Source: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_vn_rule136
Timestamp: 2019-08-24 08:15:44
Document Index: 710924332

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 16', '§ 40', '§ 35', 'art. 12', '§ 241']

Viet Nam’s Ordinance on the Militia and Defence Force (2004) states that no person under the age of 18 years shall be liable for military service in the militia or self-defence force.
Viet Nam, Ordinance on the Militia and Defence Force, 2004, § 2.1.
In 2005, in its initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, Viet Nam referred to certain relevant provisions in its Law on Military Service (1981):
Article 12: “Male citizens having reached the age of eighteen can enlist in the armed forces; the recruitment age ranges from eighteen to twenty-seven years old.”
Article 13: “Male citizens turning seventeen and having the desire to serve long-term in the military, who have obtained the qualifications offered by the Minister of National Defense, may be accepted into military schools and be recognized as servicemen on active service.”
Article 20: “Every year, male citizens turning seventeen enlisted by the Military Commander in Chief of the district, small town or city under the authority of the province have to register for military service at the military office.”
Viet Nam, Initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/VNM/1, 12 December 2005, submitted 8 November 2005, §§ 16, 20 and 41.
Viet Nam further stated: “The right of children under eighteen not to join the armed forces or be … recruited as mercenaries is strictly enforced.”
Viet Nam, Initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/VNM/1, 12 December 2005, submitted 8 November 2005, § 40.
In 2009, in its combined third and fourth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Viet Nam stated: “The Law on Military Service[] [of] 2005 continues to regulate conscription of male citizens of full 18 years of age, as well as regulate measures to ensure no participation below 18 years of age [of] people in the armed forces.”
Viet Nam, Third and fourth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 25 November 2011, UN Doc. CRC/C/VNM/3-4, submitted 3 August 2009, § 35(a).
Viet Nam also stated:
2. Children in armed conflicts …
241. The Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Military Service [of] 2005 sets forth specific regulations on calling upon men aged between 18 and 25 for military service (art. 12). The revised Ordinance on Civil Defence [of] 2004 stipulates the obligations to participate in civil defence forces by men and women aged between 18 and 45 and aged between 18 and 40, respectively. …
242. Viet Nam only calls for male citizens who have reached full 18 years of age to perform military service. The age for military service is calculated according to year with full 12 months in order to avoid using individuals with adequate years but without adequate number of months. Besides the requirement of age, male citizens should satisfy health requirements in order to be qualified for military service. Conscription is carried out annually. Before enlisting in the army, male citizens who have attained full 17 years of age must register with local recruiting commands for military service and have health checks when they reach full 18 years of age. The documents for military service examination include a personal résumé certified by the local authority, a birth certificate to ensure their identity and age, and a health certificate is for the clarification of their health status before joining up. The consideration of military service requirements are conducted by councils on military service from districts to provincial levels.
243. … Vietnamese children enjoy a peaceful life and they have not been enlisted in any armed forces.
Viet Nam, Third and fourth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 25 November 2011, UN Doc. CRC/C/VNM/3-4, submitted 3 August 2009, §§ 241–243.