The National Assembly agrees to establish a Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund.

On the afternoon of November 23rd, with 86.22% of delegates voting in favor, the Law on Cultural Heritage (amended) was officially passed by the National Assembly .

The fund only provides financial support for a select number of key, priority activities.

Speaking at the session, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh stated that today is Vietnam Heritage Day. The National Assembly's vote to pass the Law on Cultural Heritage demonstrates the National Assembly's special attention to protecting, preserving, and transmitting the cultural values ​​of the nation.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh delivered a speech at the session.

Earlier, the National Assembly heard the Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education , Nguyen Dac Vinh, present a summary report on the acceptance, explanation, and revision of the draft Law on Cultural Heritage (amended).

Reporting on the establishment of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund, the Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education, Nguyen Dac Vinh, stated that there was agreement among several opinions to mobilize resources to support activities aimed at protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage.

Some have suggested reconsidering the establishment of a Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund. Others have suggested allowing religious organizations to establish such funds.

According to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, cultural heritage is a valuable asset of the community of ethnic groups.

Over the years, the State has paid attention to, allocated budgets for, and mobilized resources to protect and promote the value of cultural heritage; however, the results are still limited and have not met the requirements.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, Nguyen Dac Vinh, presented a summary report on the feedback and explanations received.

Based on political, legal, and practical grounds, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly agreed with the Government's proposal to establish a Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund, which was unanimously approved by the majority of National Assembly deputies.

The establishment of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund is necessary, creating a mechanism to mobilize additional social resources to support truly essential and specific activities in cultural heritage preservation that the state budget cannot yet cover, such as: protecting intangible cultural heritage at risk of disappearing or being lost; purchasing and bringing back artifacts, antiques, national treasures, documentary heritage, and rare documents on intangible cultural heritage of Vietnamese origin from abroad...

The Fund's financial resources are derived from aid, grants, support, and donations from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, as well as other legitimate financial sources; the State budget does not provide funding for the Fund's activities.

To ensure suitability with the conditions of provinces and centrally-administered cities, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly directed a review, revision, and improvement of the Fund, aiming to provide financial support only for a number of key and priority activities.

At the same time, the regulations were revised to stipulate that the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, based on the actual situation regarding requirements, ability to mobilize resources, effectiveness, and feasibility, shall consider and decide whether or not to establish a Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund in the locality.

Decentralization of authority for managing and protecting heritage

After amendments and revisions, the Law on Cultural Heritage, recently passed by the National Assembly, comprises 9 chapters and 95 articles, an increase of 2 chapters and 22 articles compared to the current law (7 chapters, 73 articles).

The Law on Cultural Heritage has many fundamental new points, and at the same time, it refines the prohibited acts to ensure greater accuracy and completeness, serving as a basis for guiding implementation, inspection, and handling violations in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values.

The delegates pressed the button to approve it.

The law also regulates the management of relics, antiques, and national treasures; the handling of discovered and surrendered relics and antiques; and regulations on the purchase and repatriation of relics and antiques of Vietnamese origin from abroad...

The management, protection, and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​are also decentralized and delegated in the law.

Specifically, the regulations stipulate the authority for ranking, supplementary ranking, and revocation of ranking decisions for historical relics as follows: The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides for provincial-level relics; the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism decides for national relics; and the Prime Minister decides for special national relics.

The regulations stipulate that the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee is responsible for organizing or authorizing the head of the provincial-level specialized agency on culture or the Chairman of the District People's Committee to mark the boundaries of the protected area for historical relics...

In addition, the Law on Cultural Heritage emphasizes the completion of the legal framework for the use and exploitation of cultural heritage, the construction of a national database on cultural heritage, digital transformation, and the socialization of the field of protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage.

The Law on Cultural Heritage will come into effect on July 1, 2025.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/quoc-hoi-dong-y-lap-quy-bao-ton-di-san-van-hoa-192241123153841703.htm