(VOVworld) – A forum on women, peace, and development opened in Hanoi on Tuesday. President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan said Vietnam has instituted many policies to ensure women’s rights and gender equality.

Vietnam is an active member of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Vietnam is committed to implementing UN millennium development goals regarding women.

Mr. Nhan said that Vietnamese women’s role in society has improved significantly: “From 2006 to 2014 more than 800 female professors and associate professors were recognized. Women hold important positions in many Vietnamese agencies. 24.4% of National Assembly deputies are women and the rate in provincial People’s Councils is 25.1%.”