Security qualifications

Sexual violence in conflict becomes more serious in the face of Covid-19. Conflict-related sexual violence became thorny at an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on April 14 as all participants took it a critical opportunity to take stock of the issue in order to eradicate the scourge of it. The open debate, which was hosted by Vietnam, the UNSC President for the month of April, drew attention to the chronic underreporting of wartime sexual violence, especially at a time being compounded by Covid-19 containment measures. The participants thanked Vietnam for keeping this important topic on the agenda of the Council. Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations said the victims should be assisted to access psychological, medical, training and legal services, integrate into the community and seek livelihood sources. He emphasized the need to take a comprehensive approach to the problem, noting the prevention and full and equal participation of women in decision-making and peace processes, much-needed development assistance, capacity-building, technical support and training. Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, stressed the need of prevention, saying that “prevention is the best and only cure” to stem the multiple, devastating and enduring consequences faced by survivors of sexual violence in conflict, especially as a brutal tactic of war. Citing over 2,500 UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 18 countries last year alone, Patten said there was a “chasm between resolutions and reality”. She mentioned the long litany of battles fought on the bodies of women and girls in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Syria and other places to remind others of what they did to honor their commitments to solving the problem. The Delegation of the EU to UN said they owe this to all victims and …

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The C04 and local police also determined 106 major drug trafficking routes, 169 complicated places of drug crimes and 2,000 suspects in the above-mentioned localities. According to Major General Nguyen Van Vien, Head of the Ministry of Public Security's Drug Crime Investigation Department (C04), the traffickers are increasingly sophisticated acts and tricks to camouflage and hide their drugs. They often sign in to social networks for trading so the functional forces are difficult in the detection, arrestment, investigation and handling. Police forces arrest many suspects related to drug trafficking violations. Regarding the fight against drug crimes, Senior Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong, Deputy Minister of Public Security suggested that the functional agencies should further connect with local police forces to get achievements in anti-drug operations. The information was released at a summary conference about the Ministry of Public Security’s anti-drug criminal plan. By Chi Thach- Translated by Huyen Huong …

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Conducted every 10 years, the survey was a joint effort between the NIN and the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s General Statistics Office, with support from many international organizations. Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen said the survey is the largest of its kind on a nationwide scale and involved 22,400 households in 25 cities and provinces representing six ecological areas. It collected anthropometrical data as well as those on micro-nutrients, individual food portions, food security, and food hygiene and safety. He added that the survey reveals the overall landscape of nutritional intake in Vietnam, progress made over the past decade, and the challenges in the time to come. Malnutrition is still too common around the country, particularly in disadvantaged and ethnic minority areas. Excessive weight and obesity are rising in both urban and rural areas and among people of different ages, leading to an uncontrollable rise in non-communicable diseases relating to diet. Besides, there remain problems in quality and safety of food consumed by people in daily life. Tuyen said the survey is significant in assessing goals in the national nutrition strategy for the 2011-2020 period and in providing scientific evidence to serve the drafting of national nutrition strategies in subsequent periods. The prevalence of excessive weight and obesity rose from 8.5 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2020, including 26.8 percent in urban areas, 18.3 percent in rural areas, and 6.9 percent in mountainous areas. The use of micro-nutrients and the rate of breastfeeding in the first six months of a new-born’s life improved significantly, from 19.6 percent in 2010 to 45.4 percent in 2020. The figure was 55.7 percent in urban areas, 40.3 percent in rural areas, and 42.7 percent in mountainous areas. Up to 35.8 percent of respondents possessed good knowledge on food safety, while 55.6 percent had average knowledge and 8 percent low knowledge. The rate of people …

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