Vietnam promotes rights of people with disabilities

Vietnam regards equality and non-discrimination as the fundamental principles of ensuring the rights of all people, including those with disabilities.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), made the statement at the 11th session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in New York on June 13.

She highlighted Vietnam’s efforts in promoting the participation of people with disabilities in society, including the establishment of independent living support centres for people with disabilities and incentives encouraging organisations to provide financial and technical support for vocational training, education and job generation for disabled people.

She welcomed the theme of this year’s session, “Leaving no one behind through the full implementation of the CRPD”.

The topic illustrates the close relations between the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 and the CRPD, looking towards building a better future for all people, she added.

The CRPD is one of the most widely-ratified international human rights treaties, with 177 ratifications, since its adoption in 2006. The convention protects the rights of some 1.5 billion people worldwide.

The 11th session, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from June 12-14, featured themes such as national fiscal space, public-private partnerships and international cooperation for strengthening the implementation of the CRPD, women and girls with disabilities and political participation and equal recognition before the law.

Nine new members of the CRPD for 2019-2022 were elected at the event, including Lithuania, Nigeria, Australia, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, Ghana, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico.