The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a single-party republic. In April 1992 a new constitution affirmed the central role of the Communist Party (CPV) in politics and society. Although Vietnam remains a 1-party state, ideology is taking second place to economic development as the transition continues from a centrally planned to a market economy. The government has been reorganised, and markets have been reformed. The National Assembly is the highest representative body, with legislative powers and a mandate to oversee government functions. Critics thought it would rubber-stamp CPV directives, but it has become assertive and exercises its own authority in lawmaking. 80% of the deputies are CPV members. The National Assembly meets for 7 to 10 weeks twice a year. Elections in 2002 were for 5-year terms. The President is head of state and commander of the armed forces, as well as Chair of the Council on National Defence and Security. The Prime Minister heads the Cabinet of 3 deputy Prime Ministers and 26 ministers, who are confirmed by the National Assembly. Candidates for elections are vetted by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, an umbrella group that monitors the country's organisations.

In 2003, constitutional revisions provided for more women and minority candidates and for fewer party members standing for seats in elections at all levels. 136 of 498 seats are now held by women; 3 women are ministers but none is a member of the Politburo. 87 ethnic minority members serve in the National Assembly, and 2 are in the Cabinet. The General Secretary of the Communist Party is from an ethnic minority group. National Assembly sessions have been broadcast live on television for the first time. The judiciary is independent in law, but practice falls short: the CPV influences courts, judges are selected in part for their political reliability and judicial corruption is reported.

Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion or social class, but enforcement is sporadic. There is unequal access to housing, education and employment.

Police are accused of abuse during arrests and detentions, and reports of corruption continue. Vietnam ranks 111th out of 163 rankings in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions index for 2006, a position it shares with 10 other countries.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in law but restricted in practice. National security and anti-defamation provisions are used to restrict these rights. Reporters Without Borders claims severe restriction of the press. Journalists are sued for damages, ensuring self-censorship. Foreign journalists must be approved by the press centre and be based in Hanoi. But books whose foreign-language editions are banned are nevertheless sold openly in Vietnamese-language editions. Access to international radio is widely available and to satellite television increasingly common. Artists are given more scope to choose the themes for their works. Public security agents are reported to monitor Internet activities and cyber cafes to register personal information on customers. Web sites deemed inappropriate are blocked. Mail and electronic communications are monitored.

Trafficking in women and children is illegal, but they are trafficked for sexual exploitation. The government has increased efforts to prosecute traffickers. UNICEF research shows that trafficking victims are concentrated in northern and southern border provinces. Some are sold by their families as domestic workers. Trafficked girls tend to be aged 15 to 17. Convictions for illegal infant adoption are reported.

Social discrimination occurs against persons with HIV/AIDS, who have been dismissed from their jobs and refused housing. A few children of persons with HIV/AIDS are reported to have been banned from schools.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 14, but the legislation is not enforced in rural areas, reportedly because of the cost of education and the tradition of using children in agriculture. However, education is valued, and parents make every effort to send children to school rather than allowing them to work. Schools operate 2 sessions a day. Some street children study in night courses. The high enrolment rate in primary grades drops in lower secondary and then plunges in upper secondary. Enrolment falls most in rural and remote mountainous areas.

A system of subsidised boarding schools is available for ethnic minority students, who also receive preferential placement for university entrance. Orphanages are operated by NGOs, and the children attend public schools. 21,869 street children were reported in cities in 2003. Street children are vulnerable to abuse and trafficking.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 43%. All 103,238 ECE teachers are women. The PTR is 21 : 1.

Primary school begins at age 6 and lasts 5 years. The NER is 93% (47% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 87% reach the last grade of primary school. 2% of students repeat grades. There are 362,627 primary teachers (78% female), of whom 87% are trained. The PTR is 23 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 11 and lasts 7 years. 12% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 65%. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 390,778 secondary teachers, 280,943 (68% female) in lower secondary and 109,835 (57% female) in upper secondary education, and 92% are trained. The PTR is 24 : 1 in lower secondary and 27 : 1 in upper secondary schools.

845,313 students (43% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a Gross Enrolment Rate of 10%. 1,048 foreign students are studying in Vietnam, coming from Asia (1035), Central and Eastern Europe (12) and the Arab States (1). At the same time, 15,817 Vietnamese students are studying abroad, mainly in the USA (3,165), France (2,950), Australia (2,619), Germany (2,006) and Japan (1,340).

The state accepts the responsibility to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, and government agencies are assisting domestic and foreign NGOs to provide education and other services to the disabled. Educational opportunities are improving, but only 10% of children with disabilities are in school. Additional teachers are being trained to work with students with disabilities. Businesses are required to reserve 2% to 3% of their jobs for workers with disabilities, but the provision is not well enforced.

The country is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Some 9,500 Cambodian refugees who could not prove their citizenship remain in Vietnam as stateless persons. Living in and around Ho Chi Minh City, they cannot register marriages or births, they cannot work legally without state-issued identity cards and their children are barred from school. The UNHCR is encouraging the Vietnamese government to offer citizenship to these exiles.

Many minority hill tribe people in the Central Highlands, called Montagnards, have left the country; they are an indigenous and religious minority accused of mixing religious practice with political activism. Reports indicate that many Montagnards have returned from Cambodia, and UNHCR reports that, although the living standard of the Montagnards is generally low, the returnees are not worse off than other people in this area.

Discrimination against ethnic minorities is a problem. Special schools for ethnic minorities are provided in some provinces, including subsidised boarding schools for secondary levels. Special admission and preparatory programmes as well as scholarships and preferential admissions are available for minorities at the university level. Migration of ethnic Kinh to the Central Highlands has led to land disputes with other ethnic minorities and has fuelled ethnic unrest in that region. Some members of ethnic minority groups have gone to Cambodia to seek greater economic opportunity.

The government continues to address the causes of minority discontent with new programmes to improve education and health facilities and expand road access and electrification of rural communities and villages. A programme to have classes in ethnic minority languages up to Grade 5 has begun, and a local language curriculum is being developed in the Central Highlands, but these reforms have not yet reached the northern and northwestern provinces.

Academic freedom is reported to be restricted, but openness in the university system is increasing. Library and information exchanges and research are being promoted, and foreign academics working in universities are allowed to discuss non-political issues freely in classes. Government observers are said to attend classes taught by both foreigners and citizens. Requests for materials from foreign research facilities have increased. Academic publications are said to reflect the views of the CPV and the government.

Women are provided with equality in legislation, but they continue to face discrimination. Women's rights in marriage and in the workplace are codified, with calls for preferential treatment of women in some areas.

Women employees who are engaged, pregnant, on maternity leave or raising a child under age 1 cannot be dismissed unless the enterprise closes. Female employees who are at least 7 months pregnant or are raising a child under age 1 cannot work overtime, at night or in distant locations. Women play an important role in the economy and are active in business and the professions. Women's numbers are increasing in the civil service, universities and the private sector. A family planning policy urges families to have no more than 2 children, under penalty of withholding promotions and salary increases to government employees, but the policy does not appear to be implemented.

Increasing acknowledgement of domestic violence is leading to media discussion and more openness, but the problem continues, and little protection is available for those suffering such abuse. Sexual harassment is not specifically covered in law, but other provisions can be used to counter harassment. There have been no instances of prosecution for sexual harassment.

The minimum age for employment is 18, but with parental and ministry permission children as young as 15 may be employed. Youth under 18 cannot be employed in work that is hazardous or could harm their physical or mental development. Children can register at trade training centres from age 13, where they may work a maximum of 42 hours a week and must receive special health care. In 2005 a government report cited 23,000 children aged 8 to 14 as working part time or full time in violation of labour legislation. Children working in the informal sector and in family agriculture are not covered by the labour law.

Rural children are more likely to be involved in child labour. Some rural children start work as young as age 6. In 2003 it was estimated that 88.5% of children were working in household and family-owned small businesses. Unauthorised migrants cannot register in urban areas, and their children cannot attend public schools. An ILO study of 4 groups of child workers found that the salaries of children in domestic service went directly to their parents. The government and international donors are working to lessen the problem of child labour.

The law does not allow freedom of association. The single national trade union centre, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), is controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam. All unions are approved by and affiliated with the VGCL, which claims 5.2 million members, of whom 71.9% work in the public sector (34.9% in state-owned enterprises) and 28.1% in the private sector. Union leaders influence some decisions on labour legislation. An ILO project under way is intended to improve industrial relations, including collective bargaining and dispute settlement.

The VGCL-affiliated unions have the right to bargain collectively and the right to strike following a process of conciliation and arbitration, though process takes so long that almost every strike is illegal. Strike action continues to be tolerated even when technically illegal. 147 strikes were reported in 2005, an increase of 22 from the previous year. The VGCL affiliate unions did not sanction the strikes, but local and provincial unions supported some of them. 54 occupational sectors do not have the right to strike. Labour laws apply in export processing zones.

Forced or compulsory labour is illegal, but instances occur. Prisoners work for little or no pay. All men aged 18 to 45 and women aged 18 to 35 are required to do 10 days of public labour annually. This rule is rarely enforced now, since people can find a substitute or pay a fee instead of working.

The minimum wage is adjusted for inflation and other economic changes. A variety of minimum wages are in effect. The official monthly minimum wage in the public sector is $22.15 (350,000 VND), which does not provide a worker and family with a decent standard of living. State-owned enterprises pay more than the minimum wage. Government-subsidised housing has decreased. State sector employees have a 40 hour work week.