Vietnam Preparing to Join Hague Convention on Child Abduction in 2018-2021

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the preparation plan for Vietnam to join the Hague Convention 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in the 2018-2021 period, local media reported. Under the plan, in 2018-2020, the Ministry of Justice will review and evaluate the suitability between regulations of the Convention and Vietnam’s laws, thus amending, supplementing and issuing new relevant legal documents and review regulations of the Convention with related international treaties. The ministry will set up documents introducing the Convention and introduce the Convention to relevant organizations, improve the capacity of staffs and agencies in charge of the Convention. By 2021, the ministry will submit necessary documents on the participation of the Convention to the government. The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty, which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return. (VietNamNet Jan 16)