completing the constmction of roads connecting goods production ai·eas with the centers of communes, villages and hamlets; to ensure electricity, water works, schools, health stations and markets; to anange local residents to facilitate development; and to resti·ict free migration. To develop a synchronous transmission infrast111cture to ensure the provision of radio, television, telecom and inf01mation technology servies to meet ethnic minority people's production and daily-life needs. © Vietnam Law & Legal Fornm 44 dd/ Comprehensive soc io-cul tura l development in ethnic minority areas To improve the quality of healthcare and medical services To raise the capacity and quality of medical examination and treatment and provide medical se1vices of communal health stations and district and provincial hospitals to ensure equality and effectiveness in ethnic minority areas. To well cany out health insurance policy for ethnic minorities. To strongly develop preventive medicine for the prevention of possible large disease outbreaks. To continue controlling and preventing HIV trnnsmission and strongly develop traditional medicine in combination with modem medicine. To devise and implement a strategy on improving health and height for ethnic minolity adolescents. To well implement the population and family plalllling policy, especially in ve1y small ethnic minority groups. To well implement the women advancement and gender equality policy, care for and protect the lights of ethnic minority children; to ensure citizens' rights to freedom of religion and belief in accordance with law; to improve the quality of the movement the entire people unite to build a new cultural lifestyle. Comprehensive development of ethnic minority culture: To devise a policy to prese1ve and promote cultural identity, languages, scripts, customs, beliefs and fine traditions of ethnic minority groups; to increase the time and quality of television and radio programs in ethnic mino1ity languages; to build the system of grassroots cultural institutions in ethnic minority areas together with histolical relics in each region and locality; to continue renovating management Issue nos 09-10/Marcb 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) mechanisms and step up the socialization of culn1ral and information fields; to improve the quality of propaganda against superstitions and moral and lifestyle degradations. e/ Improving political system quality and consolidating rnral secmity in ethnic minolity areas To build and boost the effectiveness of Party and mass organizations' activities in each village and hamlet with immediate focus on reviewing and ending the situation that there are still ethnic minolity villages and hamlets without Party organizations and members. To continue strengthening and raising the quality of grassroots cadres and pay attention to discovering, plalllling and training ethnic minolity cadres, paiticularly in the No1thwesten, Central Highlands and Southwestern regions and central coastal areas. In the years to come, to send more capable and qualified cadres to work in ethnic minolity areas, especially those of special defense and security impo1tance; to properly implement the policy to involve village patriarchs and prestigious people in inspecting and supe1vising the implementation of policies, programs and projects for ethnic minority areas under the motto "people know, people discuss, people do and people examine"; to mobilize ethnic minorities to abide by the Paity's policies and state laws to prevent hostile forces' plots to undennine the national unity. To fumly build up the entire people defense posture and people's security, proactively grasp the situation, resolve internal contradictions right at the grassroots level, and resolutely prevent the occurence of "hot spots". To be prepared for frnstrating all hostile forces' © Vietnam Law & Legal Forom Issue nos 09-10/March 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) sabotage plots, proactively prevent activities to sabotage the great national unity bloc through "peaceful evolution" and to take advantage of ethnic minolity and religious affairs to deceive, lure and incite ethnic minolity people. g/F ocusing investment in the development of ethnic minority areas with special difficulties To mobilize and combine resources to properly implement specific policies and socio-economic development programs in poor districts and communes, villages and hamlets with special difficulties. To review, supplement and amend critelia for classifying ethnic minority and mountainous areas by development level so as to work out a policy to allocate appropliate investment resources. To devise a soft credit loan policy for developing goods production and services; policies for changing livelihoods and settling the sho1tage of water for production and daily life of ethnic minolities in mountainous, highlands and border areas with special difficulties. For ethnic minority areas with extreme production difficulties, the State should have policies to support food and necessities for people to keep their mind on preserving natural resources and safeguarding border security. For the N01thwestern, Central Highlands and Southwestern regions, to continue implementing socio-economic development policies in ethnic mino1ity areas in line wiht Politburo resolutions. To focus on the settlement of housing and production land and improvement of the quality of ethnic minority human resources and grassroots political system. h/ Ensuring water for daily use and environmental sanitation in ethnic minority areas 45 To assess policies that have been implemented in clean water supply for ethnic minolity areas; to identify demands and propose policies to absolutely resolve the sho1tage of water for daily use and ensure sufficient water for agricultural production under planning. To adopt preferential land, tax and other policies to mobilize all economic sectors to invest in water supply to ethnic minolity areas. To assist ethnic minolity people in building sanitary works and breeding facilities in accordance with cliteria of the program to build a new countryside. 5. Implementation solutions a/ Raising awareness of ethnic minority affairs: Party committees, administrations, fatherland front and socio-political organizations from centi·al to local levels should thoroughly grasp and propagandize the role, position and great potential of ethnic minolity areas and the Party and State's consistent ethnic minority policies for their staffs and members and people to be fully aware of the viewpoints, targets and tasks and actively implement the ethnic minority affairs program in the new context. b/ Ensuring financial sources for the implementation of the Sti·ategy. To adopt policies and solutions to prioritize the mobilization of resources for implementing the Strategy's targets in which the state budget funds play a dominant and stable role for many years as well as diversify resources from enterprises, individuals and international organizations. To enhance activities of banks and micro­ financial institutions to supply funds for investment and production development and © Vietnam Law & Legal Fornm 46 poverty reduction in a fast and sustainable manner in ethnic minolity areas. To diversify financial activities providing not only loans but also insurance for production. The Government has policies prioritizing organizations, businesses and individuals to invest in ethnic minolity areas' socio-economic development; devises policies on payment for enviromnental se1vices so as to use the proceeds from trading and exploiting natural resources for environmental rehabilitation and protection. cf Renovating the building and implementation of ethnic mino1ity affairs policy To promptly review, adjust and supplement to complete promulgated policies to meet development requirements of ethnic minority areas and tasks of ethnic minority affairs in a new period. To concretize the Strategy into long-term programs, projects and policies through 2020 and the following years, suitable to practical capacity and resources for implementation. During the implementation process, to make public policies, programs, projects and investment capital for people in ethnic minority areas to take pait in the management, supe1vision and contlibution of opinions; to enhance the inspection and evaluation of the completion of promulgated policies' targets so as to make timely adjustments and supplementations and devise suitable policies. d/ Strengthening and improving the effectiveness of state management agencies in charge of ethnic minority affairs To pay attention to strengthening and building the system of organizations and agencies specialized in ethnic minority affairs Issue nos 09-10/Marcb 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) from central to local levels. To build and instmct the implementation of the administrative refo1m program and step up the application of info1mation technology in the management and operation of the system of ethnic minolity affairs agencies at all levels. Article 2. Organization of implementation 1. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, building the Government's action program to implement this Strategy; ensuring the combined implementation of the targets of the Strategy and the ten-year socio-economic development strategy during 2011-2020, and the central and local five-year and annual socio­ economic development plans; and submit it to the Prime Minister in early 2013. 2. Based on the targets of the Strategy and the Government's action program to implement the Strategy, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall guide ministries, sectors and provincial-level People's Committees in elaborating action programs to implement the Strategy in accordance with their tasks and competence; and send annual repo1ts to the Committee for Ethnic Minorities. 3. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with related ministries and sectors and provincial-level People's Committees in, guiding, exa1nining and summarizing the implementation of the Strategy to make annual repo1ts to the P1ime Minister; and organize the preliminaiy review of the implementation of the Strategy in 2015 and the final review of the implementation of the Strategy in 2020. © Vietnam Law & Legal Forom Issue nos 09 10/March 2013 (Cong Bao nos 165-166/March 21, 2013) Article 3. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing. Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministe1ial level and gove1mnent-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall implement this Decision. Prime Minister NGUYEN TAN DUNG 47 © Vietnam Law & Legal Forum