Extracts. A delegation from Vinh Long province's Committee on Protection and Care for Children has arrived in flooded villages and presented relief aid including schoolbags, books, notebooks, clothes and medicines to 200 children. Water in flooded villages in Tien Giang province is being seriously polluted. The provincial Service of Science, Technology and Environment has provided these villages with chemicals to spray on water surface to prevent diseases. In the past few days, heavy downpours in Quang Ngai central province have seriously damaged its irrigation and transport systems. Local authorities have sent delegations to help local people overcome the consequences. Floods have caused bad damage to people in Ben Tre province. Provincial leaders have well implemented evacuation work. At present, the province is concentrating efforts to repair broken dykes and strengthen damaged ones and provide relief aid to victims heavily hit by flood. An Giang province has received a total of 11,618 boats as relief aid so far. Of these, 7,610 boats have been provided by the government. The remainder came from other sources. Medium sized yellow snails are threatening Dong Thap province's coming winter-spring crop. The province is now pooling its efforts to fight the pests. **** Vietnam, Cambodia meet on border issues The third round of meetings of the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Joint Committee opened in Hanoi on yesterday. The Vietnamese mission was headed by Tran Cong Truc, head of the Government Border Committee, and the Cambodian mission, by Var Kim Hong, the Cambodian government's advisor on border issues. During the third round, the two parties will continue negotiating to definitely solve outstanding issues on the land border between the two countries by looking at land border agreements reached by the two countries in the 1980 and MoUs signed at the previous meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Joint Committee. The two sides will discuss measures to quickly accelerate negotiations to settle border issues in 2000 and build a border line of peace and stability, thus contributing to developing neighbourly relations and strengthening comprehensive co-operation between the two countries. The meeting is expected to run till November 5. (VNA) **** Twenty two new labour heroes There are 22 new Labour Heroes recognised by the State for their special efforts in building and defending of the country in the 1989-1999 period, according to a announcement made on October 31. They are as follow: - The Kindergarten of Tan Tien village, Van Giang district, Hung Yen province. - Me So village, Van Giang district, Hung Yen province - Tran Phu Printing Company, under the Ministry of Culture and Information - Sai Son Cement Company, Ha Tay province - The Telephone and Telegraph Company, under Dac Lac provincial postal service - The Soc Trang General Import and Export Company, Soc Trang province - The Con Cuong farm, under Nghe An provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - The Central Seafood Import and Export Company, under the Vietnam Seafood Corporation - The Southern Battery Company, under the Vietnam Chemical Corporation - The Khanh Hoa Power Authority, under the Vietnam Electricity Corporation - The Nha Be Steel Factory, under the Vietnam Steel Corporation - The people of Phuc Sen village, Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province - Luong Ngoc Quyen High School, Ninh Binh province - The village clinic in Cam Nhuong village, Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh province - Truong Son village, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province - The Children's Palace of Kien Giang province - The Dong Tam Kindergarten, Dong Tam village, Lac Thuy district, Hoa Binh province - Cho Ray hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - Mr Vu Duc Quynh, director of Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, under the Vietnam Electricity Corporation - Mr Banh Van Dom, director of the U Minh special protective forest management board, Kien Giang province - Mr Dang Dang Ly, head of the Hop Tien village clinic, Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen province - Mr Nguyen Dac Hai, owner of Chuyen My farm, Phu Xuyen district, Ha Tay province. **** Flood relief, administrative reform high on government agenda Prime Minister Phan Van Khai asked his cabinet members to focus on flood relief operations and administrative reform during the government's monthly meeting in Hanoi on October 30 and 31. After reviewing the socio-economic development in October and the first ten months of the year, the government leader asked ministries and industries to speed up the flood relief operations so as to bring life and production in flood-hit areas back to normal as soon as possible. In regard to administrative reform, Mr Khai said the government has recognised satisfactory progress in this process. However he pointed to a number of outstanding problems that the government, would consider in order to work out both immediate and long term solutions. These concerned legal enforcement, administrative mechanism and human resource development. He urged concerned agencies to take measures to remove outdated legal documents, trim staff and ensure the exercise of democracy at the grassroots level. Mr Khai assigned each of the responsible agencies concrete tasks in preparing an administrative draft for 2001 to submit promptly to the government for consideration and approval. He said it would be a step forward in the administrative reform process. The prime minister and his deputies took note of and gave recommendations to each and every issue of reports on the implementation of the Enterprise Law, bank debt settlement, the government working mission's tours and the national population bill for the 2001-10 period. They voiced a strong will to duly punish law violators, irrespective of their positions, while ensuring the legitimate rights of the ordinary people. The cabinet members reached consensus on major orientations on the national long-term population strategy with an aim to keeping the national population under control at 88 million by 2010. PM Khai entrusted Deputy PM Pham Gia Khiem with the task of co-ordinating actions among relevant agencies on finalising this strategy soon, which he described as of primary. (VNA) **** Vietnam creates favourable environment for people's enjoyment of human rights Nguyen Thanh Ha, representative of Vietnam at the third Committee on Human Rights Issues delivered a statement at its session in New York on October 30. She said: "With the elaboration and adoption of the set of core legal international instruments on human rights, we have laid out a significant normative foundation for the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We call on all member states to continue to strive for universal ratification and further implementation of these legal instruments. We realise that the United Nations need to strengthen the treaty bodies, not only through providing them with more resources, but also by undertaking reforms to ensure equitable geographical representation in their composition and improve their methods of work. "Human rights is inseparable from peace, democracy and development, which means we should not allow ourselves to place unequal emphasis on any of the four parameters. In this context, we share the view that development is not only a fundamental human right of each individual, each community and each nation, but also a process in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realised and which contributes to peace and democracy." She continued: "Vietnam has become party to most of the core international human rights treaties and is considering to accede to the rest of them. To the best of its capacity, Vietnam has implemented its obligations under these treaties through legislative, administrative, juridical and educative measures. By mobilising the participation of all Vietnamese people, including those permanently residing abroad, as well as encouraging international and regional co-operation, in its endeavours for a strong nation, wealthy people and a just and civilised society, the Vietnamese government has created an increasingly favourable environment for its people's enjoyment and realisation of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms." (VNA) _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
