ORDINANCE ON ELDERLY PEOPLE

(No.23/2000/PL-UBTVQH10 of April 28, 2000)

When they were younger, today's elderly people had the task of giving birth to, bringing up and educating children about dignity, and they still play an important role in families and the society. Caring for the material and spiritual needs of elderly persons and continuously promoting their role are the responsibilities of families, the State and the entire society, which reflect the fine nature, morality and traditions of our nation;

Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Resolution of the Xth National Assembly, sixth session, on its 2000 legislative program;

This Ordinance provides for the support of and care for, as well as the promotion of, the role of elderly people.

Chapter. I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: Elderly people covered by this Ordinance are citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam aged 60 or older.

Article 2: Elderly people are rendered support and care, and have their role promoted by families, the State and society according to the provisions of law.

All citizens must respect the elderly and they have the obligation to help elderly people.

Article 3: It is the prime responsibility of the families of elderly people to support them.

Elderly people who are lonely, have no one to support them and have no source of income shall be assisted by the State and society.

Article 4: The State shall adopt appropriate policies of caring for the health, improving the material and spiritual life of elderly people, creating conditions for them to lead a healthy, cheerful as well as useful life, and at the same time, promoting their role in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

Article 5: The People's Committees at all levels shall work out plans on caring for elderly people; they shall organize and mobilize society's contributions in order to create conditions to care for, and promote the role of, elderly people.

Article 6: The State, society and families have the responsibility to educate young generations to show their gratitude to and respect for elderly people, and look after them.

Article 7: Elderly people must set a good example in fostering their own ethical qualities and in observing the law, and educating young generations in preserving and developing the nation's fine traditions.

Article 8: The organization of establishments for the care of the elderly must be based on practical situations and the demand for such care, and be in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter II

SUPPORTING AND CARING FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE

Article 9:

1. Supporting elderly people means providing economic assistance for, looking after, and spiritually encouraging them and respecting their legitimate aspirations so as to ensure their basic demands for meals, clothing, housing, travel, health, study, culture, information and personal communication.
2. Those who have the obligation to support elderly people are the latter's spouses, biological children and grandchildren.
3. Those who have the supporting obligation must not decline this obligation.

Article 10:

1. Those who have the obligation to support the elderly must, depending on their circumstances, arrange living places suitable for maintaining the health and psychological conditions of elderly people.
2. Those who have the obligation to support the elderly must pay for the cost of medical treatment when their elders get sick, or burial when they die.
3. All acts of maltreatment or forcing elderly persons to perform excessive work are strictly forbidden.

Article 11:

1. Those who have the obligation to support the elderly but are not in a position to attend directly to elderly people may authorize individuals or service organizations to do so, but with the consent of the elderly people concerned.
2. The authorized individuals or service organizations shall have to fulfil their commitments to those who authorized them to take care of the elderly people concerned.
3. Elderly people may request a change in the individuals or service organizations authorized to take care of them, if these individuals or service organizations fail to fulfil their duties.

Article 12: Elderly people who are lonely, without any support and without any source of income shall be entitled to:

1. Social allowance or being cared for at social relief establishments;
2. Free medical examination and treatment;
3. When they die, the commune/ward or district township (hereinafter collectively referred to as the commune-level People's Committees) or the social relief establishments must organize their burial and bear the costs thereof.

Article 13: The elderly are given priority in medical examination and treatment, and when seeking public transport, recreation and entertainment.

Article 14:

1. The elderly are given primary health care at their place of residence. The commune-level health stations shall, depending on concrete local conditions, monitor, manage and directly look after the health of elderly persons, and organize periodic health check-ups for them, the funding for which shall be provided by the local budget.
2. When elderly people who are disabled, lonely and without support get sick but are unable to go for medical examination and treatment at designated places, the heads of the commune-level health stations shall send medical workers to give medical examination and treatment to them at their place of residence.

Article 15: State-run hospitals must have geriatric departments or spare a number of beds for elderly patients under treatment and organize research in therapeutic knowledge and techniques applicable to elderly people.

Article 16: The Ministry of Health shall have to guide medical examination and treatment establishments in health care knowledge and techniques applicable to maintaining elderly people's health: intensify research in the field of care and protection of the health of the elderly; foster and raise the health workers' professional skills in medical examination and treatment for elderly people; apply various forms of education and popularization of general knowledge about physical training so as to help the elderly to increase their capability in preventing and curing diseases, and taking care of their own health.

Article 17: The People's Committees at all levels, political organizations, socio-political organizations, economic organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, units of the people's Armed Forces and all citizens shall, depending on their circumstances, support elderly people in organizing sight-seeing tours of historical sites and scenic places in the country.

Article 18: Investment in building or renovating public utilities shall be made on the basis of taking into account the needs of the elderly in terms of activities and care for them.

Article 19: The State and society shall create favorable conditions for elderly people to enjoy culture and take part in traditional cultural activities of the nation.

Article 20: Mass media agencies shall propagate the Party's lines and undertakings as well as the State's policies and laws on care for elderly people and the promotion of their role and reflections on life, and educate their audiences by developing a sense of respectful care and help for elderly people, praise good people and good deeds reflecting their care of elderly people.

Article 21: The State encourages organizations and individuals, with their own funding sources, to make contributions to and investment in building sanatoriums, health care service establishments, medical therapy and rehabilitation centers, cultural, sport and physical training clubs for elderly people as well as other forms of voluntary assistance to elderly people in the community and social relief establishments.

Article 22: The State encourages elderly people's associations to set up elder-care funds in appropriate forms. The elder-care fund may be formed with voluntary contributions from elderly people, charitable assistance of organizations and individuals inside the country and abroad. The elder-care fund shall be set up and operated according to the provisions of the law.

Chapter IV

STATE MANAGEMENT OVER THE ELDER-RELATED WORK

Article 25: State management over elder-related work includes the following:

1. Promulgating, amending, supplementing, giving guidance on and organizing the implementation of legal documents, regimes and policies towards elderly people;
2. Compiling statistics on elderly people;
3. Mobilizing, managing and using various resources to boost investment in developing social welfare services for the care of elderly people and the promotion of their role;
4. Supporting activities of elderly people's associations;
5. Supervising, inspecting, settling complaints and denunciations about the implementation of legislation on elderly people;
6. Handling violations in the enforcement of the legislation on elderly people;
7. Establishing international cooperative relations in the care of elderly people and the promotion of their role.

Article 26: The Government shall exercise uniform State management over elder-related work.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall be responsible to the Government for providing State management over the elder-related work.

The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies attached to the Government shall, within the scope of their respective tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in providing State management over work related to the elderly.

The People's Committees at all levels shall care for and bring into play the role of elderly people in their respective localities.

Article 27: The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Front's member organizations at all levels shall mobilize families and society to care for, and promote the role of, elderly people.

Article 28:The Vietnam Association of the Elderly is a social organization of elderly people, which has the following responsibilities:

1. To rally elderly people for participating in the Association's activities, contribute to the implementation of socio-economic programs, the building of a civilized lifestyle and cultured families, the maintenance of political security social safety and order, and the building up and defence of the Fatherland;
2. To protect the legitimate rights and interests of elderly people, make proposals to the State management bodies on the care for, and the promotion of, the role of elderly people;
3. To make recommendations to the State bodies on matters relating to the elderly people's legitimate rights and interests;
4. To represent Vietnamese elderly people in international organizations as well as external relations activities for their interest.

Article 29: The State creates conditions for the Vietnam Association of the Elderly to organize various activities to better care for and promote the role of elderly people.

Chapter V

REWARDS AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 30: Organizations and individuals that have recorded outstanding achievements in caring for, assisting and promoting the role of elderly people or in detecting and preventing acting violation of the legislation on elderly people; and elders who set bright examples in social activities, have made good contributions to the cause of national construction and defence, shall be commended and rewarded according to the provisions of the law.

Article 31: Those who infringe upon elderly people's legitimate rights and interests; those who have the have the obligation to support elderly people but shirk their obligation or maltreat elderly people or commit other acts violating the legal provisions on elderly people, shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; if causing any damage, they shall have to pay compensation according to the provisions of the law.