Ministry halts issuing IDs with parent’s names
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 09:30 GMT+7
The Ministry of Public Security announced on August 21 that they will halt the implementation of the circular regarding adding parental information on new identity cards (IDs), which was set to be piloted in Hanoi next month before being applied nationwide by 2016.
The new form of IDs has recently stirred controversy as a senior justice official voiced opposition to the plan, an opinion that was later rejected by a high-ranking police officer.
Violates children’s rights
Le Hong Son, head of the Department of Examination of Legal Normative Documents under the Ministry of Justice, says putting parental information on new ID cards will go against child protection regulations which are stipulated in the International Convention on the Rights of Children, to which Vietnam has signed.
Article 16 of the convention says: “No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honor and reputation. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
Son said Vietnam has to comply with this article in protecting the rights of children, as item No. 2 of Article no. 759 of the Vietnamese civil code specifies: “In cases where a treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded contains provisions different from the provisions of this Code, the provisions of such treaty shall apply.”
Le Hong Son, head of the Department of Examination of Legal Normative Documents under the Ministry of Justice.
Additionally, the civil code says an individual’s right to personal secrets shall be respected and protected by law.
Son also voiced his concerns about the rationality of the decision, saying certain special cases in which a citizen is conceived by artificial insemination or raised by a single mother will annoy the cardholders.
The justice official also disagreed with the idea that displaying the names of parents will make identification of people easier.
Though Son acknowledged that the decision will facilitate administrative management, he still worries that it would bring about some counter effects.
For citizens who are born to highly-respected parents, IDs with their parent’s names would be very helpful for them; however, people born to parents who are involved in criminal offences or scandals will suffer negative effects from this change, Son said.
After expressing the aforementioned view-points, Son suggested that the government should consider removing regulations regarding putting parent’s names on new ID cards.
More convenient, police officer says
Major General Tran Van Ve
In disagreeing with Le Hong Son, Major General Tran Van Ve, vice head of the Department for Social Order-related Administrative Management under the Ministry of Public Security, claimed the new form of IDs does not violate human rights.
He added that identity cards with parent’s names included are necessary for various activities of civil life such as opening a bank account, paying taxes, or applying for a job.
According to the major general, if cardholders are illegitimate or adopted children or born by artificial insemination, parent’s names would not be displayed on their IDs to ensure their personal confidentiality.
Ve said the new type of IDs would bring considerable benefits to social management because the Ministry of Finance, General Directorate of Tax, and other state agencies would be able to take information on new IDs to serve their own activities.
The new form of IDs will be piloted in three districts in Hanoi this September, and the project of issuing 24 million new IDs to citizens will cost the state budget about VND400 billion, he said.
“Once we receive enough funds, it will take 5 to 10 years to issue or grant new IDs to citizens,” Ve told Tuoi Tre.
He said that identity cards with parent’s names included are widely used around the world, adding the decree was issued in accordance with standing laws.
The Ministry of Public Security had consulted police departments in provinces and cities nationwide to ask for their thoughts before the issuance of the decree, he said.
The suggestions were later submitted to the Ministry of Justice for assessment before being proposed to the government for approval, the general added.
Under decree No. 170/2007/NĐ-CP of Public Security, new ID cards will be managed through a national database, which will help improve management of citizens, avoiding the current situation in which a person may have, by oversight, two or three ID cards.
The database will also eliminate complications such as multiple people having the same ID number. Besides basic information about the cardholder, which is already present on the current ID cards, the new kind of card will also include information about the parents of card holders.
Each new card will have a 2D bar code that stores personal identification details, including fingerprints. When an ID card with a bar code is exposed to a card-reading machine, all information stored in the bar code will be displayed on a screen.
When granting new ID cards to citizens, concerned agencies will withdraw their old ones and give them a certificate bearing their old ID numbers so that they can use them in resolving issues that are still related to the old numbers.
Procedures for obtaining a new ID card are very simple, since all necessary steps, including recording personal details, taking photographs of card applicants, and taking fingerprint samples, will be carried out automatically by special equipment, a local official said.
The fee for a new ID card is VND20,000-30,000 (US$1.44). In case a card must be re-granted, the fee will be VND60,000-70,000.
