Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to protecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities (PwD) when he attended the 18th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP18) held from June 10-12 at the UN headquarters in New York.

Nguyen said that the commitment was demonstrated through its promulgated policies and legal documents, including the 2010 Law on Persons with Disabilities and the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2014.

Sharing Vietnam’s efforts and achievements in this field, he emphasised that the country has provided monthly social allowances to more than 1.6 million PwDs and 96% of PwDs in the country have health insurance.

Vietnam has also expanded inclusive and specialised education with the rate of children with disabilities attending school reaching 65%, standardising sign language and Braille nationwide; and created conditions for 4 million PwDs to participate in the workforce through vocational training and employment support programmes.

Emphasising the importance of international cooperation in this field, Nguyen said that Vietnam is ready to cooperate with all countries and relevant organisations to further ensure the rights of PwDs, towards a fair, self-reliant, inclusive society where no one is left behind.

Themed “Enhancing public awareness of the rights and contributions of persons with disabilities for social development leading up to the World Social Summit”, COSP18 was attended by ministers and deputy ministers of member countries, along with representatives of international organisations and non-governmental organisations.

In her opening speech, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed affirmed that promoting equality and expanding opportunities for PwDs is always a high priority on the UN agenda. Despite this, PwDs around the world continue to face many difficulties and inequalities in access to education, employment, health and technology. All indicators related to PwDs in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are behind schedule.

During the discussion, countries affirmed that the CRPD is an extremely important document, laying the foundation for global cooperation to ensure the rights of people with disabilities. They also emphasised that the second world summit for social development is an opportunity to further strengthen international cooperation in this area.

VN delivers report at session on Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

A Vietnamese inter-agency delegation led by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi attended a session for defending reports on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at the UN headquarters in Geneva on March 6.