Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi attended the meeting to protect the Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

At 3:00 p.m. on March 6, 2025, Geneva time, Switzerland, at the headquarters of the United Nations, the 764th meeting of the Committee on Persons with Disabilities held a Protection Session on the Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Vietnam. The Protection Session was broadcast live globally on UN web TV 1. Attending the Protection Session in person, the Inter-sectoral Working Group led by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi discussed and answered the contents raised by the Expert Committee, requesting further clarification.

Also attending the defense session were Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam in Geneva, and members representing the Government Office , Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs and Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee.

Speaking at the opening session of the defense, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi said that the Party and State of Vietnam pay great attention to the work of people with disabilities, and have issued a system of support policies to create opportunities, encourage and facilitate people with disabilities to exercise their political , economic, cultural and social rights equally and to promote their abilities to stabilize their lives and integrate into the community, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of which Vietnam is a member.

The interdisciplinary working group was led by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi ( far right ).

Realizing the Constitution and international commitments, the National Assembly of Vietnam has promulgated the 2010 Law on Persons with Disabilities and the Labor Code, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, the Law on Health Insurance, the Law on Education, the Law on Vocational Education, the Law on Construction, the Law on Road Traffic, the Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order, the Law on Legal Aid, stipulating specific policies to support persons with disabilities. The Central Party Secretariat has issued a Directive to strengthen the Party's leadership in supporting persons with disabilities. The Government has issued and implemented many programs and policies to protect, care for, and assist people with disabilities to integrate into the community (Poverty Reduction Program, Socio-Economic Development Program for Ethnic Minority Areas, Program to Support People with Disabilities, CRPD Implementation Plan), ensuring full and comprehensive implementation of human rights and the rights of people with disabilities in all fields, in particular ensuring the implementation of political, economic, cultural, and social security rights; ensuring that children with disabilities can go to school, people with disabilities can learn a trade, get jobs, have livelihoods, receive preferential loans, and receive housing, health care, access to information, and transportation. The Government of Vietnam has established the National Committee for People with Disabilities in Vietnam to assist the Prime Minister in directing the resolution of issues related to work for people with disabilities.

Thereby, Vietnam is recognized by the international community as a bright spot in poverty reduction and achieving sustainable development goals, the multidimensional poverty reduction rate has rapidly decreased from 60% in the 1990s to 13.5% in 2014, and to about 5% by 2023; the social security system has continuously expanded its coverage and improved the quality of policies for people with disabilities: over 1.6 million people with severe disabilities receive monthly social benefits, 96% of people with disabilities have health insurance cards, central, provincial and district general hospitals all have rehabilitation departments; children with disabilities are supported to study in integrated education facilities; children who are not able to study in integrated education are supported to study in specialized educational facilities.

Scene of the Session to defend the Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Vietnam has also unified sign language and Braille nationwide. The entire workforce of people with disabilities (nearly 4 million people with disabilities) is supported with vocational training, job creation, livelihoods or loans with preferential interest rates to create jobs. People with disabilities are exempted or have reduced ticket prices when participating in traffic, entering entertainment areas, cultural works and historical relics. Vietnam always participates responsibly and makes active contributions at the Human Rights Council, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the UNESCO Executive Board and other forums related to human rights of the United Nations. Vietnam has also actively contributed to discussions at regional and inter-regional forums, promoting multilateral and bilateral cooperation on people with disabilities, especially with many initiatives in developing and implementing the Regional Action Plan on Human Rights, promoting and protecting the rights of people with disabilities, women and children, and preventing and combating human trafficking. Despite achievements in implementing the rights of people with disabilities, Vietnam is still a low-income country, so the work of assisting people with disabilities still has many difficulties in health care, employment, access to construction works, transportation, sports, culture; people with disabilities still have difficulty competing in the labor market.

On this occasion, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi expressed his hope that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and international organizations and UN member countries would continue to support the Vietnamese Government in the process of implementing the Convention, providing resources and technical assistance in resolving issues of persons with disabilities; sharing initiatives and good lessons for Vietnam in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, so that no person with disabilities is left behind in the process of economic and social development of the country.

Source: https://moha.gov.vn/tintuc/Pages/danh-sach-tin-noi-bat.aspx?ItemID=56929