Deputy Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Minister Nguyen Trong Dam has told an August 29 conference in Hanoi.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA, the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
It reviewed the progress ASEAN member nations have made on promoting and implementing their commitments to CRPD. Conference attendees witnessed Vietnam’s CRPD roadmap declaration and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the APCD and the MoLISA.
Dam said Vietnam‘s 6.7 million citizens with disabilities accounts for 7.8 percent of its total population and continues to rise. The country has introduced a wide range of initiatives designed to protect its most vulnerable members, expand their social involvement, and fulfill the Millennium Development Goal obligations regarding rights for disabled people.
Dam cited the debut of the Law on Persons with Disabilities and the national project to support persons with disabilities as demonstrating the Government’s commitment to adopting the CRPD.
Vietnam’s disabled citizens still encounter a number of difficulties in everyday life. Insufficient resources limit the effectiveness of social welfare measures.
UNICEF’s Chief Representative in Vietnam Lotta Sylwander noted that out of the 155 signatories to the CRPD, 90 countries have signed the optional protocol, 127 countries have ratified the convention, and 76 countries have adopted and joined the optional protocol.
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