Decision No. 28/2023/QĐ-TTg amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg dated March 6, 2018 of the Government on criteria for selecting and recognizing persons of trust and policies for persons of trust among ethnic minority communities.

Pursuant to …;

Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg
dated March 6, 2018 of the Government Chairman
on criteria for selecting and recognizing persons of influence and policies
for persons of influence among ethnic minority communities

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 Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on ethnic affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 66/2022/NĐ-CP dated September 20, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the National Ethnic Minorities Committee;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 185/NQ-CP dated November 7, 2023 of the Government on the regular meeting of the Government in October 2023;

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

The Government Chairman promulgates this Decision amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg dated March 6, 2018 of the Government Chairman on criteria for selecting and recognizing persons of influence and policies for persons of influence among ethnic minority communities.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg dated March 6, 2018 of the Government Chairman on criteria for selecting and recognizing persons of influence and policies for persons of influence among ethnic minority communities (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg)

1. Amending Point d Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 4 as follows:

"1. Criteria for selecting persons of influence

d) Possess the ability to disseminate information, mobilize, grasp, and handle information, and gather and unite ethnic minority communities within a certain scope through speech, actions, and behavior; be trusted and believed by the people in the community, listened to, and followed.

2. Selection targets

Are Vietnamese citizens residing in villages as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 1 of this Decision and meet the criteria specified in Clause 1 Article 4 of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended in Clause 1 Article 1 of this Decision)."

2. Amending Clause 3 Article 4 as follows:

"3. Conditions, number of selections, and recognitions of persons of influence

a) Each village in ethnic minority and mountainous areas or village of communes, wards, towns (hereinafter collectively referred to as commune) in ethnic minority and mountainous areas shall select and recognize one person of influence;

b) In cases where new villages are established due to the merger of villages as prescribed in Point a Clause 3 of this Article from the date this Decision takes effect, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level shall examine and decide on the number of persons of influence to be selected and recognized but not exceeding the total number of villages merged."

3. Amending Points b and c Clause 1 Article 5 as follows:

"1. Providing information

b) Persons of influence shall be provided with (without charge):

- One publication of a news agency under a state management agency operating in the field of ethnic affairs and ethnic work (one copy/person/issue/month), ensuring conditions for the purpose and objectives of information dissemination and propaganda on ethnic affairs and ethnic policies, having the capacity and experience in publishing and distributing newspapers for persons of influence;

- One local publication (one copy/person/issue) or other forms of information provision chosen by the locality.

c) Annually, persons of influence shall be trained, enhanced, and provided with information in appropriate forms decided by the locality regarding laws, national defense, security; information and basic knowledge on ethnic affairs and ethnic policies; knowledge and skills in exploiting, using, and handling information on the Internet and social networks, and skills in mediation, propaganda, and mobilizing the masses."

4. Abolishing Point d Clause 1 Article 5.

5. Amending Points a, b, and c Clause 2 Article 5 as follows:

"2. Material support and spiritual encouragement

a) Visiting and presenting gifts during Tet Lunar New Year, Tet, or traditional festivals of ethnic minorities in the province (collectively referred to as province) chosen by the locality. The maximum expenditure value is 500,000 VND/person/time and not more than two times/year;

b) When persons of influence are sick and hospitalized, with confirmation from a state medical examination and treatment facility, they will be visited and supported not more than once/person/year. The maximum expenditure value is: 3,000,000 VND/person/year when treated at central-level facilities and equivalent; 1,500,000 VND/person/year when treated at provincial-level facilities and equivalent; 800,000 VND/person/year when treated at district-level facilities and equivalent; 500,000 VND/person/year when treated at commune-level facilities and equivalent;

c) Visiting and supporting households of persons of influence facing sudden difficulties due to accidents, natural disasters, fires confirmed by the commune-level authority where they reside. The maximum expenditure value is 2,000,000 VND/household/year;"

6. Amending and supplementing Clause 3 and Clause 4 Article 5 as follows:

"3. Commending and honoring persons of influence

a) Persons of influence who have outstanding achievements in production and labor, economic and social development, national defense and security, social order and safety, preserving cultural identity, and consolidating the great unity of the people shall be commended and honored according to the Law on Encouragement and Reward and current guiding documents on encouragement and reward;

"5. When Party and State leaders and the Committee for Ethnic Affairs visit and work at localities: People of trust in the locality shall be greeted, congratulated, and presented with gifts not exceeding VND 500,000/person/time/year;慰问、支持金额不超过2,000,000元/次/年，当有信任的人生病、死亡或信任人的家庭因突发事件、自然灾害或火灾而遭遇意外风险时。"

8. Amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

"Article 6. Procedures for recognizing, removing from the list, and replacing and supplementing people of trust

1. Recognition of people of trust

a) The village head organizes a village meeting (with participation of at least two-thirds of households in the village) to disseminate the main contents of policies, criteria, conditions, quantity, and propose a list of candidates for people of trust (according to Model No. 01 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg) to submit to the Head of the Village Mass Organization Work Board;

b) The Head of the Village Mass Organization Work Board organizes a joint meeting (with participation of representatives from the Branch Party Committee, administrative authorities, the Village Mass Organization Work Board, mass organizations, and household representatives in the village), prepares a proposal document along with the minutes of the joint village meeting (according to Model No. 02 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg) to submit to the People's Committee of the commune;

c) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the village's proposal document, the People's Committee of the commune compiles, checks, prepares a proposal document along with the inspection report (according to Model No. 03 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg) to submit to the People's Committee of the district;

d) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the complete proposal documents and inspection reports from communes, the People's Committee of the district compiles, checks, and prepares a dossier (one set including: the proposal document along with the consolidated list of proposed recognition of people of trust according to Model No. 04 attached to this Decision) to seek opinions from the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level; d) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the complete dossiers from districts, the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level takes the lead, coordinates with relevant agencies to inspect, review, and prepare a document to send to the People's Committee of the district.

e) Not later than ten working days from the date of receipt of the unified document from the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district decides on the recognition of people of trust in the district (list according to Model No. 08 attached to this Decision) and reports to the People's Committee of the province (through the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level) the results of implementation for monitoring and guidance.

2. Cases of removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust The removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust are carried out simultaneously and immediately when the following cases occur: Death of a person of trust; violation of laws; failure to meet the criteria stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended and supplemented in Clause 1 of Article 1 of this Decision); loss of civil capacity under the law; having moved to live elsewhere or due to poor health, voluntarily requesting to be removed from the list of people of trust (according to Model No. 05 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg).

3. Procedures for removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust

a) When there is a need to remove from the list and replace and supplement people of trust as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the Head of the Village Mass Organization Work Board agrees with the Branch Party Committee and organizes a joint meeting (with participation of representatives from the Branch Party Committee, administrative authorities, the Village Mass Organization Work Board, mass organizations, and household representatives in the village), prepares a proposal document for removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust (along with the minutes of the joint village meeting according to Model No. 06 and Model No. 02 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg) to submit to the People's Committee of the commune;

b) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the village's proposal document, the People's Committee of the commune inspects, prepares a proposal document along with the inspection report (according to Model No. 07 and Model No. 03 attached to Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg) to submit to the People's Committee of the district;

c) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the complete proposal documents and inspection reports from the commune, the People's Committee of the district inspects, compiles, and prepares a dossier (one set including: the proposal document along with the consolidated list of proposed removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust according to Model No. 09 attached to this Decision), to submit to the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level.

d) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the complete dossiers from the district, the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level inspects, reviews, and prepares a document to send to the People's Committee of the district.

đ) Not later than ten working days from the date of receipt of the unified document from the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district decides on the removal from the list and replacement and supplementation of people of trust (list according to Model No. 10 attached to this Decision), reports to the People's Committee of the province (through the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level) the results of implementation for monitoring and guidance.

3. Annually, provinces shall review and compile the number and list of people of trust, report to the Committee for Ethnic Affairs before December 31 of each year for monitoring and guidance."

9. Amend Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 7 as follows:

"2. Central budget

a) Allocate funds in the annual state budget estimate of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs and related central agencies to implement the contents and tasks assigned in Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended and supplemented in this Decision);"

b) Provide financial support to localities facing difficulties that have not yet achieved budget self-balance under the targeted support mechanism from the central government's budget to the local budget to implement social welfare policies during each period of budget stabilization approved by the competent authority to implement the systems and policies stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 5 of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended and supplemented by this Decision); allocate and balance within the annual budget estimate of provinces and centrally governed cities according to the分级制度，我将继续提供准确的翻译内容，请指示是否需要继续翻译剩余部分。

10. Amend Point b Clause 1, Clause 7, and supplement Point d Clause 1 of Article 8 as follows:

" 1. The National Ethnic Committee shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities:

b) Guide and implement the issuance of newspapers as prescribed in Point b Clause 1 of Article 5 of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended and supplemented by Clause 2 of Article 1 of this Decision) and current regulations, ensuring suitability with practical circumstances and accessibility for beneficiaries; organize training, provide knowledge and skills, supply information and materials suitable for persons of influence and related agencies and units of localities assigned to implement this Decision;

d) Take the lead and coordinate with localities and related agencies and units to organize visits, implement the systems and policies stipulated in Article 5 of Decision No. 12/2018/QĐ-TTg (amended and supplemented by this Decision) and other relevant provisions according to the responsibilities assigned by this Decision. 7. Provinces and centrally governed cities

a) Direct, guide, assign management tasks, and delegate responsibilities to subordinate agencies and units to fully and promptly implement the systems and policies for persons of influence on their respective territories as stipulated in this Decision;

b) Issue mechanisms and policies within their authority to enhance the role of persons of influence in implementing ethnic policies in residential areas in accordance with the socio-economic conditions of the locality;

c) Assign the Ethnic Work Agency at the provincial level as the permanent agency, assisting the provincial People's Committee in managing, supervising, urging, and inspecting the implementation of this Decision; take the lead and coordinate with related agencies of the locality to implement the systems and policies and enhance the role of persons of influence according to assigned tasks; regularly summarize and evaluate the implementation results of the Decision, report to the provincial People's Committee and the National Ethnic Committee as prescribed."

Article 2. Implementation clause

1. This Decision takes effect from January 15, 2024.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities are responsible for enforcing this Decision.