Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BQP guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 117/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2008 of the Government on civil defense.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 117/2008/NĐ-CP

dated November 14, 2008 of the Government on Civil Defense

______________

MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE

Pursuant to the Law on Legislative Acts of 03 June 2008;

Pursuant to Decision No. 257/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating regulations on frequency band allocation for economic and social purposes, national defense, and security;

Pursuant to Decree No. 117/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2008 of the Government on Civil Defense;

Considering the proposal of the General Staff,

CIRCULAR:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the organization of civil defense forces, systems of works for prevention, response, and recovery from war consequences; civil defense training and drills; activities for prevention, response, and recovery from war consequences; summary, finalization, reporting, inspection, and audit on civil defense as prescribed in Decree No. 117/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2008 of the Government on Civil Defense (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 117/2008/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. Applicability

The forces performing civil defense tasks under ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, political organizations, political-social organizations, public institutions, corporations, and state-owned enterprises established by the Prime Minister's Decision (hereinafter collectively referred to as ministries and central agencies) and localities in preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences and disasters.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION OF CIVIL DEFENSE FORCES

Article 3. Specialized Forces

Specialized search and rescue units of ministries and central agencies established according to Points a, b, c, d, đ, Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 7 of Decision No. 76/2009/QĐ-TTg dated May 11, 2009 of the Prime Minister on the establishment of the National Search and Rescue Committee and the search and rescue system of ministries and central agencies and localities (hereinafter collectively referred to as Decision No. 76/2009/QĐ-TTg) shall also be specialized forces responsible for preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences and disasters.

Article 4. Dual-Purpose Forces

a) Search and rescue units of ministries and central agencies established according to Points a, b, c, Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 7 of Decision No. 76/2009/QĐ-TTg shall also be dual-purpose forces for preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences and disasters.

b) Forces mobilized by ministries and central agencies; organs and units of the People's Army and the core self-defense militia forces shall be dual-purpose forces for preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences and disasters.

Article 5. Broad Forces

Broad self-defense militia forces, people's forces mobilized by competent authorities; voluntary forces performing tasks of preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences and disasters.

Article 6. Mobilization of Forces to Perform Civil Defense Tasks

1. When the country transitions to a state of war or a state of emergency in national defense, the Minister of National Defense shall decide based on task requirements to establish some specialized and dual-purpose units to perform tasks of preventing, responding to, and recovering from large-scale enemy weapons of mass destruction.

2. Heads of ministries and central agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels shall decide to mobilize forces under their jurisdiction as prescribed by law to perform tasks of preventing, responding to, and recovering from war consequences.

Chapter III

SYSTEM OF WORKS FOR PREVENTION, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY FROM WAR CONSEQUENCES

Article 7. System of Works

Works for prevention, response, and recovery from war consequences include: Forecasting, warning, and alarm systems; works for preventing enemy attacks with conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction; camouflage and decoy works; mobility routes; collective chemical protection equipment systems; ventilation and filtration systems; works for protecting and storing food, water, medicine, materials, and means to ensure the implementation of civil defense tasks; works ensuring training and drills for prevention, response, and recovery from war consequences.

Article 8. Organization of construction of works.

1. Planning and implementing plans for constructing systems to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war.

a) Based on the overall planning for defense arrangement combined with socio-economic development approved by the Prime Minister, the People's Committees at provincial and district levels shall direct the establishment of planning and implementation of construction of systems to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war, in conjunction with military strategic planning of each defensive area, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 152/2007/ND-CP dated October 10, 2007 of the Government on defensive areas.

b) The Standing Office of Civil Defense under the Ministry of National Defense shall lead in guiding technical standards for various types of works to meet requirements for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war, and guiding management, maintenance, and protection of such works.

c) The establishment, review, and approval of investment projects for constructing civil defense works shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 of Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP dated February 12, 2009 of the Government on project management for construction works (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP), and Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 83/2009/ND-CP dated October 15, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 83/2009/ND-CP).

2. Organization of construction of works to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war.

a) Construction of works to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war shall be carried out in accordance with Sections 1, 2, 3 of Chapter III of Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP and Clauses 5, 6, Article 1 of Decree No. 83/2009/ND-CP.

b) When localities transition to a state of war or a state of emergency in national defense, construction of works must be carried out according to emergency orders to fulfill the functions of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war for agencies, organizations, and the people, in accordance with Articles 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 of Decree No. 71/2005/ND-CP dated June 6, 2005 of the Government on management of investment in special construction works.

Chapter IV

TRAINING IN CIVIL DEFENSE

Article 9. Training and instructing civil defense cadres and training civil defense forces.

1. Cadre training.

a) Cadres in specialized units and dual-purpose units performing civil defense tasks of the Military shall be trained in civil defense knowledge at the National Center for Air Search and Rescue Training, the National Center for Sea Search and Rescue Training, and military academies and schools.

b) Cadres in specialized units and dual-purpose units performing civil defense tasks of Ministries and sectors shall be trained in general civil defense knowledge, knowledge on preventing, avoiding, and mitigating the consequences of conventional weapons and large-scale destructive weapons, following guidelines from the Ministry of National Defense. Programs, contents, and timeframes are determined by each Ministry or sector within the timeframe specified in Clause 1, Clause 3, Article 15 of Decree No. 117/2008/ND-CP.

2. Annual cadre training.

a) Programs, contents, and timeframes for annual training of cadres in specialized and dual-purpose civil defense units of the Military and People's Militia Self-Defense Forces are stipulated by the General Staff.

b) Programs, contents, and timeframes for annual training of cadres in specialized and dual-purpose civil defense units of Ministries and sectors are stipulated by the heads of Ministries and sectors.

c) Cadres in the People's Militia Self-Defense Force Committees at commune level and cadres responsible for national defense and military affairs in grassroots agencies and organizations shall be trained in civil defense at provincial military schools.

d) Cadres in the People's Militia Self-Defense Force Committees of central agencies and organizations, cadres in the People's Militia Self-Defense Force Committees of grassroots agencies and organizations, and cadres commanding People's Militia Self-Defense Forces at all levels shall be trained in civil defense contents within the military training programs, according to their respective levels.

đ) Cadres in military agencies and units shall be trained in civil defense within the military training programs, according to their respective levels.

e) The annual training time for cadres specified in Points c, d, đ, Clause 2 of this Article is one day.

3. Training of specialized or dual-purpose civil defense forces belonging to the People's Army and People's Militia Self-Defense Forces.

a) Specialized civil defense forces of the People's Army are annually trained in-depth on contents to serve as core forces in carrying out preventive and mitigation tasks during peacetime and wartime.

b) Dual-purpose civil defense forces of the People's Army and People's Militia Self-Defense Forces are annually trained in civil defense for two days within the total military training time of units.

4. Training of specialized or dual-purpose civil defense forces of central Ministries and sectors is stipulated by the heads of these Ministries and sectors. Training of self-defense forces of central agencies and organizations follows the provisions of Point b, Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Popularizing civil defense knowledge among cadres, party members, civil servants, and the entire population.

a) Objective: To grasp basic knowledge about the consequences of war and disasters and measures to prevent, avoid, and mitigate them; to enhance awareness and sense of responsibility, actively participating in civil defense tasks.

b) Content: Popularizing measures to prevent, avoid, and mitigate the consequences of conventional weapons and large-scale destructive weapons in war and other disasters.

c) Central and local agencies shall use mass media and other forms to disseminate and popularize civil defense knowledge among the entire population.

d) Learning about civil defense for cadres, party members, and civil servants shall be conducted within the program of national defense and security knowledge training as prescribed by law, with a minimum of five percent of the total time allocated for national defense knowledge training for each individual.

6. The General Staff directs relevant agencies under the Ministry of National Defense to guide the development of plans, contents, programs, and the compilation of textbooks, materials, equipment, and supplies for serving civil defense training and knowledge enhancement for each category within the People's Army Civil Defense Force and Self-Defense Militia; at the same time, they shall guide the contents related to prevention, response, and mitigation of war consequences in the civil defense training and knowledge enhancement program for central ministries, sectors, and localities.

Article 10. Directives on Civil Defense Training

1. Annually, based on the Circular of the Minister of National Defense, the Chief of General Staff's Order, Commanders of Military Regions, Corps, Services, Arms, Directors of military hospitals, academies, schools, and the Commander of the Hanoi Capital Military Command issue Orders on training and combat readiness for subordinate units, including civil defense training content.

2. Commanders of Military Regions direct Provincial Military Commands to approve plans for training, education, and political indoctrination, including civil defense training content for subordinate forces, organize implementation, and supervise the execution by units.

3. Provincial Military Commands direct County Military Commands to advise the same-level Party Committee and Government on leading and directing civil defense training for subordinate forces; guide and inspect the implementation of civil defense training by units and Self-Defense Militia under their command; approve plans for training, education, and political indoctrination, including civil defense training content, issued by County Military Command Chiefs; and approve plans for training, including civil defense training content, issued by County Military Command Chiefs.

4. County Military Command Chiefs direct Village Military Commands and Military Commands of grassroots organizations to advise the same-level Party Committee, People's Councils, and heads of organizations on implementing civil defense training for Self-Defense Militia under their command; approve training plans, including civil defense training content, issued by Village Military Commands and Military Commands of grassroots organizations; send cadres to attend civil defense training courses in the military training program as prescribed by superiors; and incorporate civil defense content into training programs organized by themselves.

5. Military Commands of central agencies advise the same-level Party Committee and heads of agencies on building annual self-defense training plans, including civil defense training content, according to regulations of each ministry or sector, and submit them for approval by competent authorities.

Article 11. Civil Defense Drills

1. Annually, based on actual conditions and government directives, the Ministry of National Defense issues a Directive on organizing civil defense drills for military units and Self-Defense Militia.

2. Regional defense area drills at provincial and county levels and national security-civil defense drills at village level must be linked with civil defense drill content to enhance knowledge, improve leadership, direction, and command capabilities of forces in preventing, responding to, and mitigating war consequences.

3. Each year, People's Councils at all levels organize drills for flood, storm, search and rescue, fire, forest fire, and other disaster prevention for some areas and facilities under their jurisdiction to draw lessons and provide guidance when situations arise; when organizing these drills, they must prepare leadership and directive documents; establish a steering committee, a directorate, and a support team; develop intentions, plans, and documents for participating components; organize training and practice sessions; and conduct drills according to approved intentions and plans.

4. The General Staff assists the Ministry of National Defense in researching and guiding drills for preventing, responding to, and mitigating war consequences for central ministries, sectors, and organizations; and organize experimental drills to draw lessons.

Chapter V

ACTIVITIES FOR PREVENTION, RESPONSE, AND MITIGATION OF WAR CONSEQUENCES

Article 12. Plan Development

1. Plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war must be included in the civil defense plans of ministries, sectors, and localities and must be developed during peacetime; they should be updated annually and periodically to align with socio-economic development and national defense tasks. Central ministries, sectoral agencies, People's Committees at all levels, military units shall develop their own plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war while directing subordinate agencies, localities, and units to develop such plans.

2. When developing plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war, the following key contents should be focused on: objectives, requirements, tasks, principles, methods; measures for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war, utilization of forces; anticipation and handling of certain scenarios; leadership, direction, command organization; support work.

3. The General Staff stipulates the approval process for plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war by military agencies and self-defense forces.

4. The Chairperson of the Provincial People's Committee and the Chairperson of the District People's Committee approve plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war of their respective sectors.

5. The Chairperson of the Commune People's Committee drafts plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war of their level and submits them to the Chairperson of the District People's Committee for approval.

6. Heads of central ministries and sectors approve plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war of subordinate agencies and units and coordinate with the Provincial People's Committee to guide agencies under their management to develop plans.

7. The Standing Office of Civil Defense of the Ministry of National Defense guides ministries, sectors, localities, military agencies, and self-defense forces in developing plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war.

Article 13. Situation Awareness and Reporting

1. The Standing Offices of Civil Defense of central ministries, sectors, military regions, and localities assist heads of central ministries, sectors, military region commanders, and chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels in organizing forces; equipping materials, means, and defining contents, methods, and reporting systems related to tasks of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war according to guidelines from the Standing Office of Civil Defense of the Ministry of National Defense.

2. Upon transitioning to a state of war or a state of emergency in national defense, heads of ministries, sectors, military region commanders, and chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels must direct the organization of forces, equipping materials, and means to grasp and report situations according to guidelines from the Standing Office of Civil Defense of the Ministry of National Defense.

Article 14. Mobilization of Forces and Means

1. The Ministry of National Defense decides on mobilizing military forces and self-defense forces, various types of materials, equipment, and means under its management, and personnel, materials, and means as prescribed in Article 35 of the Law on National Defense and the authority to mobilize self-defense forces as stipulated in Article 44 of the Law on Self-Defense Forces to carry out tasks of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war.

2. The Chairperson of People's Committees at all levels decides on mobilizing forces of departments, mass organizations, and the people, various types of materials, equipment, and means of the locality within their authority to carry out tasks of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war.

3. Heads of central ministries and sectors decide on mobilizing forces and various types of materials, equipment, and means to carry out tasks of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war within their jurisdiction and areas of responsibility.

4. The Chairperson of People's Committees at all levels organizes coordination among subordinate forces and supporting forces to unify the plan for using forces, prepare necessary materials, equipment, and means to carry out tasks of preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of war in their respective areas.

Article 15. Command Mechanism

1. When performing tasks to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war at localities, commanders of main force units under the Ministry of National Defense and military regions directly command forces under their jurisdiction under the guidance of superiors and in coordination with local military agencies at all levels.

2. The heads of provincial, district-level military agencies, and village militia battalions directly command forces under their jurisdiction under the direction of the Chairpersons of People's Committees at the same level. The heads of militia battalions of agencies and grassroots organizations directly command self-defense forces under the direction of the heads of those agencies and organizations and in accordance with the authority to mobilize the Self-Defense Militia as stipulated in Article 44 of the Law on Self-Defense Militia to perform tasks to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war.

3. The organization of command for forces to perform tasks to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of war by central ministries and sectors shall be regulated by the heads of those ministries and sectors.

Article 16. Activities of Civil Defense Forces during War

1. When the enemy launches fire attacks using conventional weapons

a) Timely detect the enemy's intention and methods of launching fire attacks using conventional weapons. Commanders of military agencies and units and local military agencies at all levels coordinate with information and communication agencies to quickly inform and alert relevant agencies, localities, units, and people in the area;

b) Military agencies and units and self-defense militia forces organize defense to preserve their strength, counterattack the enemy from various directions, and protect assigned targets;

c) The permanent civil defense agencies at all levels direct the implementation of measures to avoid danger, evacuate cadres, workers, and people; organize rescue, demolition clearance, and mitigation of enemy attack consequences, restore production, ensure living conditions for the people, and maintain all social activities.

2. When the enemy uses large-scale destructive weapons

a) The observation, notification, and alarm systems at all levels promptly detect the enemy's intention and methods of using large-scale destructive weapons, coordinating with the national and regional warning and alarm systems to quickly inform relevant agencies and local units;

b) Military agencies and units and self-defense militia forces organize counterattacks and apply measures to mitigate and neutralize the enemy's large-scale destructive weapons;

c) The permanent civil defense agencies at all levels direct the organization of measures to avoid danger and evacuate people from dangerous areas; guide the people on how to prevent and combat the enemy's large-scale destructive weapons; organize rescue forces for those poisoned or irradiated, mitigate environmental consequences, and quickly restore production and all social activities.

Chapter VI

SYSTEM OF INTERIM ASSESSMENTS, COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARIES, REPORTS, INSPECTIONS, AND AUDITS ON CIVIL DEFENSE

Article 17. Interim Assessments and Comprehensive Summaries of Civil Defense Tasks Implementation

1. Interim assessments and comprehensive summaries on civil defense are conducted at all levels, carried out by the heads of military units, leaders of central agencies and organizations, and Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels.

2. Every six months and annually, the leaders of central agencies and organizations, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, and commanders of military units must evaluate the results of civil defense tasks implementation in their respective fields. Interim assessments and comprehensive summaries on civil defense are linked to interim assessments and comprehensive summaries of other work aspects of agencies, localities, and units.

3. The organization of interim assessments and comprehensive summaries of civil defense task implementation periods by ministries, sectors, localities, military units, and self-defense militia forces shall be directed by the heads of central ministries and sectors and Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels. The contents of interim assessments and comprehensive summaries include: Evaluation of related situations, strengths, weaknesses, and causes, drawing lessons learned in leadership, guidance, and implementation of civil defense tasks; directions, contents, and measures for leadership, guidance, and implementation of civil defense tasks in the future; proposals for policies and measures regarding civil defense.

Article 18. Reporting System

1. Military units compile the situation and results of civil defense task implementation into a separate section in regular reports according to the current reporting system of the Minister of National Defense.

2. People's Committees at all levels direct local military agencies at the same level to compile the situation and results of civil defense task implementation integrated into the content of reports on the results of national defense, self-defense militia, and national defense education and security education work as stipulated in Chapter II of Decision No. 38/2005/QĐ-BQP dated April 6, 2005, issued by the Minister of National Defense on the issuance of regulations on briefing, reporting, inspection, interim assessment, and comprehensive summary of national defense, self-defense militia, and national defense education work.

3. Central ministries and sectors stipulate the contents and reporting system for the situation and results of civil defense task implementation within their respective fields.

Article 19. Inspection System

1. Annually, the Standing Office for Civil Defense under the Ministry of National Defense shall develop plans and organize inspections of the implementation of civil defense tasks by military agencies and units and civilian self-defense forces; Military Command Committees at central-level agencies and organizations and local-level military agencies at all levels shall assist heads of ministries, sectors, and People's Committee Chairpersons at all levels in developing plans and organizing inspections of the implementation of civil defense tasks by subordinate agencies and units.

2. The inspection system includes: Regular inspections (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually); ad hoc inspections carried out according to urgent requirements or tasks from leaders and commanders at various levels or superior business agencies.

3. Content of inspections: The dissemination and implementation of Party policies and State guidelines and the issuance of leadership, guidance, and directive documents; results of task implementation; compliance with reporting systems on situations, inspections, interim reviews, final summaries of task implementation, and financial support, regulations, and policies related to civil defense.

Article 20. Audit System

Audits of civil defense task implementation by ministries, sectors, localities, military agencies, and civilian self-defense forces shall be conducted in accordance with the Law on Auditing and implementing directives.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 21. Organization of Implementation

1. Organize the dissemination and study of Government Decree No. 117/2008/ND-CP and other implementing directives for agencies and units within the military and civilian self-defense forces to enhance awareness and responsibility in effectively implementing Government Decree No. 117/2008/ND-CP. Promote extensive publicity through various forms on central and local mass media systems.

2. Central ministries and sectors, People's Committee Chairpersons at all levels, and commanders of military agencies and civilian self-defense forces shall direct the development of plans for preventing, combating, and mitigating war consequences at their respective levels, lead and organize the implementation of civil defense tasks, and coordinate closely among forces to handle civil defense situations effectively according to assigned fields.

3. Heads of central ministries and sectors, People's Committee Chairpersons at all levels, and chiefs of military agencies and civilian self-defense forces shall organize the establishment of model implementations of civil defense tasks at each level, drawing lessons to guide widespread implementation across all civil defense forces.

Article 22. Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signature; previous documents conflicting with this Circular are abolished.

Article 23. Implementation Responsibility

Commanders of agencies and units within the military; heads of central ministries and sectors and relevant local agencies shall implement.

During implementation, if there are difficulties, agencies, units, and localities shall promptly report to the Ministry of National Defense for consideration and resolution./.