Dioxin treatment project targets hot spots

A seminar to start a dioxin treatment project in hot spots across Vietnam took place in Hanoi on December 15.

The seminar was jointly held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Global Environmental Fund and the United Nations Development Programme.

The five-year project, starting from 2010, will deal with and minimise the devastating consequences of the chemicals at and around Da Nang , Bien Hoa (Dong Nai) and Phu Cat (Binh Dinh) airports.

According to statistics released by the Office of the national steering committee for overcoming the consequences of chemicals used by the US during the Vietnam war (called the Office of National Steering Committee 33), from 1961 to 1971 the US military dropped nearly 80 million litres of herbicides on southern Vietnam, of which the majority of the chemicals sprayed were Agent Orange that contained dioxin.

The dioxin levels in the sprayed areas have reduced remarkably, however, the airports where the chemicals were stored are still hot spots.

At the seminar, the participants discussed dioxin treatment plans in the hot spots and the possibility of other sponsors becoming involved in the project.

They spent a lot of time identifying the scale and level of contamination in the three targeted areas, discussing new technologies to treat the areas as well as environmental and human issues during the project.

Richard J. Cooke, an international advisor from the Office of National Steering Committee 33, pointed out that the project needs to place more importance to the technological and environmental requirements of both Vietnam and the rest of the world.

Priority should be given to technologies that can directly be implemented in Vietnam through trade clauses and those with suitable prices for both experiment and application, he said.

The project needs close cooperation and coordination between the Office of National Steering Committee No. 33 and relevant ministries and agencies, especially the Ministry of National Defence, he added.

The project’s steering committee should pay attention to the necessary financial resources to prevent the pollution in the south-western area of Bien Hoa airport and pollution treatment in Phu Cat airport, the expert said./.

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Protection needed for corruption denunciators

A senior Government official has emphasised the need to formulate mechanisms to protect and promptly commend corruption denunciators.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong made the emphasis when speaking at a conference to honour outstanding individuals in the fight against corruption held by the Office of the Steering Committee for Preventing and Combating Corruption in Hanoi on May 7.

A highlight of the conference was the presence of 88 people, including 46 individuals who reported corrupt acts and cases and 42 others who uncovered and handled corrupt cases. Eight are journalists.

Accordingly, the Deputy PM tasked the Office of the Steering Committee for Preventing and Combating Corruption and the Ministry of Public Security to complete these mechanisms as soon as possible and submit them to the Prime Minister for promulgation.

He also requested that party committees and administrations at the grassroots level adopt a mechanism to protect corruption fighters and take responsibility for them when they are targeted by those guilty of corruption.

Trong underscored that uncovering and denouncing corrupt acts is very important as it is the premise helping responsible agencies to handle with corrupt cases and perpetrators promptly and accurately.

He also emphasised the need to exercise democracy regulations at the grassroots level and promote the role of people-elected and political organisations in supervising state officials and public civil authorities.

The government official reiterated that preventing and gradually warding off corruption is the goal of the Party, State and entire people, calling for the people to be determined and persistent in accomplishing the goal.

He commended the important significance of this conference, saying it offered the venue for the pioneers in the fight against corruption and the watchdog in the field to share their experiences to raise the effectiveness of the fight and wished that those present at this conference would continue to lead in the fight against the menace.

The Steering Committee Office Chief, Vu Tien Chien, said the conference represents the progress that the public has made in their awareness, responsibility and trust on the strength and success of the fight against corruption under the leadership of the Party and State.

He described an increase in the number of individuals who had the courage to fight head-to-head the scourge as a deterrent to those who intend to commit corruption.

However, Chien raised the fact that since corrupt state officials and public civil authorities are wielding power their revenge on those who dare to bring their bad deeds to light can be very sophisticated and have both short and long term consequences.

Prominent among those present at the conference were Nguyen Thi Hoa from Hanoi’s Tay Ho inner district, who reported wrongdoings relating to the construction of a facility on sluices connecting West Lake with the Hong (Red) river, and Hoang Van Khanh, Director General of the Hai Phong Apparels Joint Stock Company, who denounced former Vice-Director General of the Vietnam Bank for Investment and Development for asking and taking a bribe of 1 billion VND./.

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Seminar highlights child protection issues

A total of 85 children from 12 cities and provinces are attending a two-day conference on child maltreatment and trafficking, in Hanoi on August 26.

Nguyen Hai Huu, head of the Child Care and Protection Department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), said that the event will help children to understand more about children’s rights as well as the causes of child maltreatment, violence and trafficking.

They will hold direct talks with representatives from MoLISA and the steering committee for the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) to reveal their views and thoughts on the issues, he said.

According to Huu, the children’s views will be used to draw up the national programme on child protection during the 2011-2015 period and presented at the national conference on preventing the maltreatment of children in September this year.

MoLISA and COMMIT’s steering committee will deliver recommendations for the issues based on these talks, he said./.

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