Decree No. 127/2024/ND-CP amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on ethnic affairs

DECREE

Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on
ethnic affairs

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 88/2019/QH14 dated November 18, 2019 of the National Assembly approving the overall development program for ethnic minority and mountainous areas during the period 2021-2030;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 120/2020/QH14 dated June 19, 2020 of the National Assembly approving the investment policy for the national target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during the period 2021-2030;

At the proposal of the Minister, Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities;

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on ethnic affairs.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on ethnic affairs

1. Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 4 as follows:

"4. "Ethnic minority area" means a provincial, district, or commune-level administrative unit where a significant number of ethnic minorities reside stably; village, hamlet, town, phum, sóc, xóm, ấp, and equivalent units (hereinafter referred to collectively as village) where a significant number of ethnic minorities reside stably forming a community."

2. Supplementing Article 4a and Article 4b following Article 4 as follows:

"Article 4a. Classification of ethnic minority areas based on level of development
1. Ethnic minority areas are classified based on their level of development according to criteria, procedures, formalities, and files prescribed by the competent authority in each period.
2. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to provide advice and submit to the competent authority for issuance of detailed regulations regarding paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 4b. Criteria for identifying ethnic minorities facing many difficulties and having special difficulties
1. Ethnic minorities facing many difficulties and having special difficulties are identified according to criteria, procedures, formalities, and files prescribed by the competent authority in each period.
2. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to provide advice and submit to the competent authority for issuance of detailed regulations regarding paragraph 1 of this Article.”

3. Supplementing the content of Article 5 as follows:

"The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to issue regulations within its authority or provide advice and submit to the competent authority for issuance of detailed regulations implementing the provisions of this Article."

4. Supplementing Clause 1a following Clause 1 as follows:

"1a. Exploiting, inciting narrow-minded ethnic thoughts."

5. Amend and supplement Article 12 as follows:

"Article 12. Policies for people of trust among ethnic minorities, recognizing and honoring outstanding examples
1. People of trust among ethnic minorities shall be trained, provided with information, supported materially, encouraged spiritually, rewarded, recognized, honored, visited, received, and entitled to other benefits to play a role in implementing ethnic policies in their communities, in accordance with the economic and social conditions of the locality.
2. Every five years, and at any time deemed necessary, activities recognizing and honoring outstanding examples among people of trust and ethnic minorities shall be organized.

3. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities shall provide advice and submit to the competent authority for issuance of detailed regulations regarding paragraph 1 of this Article; issue guidelines for implementation of the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article."

"Article 12a. Expenses for visiting, congratulating, presenting gifts, encouraging, and meeting certain units and individuals who are ethnic minorities
1. Recipients
a) Former key leaders and high-ranking leaders of the Party and State who are ethnic minorities;
b) Heroes of the Armed Forces, Labor Heroes, Mothers of Vietnam's Heroic Sons and Daughters, veteran revolutionaries, pre-revolutionary cadres, exemplary revolutionary soldiers, senior military officers who have retired, and are ethnic minorities;
c) Former heads of central agencies, former Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Provincial Party Committees, former Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Provincial People's Councils and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities who are ethnic minorities;
d) People's Teachers, Excellent Teachers, National Artisans, Excellent Artisans, National Artists, Excellent Artists, People's Doctors, Excellent Doctors, Professors, and Associate Professors who are ethnic minorities;
đ) Secretaries of village party branches, village chiefs, excellent farmers, religious officials who are ethnic minorities and have contributed to the economic and social development of ethnic minority areas, confirmed by the People's Committee of communes;
e) Ethnic minorities who have won international and national awards;
g) Poor households of ethnic minorities living in ethnic minority villages;
h) Ethnic minorities and households of ethnic minorities residing in ethnic minority areas affected by natural disasters, epidemics, fires, or sudden difficulties;
i) People's Committees of particularly difficult communes, armed forces units, health stations, kindergartens, regular education centers, vocational training centers, universities, religious centers in ethnic minority areas; boarding schools, semi-boarding schools, preparatory universities for ethnic minorities that have made contributions to ethnic affairs and the construction of a united front and the protection of the country;
k) Delegations of ethnic minorities sent by provincial People's Committees or provincial ethnic work agencies authorized to visit and work with Party and State leaders, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities.
2. Content and amount of expenses
a) Visiting and presenting gifts to recipients specified in point a, b, and c of paragraph 1 of this Article. Maximum expenditure: VND 5,000,000 per person per visit; not exceeding VND 10,000,000 per person per year;
b) Congratulating and presenting gifts on Tet Festival, traditional festivals of ethnic minorities, or when Party and State leaders, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities visit and work in localities for recipients specified in point d, đ, and e of paragraph 1 of this Article. Maximum expenditure: VND 1,000,000 per person per occasion; not exceeding VND 3,000,000 per person per year;
c) Visiting, presenting gifts during the Lunar New Year, Tet, or traditional festivals of ethnic minorities, when Party and State leaders visit and work at localities as specified in point g of Clause 1 of this Article; visiting, encouraging, and presenting gifts to the subjects specified in point h of Clause 1 of this Article. Maximum expenditure: VND 1,000,000 per person/household/per occasion; not exceeding VND 3,000,000 per person/household/per year;
For visiting and encouraging the subjects specified in point h of Clause 1 of this Article who have suffered casualties, the expenditure shall be VND 5,000,000 per household/per occasion; not exceeding VND 10,000,000 per household/per year;
d) Visiting, congratulating, and presenting gifts to the subjects specified in point i of Clause 1 of this Article. Maximum expenditure: VND 20,000,000 per unit/organization/per occasion/per year;
đ) Organizing meetings with delegations, presenting gifts to individuals in the delegation specified in point k of Clause 1 of this Article. Maximum expenditure for gift presentation: VND 1,000,000 per person/per year; other contents and expenditures according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance on domestic reception standards.
3. Party and State leaders visiting, congratulating, presenting gifts, encouraging, and meeting the subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article based on the proposal of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities; Committee for Ethnic Minorities leaders visiting, congratulating, presenting gifts, encouraging, and meeting the subjects specified in points b, c, d, đ, e, g, h, i, k of Clause 1 of this Article.
4. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities guides the implementation of the provisions specified in points đ, h, i, k of Clause 1 of this Article.

7. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 17 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

"3. Applying information technology and digital transformation in organizing and implementing ethnic affairs and ethnic policies."

b) Amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

"4. Enhancing and improving the effectiveness of using languages of ethnic minorities in mass media and grassroots information systems."

c) Amending and supplementing Clause 5 as follows:

"5. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities takes the lead, coordinating with relevant Ministries and sectors to be responsible for guiding the implementation of the contents stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article."

8. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 18 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

"1. Ethnic minority people residing in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions shall enjoy free legal aid services as prescribed by law."

b) Add Clause 3a after Clause 3 as follows:

"3a. Building and strengthening training, briefing, and capacity building to improve the quality of personnel implementing, supporting legal aid activities, legal reporters, legal propagandists, and grassroots mediators in ethnic minority regions, prioritizing ethnic minority individuals and those fluent in ethnic minority languages to promptly provide legal aid, disseminate and educate laws, and mediate at the grassroots level for ethnic minority people."

c) Amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

"4. The Ministry of Justice takes the lead, coordinating with the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and relevant Ministries and sectors to be responsible for guiding the implementation of the contents stipulated in Clauses 1, 3, 3a, and legal aid content in Clause 2 of this Article. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities takes the lead, coordinating with relevant Ministries and sectors to build, submit to competent authorities for issuance, and organize the implementation of programs and projects to disseminate and educate laws as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article."

9. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 21 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

"2. Issuing normative legal documents on ethnic affairs; building and implementing ethnic policies, special mechanisms for implementing ethnic policies, programs, projects, and plans for economic and social development in ethnic minority regions."

b) Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

"5. Inspecting, auditing, mid-term review, final evaluation, and assessment of the implementation of policies, programs, and projects in ethnic minority regions; compliance with laws on ethnic affairs, anti-corruption, thrift, and waste; monitoring and grasping the situation in ethnic minority regions; resolving complaints and denunciations related to ethnic affairs in accordance with the law."

c) Amend and supplement Clause 7, 8, and 9 as follows:

"7. Planning, training, enhancing, utilizing, and managing cadres from ethnic minorities in state agencies, especially in ethnic affairs agencies."
8. Building databases on ethnic minority regions to serve forecasting, planning, building, managing, and implementing ethnic policies.
9. Reviewing programs, policies, proposals, and projects related to ethnic minority regions and communities.

d) Amend and supplement Clause 11 as follows:

"11. International cooperation on ethnic affairs and the implementation of ethnic policies, coordinating with foreign organizations and international organizations in researching and exchanging experiences on ethnic affairs; encouraging assistance and investment support for the development of ethnic minority regions, areas with difficult and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, to effectively implement ethnic affairs and ethnic policies in accordance with the law."

đ) Supplement Clause 12 after Clause 11 as follows:

"12. Building and consolidating political systems, constructing a solid national defense and security system in ethnic minority regions. Promptly recognizing, honoring, and encouraging outstanding individuals, entrepreneurs, and scientists in ethnic minority communities who have made significant contributions to the country's construction and protection."

10. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 23 as follows:

"2. Building, issuing, and submitting to competent authorities for approval policies, programs, and projects within the management domain of the Ministry or sector to apply in ethnic minority regions, areas with difficult and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, very small ethnic groups, ethnic groups facing many difficulties, particularly difficult situations, poor and near-poor households of ethnic minorities; guiding, inspecting, auditing, mid-term review, final evaluation, and assessment of the implementation of policies, programs, and projects under their management."

11. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 24 as follows:

"1. Taking the lead, coordinating with relevant Ministries and sectors in planning, building, proposing, or participating in reviewing and implementing ethnic policies; guiding, auditing, inspecting, organizing mid-term review, final evaluation, assessment, propaganda, and mobilization for the implementation of ethnic policies; being the unified focal point for tracking and summarizing ethnic policies and the situation in ethnic minority regions as prescribed in this Decree."

12. AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT Clause 2 of Article 25 as follows:

"2. Annually, develop and implement plans and programs for ethnic affairs work. Organize, direct, and inspect the implementation of laws and ethnic policies; monitor and grasp the situation in areas with ethnic minority populations under management; organize and direct the implementation of measures to ensure conditions for improving the material and spiritual lives of ethnic minority populations."

Article 2. REPLACE AND REPEAL certain terms and phrases in some articles of Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011, of the Government on Ethnic Affairs

1. REPLACE the phrase "ethnic minority region" with the phrase "region with ethnic minority populations" in Clause 1, 3, 4 of Article 8; Clause 1, 2, 6 of Article 9; Clause 1 of Article 10; Clause 1 of Article 11; the title and Clause 2 of Article 14; the title of Article 15; Clause 5 of Article 16; Clause 1, 2 of Article 17; Clause 2 of Article 18; Clause 1 of Article 19; Clause 1 of Article 20; Clause 4 of Article 21; Clause 3 of Article 25.

2. REPLACE the phrase "ethnic minority population in ethnic minority regions" in Clause 4 of Article 10 with the phrase "ethnic minority population."

3. REPLACE the content "The National Ethnic Minorities Committee shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to have responsibility for detailing and guiding the implementation of Articles 5, 12, and Clause 5 of Article 22" in Clause 1 of Article 28 with the content "The National Ethnic Minorities Committee shall be responsible for urging, guiding, and inspecting ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, provincial People's Committees in implementing this Decree."

4. REPEAL Clause 6 of Article 4.

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from December 1, 2024.

2. Communes and villages in regions with ethnic minority populations and mountainous areas that have been delineated by competent authorities according to their development level for the period 2021-2025 continue to fully enjoy all systems and policies for communes and villages in regions with ethnic minority populations as stipulated in this Decree until replaced by competent authorities.

3. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees, directly governed cities, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree./.