Vietnam makes efforts to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

Colonel General Vo Minh Luong, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Standing Board of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Head of the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, chaired the conference.

Attending the conference were Major General Ha Van Cu, Commander of the Chemical Corps and Deputy Head of the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; Major General Trinh Thanh Dong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Political Commissar of the Chemical Corps; representatives of the functional agencies of the Ministry of National Defence; and representatives of central agencies, ministries, boards and sectors.

In his opening remarks, Colonel General Vo Minh Luong stressed that, in recent years, in its role as the National Focal Point for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the Ministry of National Defence has issued many documents guiding the implementation of the Government's Decree No. 81/2019/ND-CP of 11 November 2019 on countering the proliferation of WMD; incorporated the content of Decree No. 81 into the political education programme for all categories of personnel throughout the army and the militia and self-defence forces; and stepped up information and communication activities on countering the proliferation of WMD.

Colonel General Vo Minh Luong chairs the conference reviewing the implementation of the Government decree on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction for the 2019-2023 period

Ministries, boards, sectors and localities have focused on disseminating and communicating the content of, and obligations relating to, countering the proliferation of WMD to officials, Party members and the public in many diverse forms. After three years of implementing Decree 81, 14 ministries and ministerial-level agencies and 58 provinces and cities have organised communication and dissemination of legal knowledge on the Decree, with more than 700 programmes and hundreds of thousands of readers and listeners.

Training and capacity-building activities for specialised and frontline forces and for relevant agencies, units and organisations in monitoring, identifying, combating, handling and responding to WMD have received due attention and been implemented.

Delegates attending the conference

The Chemical Corps - the Standing Office of the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (known as Standing Office 81) - has been working closely with central agencies, boards and sectors and with localities, performing the representative function of the Ministry of National Defence in implementing international treaties on countering the proliferation of WMD; organising and participating in international cooperation activities to exchange information and to build capacity to prevent, detect and respond to the risks of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents; and researching and improving the legal system on countering the proliferation of WMD…

Major General Ha Van Cu, Commander of the Chemical Corps and Deputy Head of the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, presents the report at the conference. 

At the conference, in addition to clarifying the results achieved, delegates also shared the difficulties and obstacles in countering the proliferation of WMD. Specifically: there are currently no comprehensive legal provisions on handling violations in the field of countering the proliferation of WMD to serve as a basis for competent authorities to consider and deal with them; there is no document from a competent authority establishing and regulating the responsibilities of agencies, units, organisations and individuals in controlling goods and materials at risk of being used for WMD proliferation purposes; mechanisms and guidance for inspection, examination and monitoring remain inadequate; and funding for these activities in localities remains limited…

Signing ceremony of the Coordination Programme for performing the tasks of ensuring domestic security and countering the proliferation of WMD.

Accordingly, delegates proposed that the Government and the Prime Minister continue to direct the improvement of the legal framework to ensure the validity and effectiveness of the enforcement of regulations on countering the proliferation of WMD; step up the direction of information, communication and international cooperation in countering the proliferation of WMD; direct the full provision of professional equipment and the implementation of policies for the participating forces; and direct the clarification of responsibilities and the strengthening of effective coordination among ministries, sectors and localities in countering the proliferation of WMD…

They proposed that the Ministry of National Defence step up the direction of information provision and the compilation of guidance documents on countering the proliferation of WMD, and direct the organisation of training courses, drills and exercises to build capacity to perform the task of countering the proliferation of WMD, so as to raise awareness and skills in handling WMD proliferation situations…

Collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in countering the proliferation of WMD receive awards. 

At the conference, the Coordination Programme for performing the tasks of ensuring domestic security and countering the proliferation of WMD was signed, and collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in countering the proliferation of WMD received awards.