New York(VNA) – The promotion and protection of rights of persons with disabilities isalways high on Vietnam’s agenda, said Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, permanent representative of Vietnam at the United Nations(UN), in New York, the United States, on June 13.

She made thestatement at the 10th session of the Conference of States Parties tothe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) with over 500 delegates from member states ofthe convention and organizations for people with disabilities worldwide inattendance.

This year, it is themed “The Second Decade of the CRPD: Inclusionand full participation of persons with disabilities and their representativeorganizations in the implementation of the Convention”.

Speaking at the conference, Nga said“the international community has made significant results in promoting employment,education, full and equal participation of persons with disabilities” since theconvention was adopted more than a decade ago.

She urged the worldto do more in the second decade of the convention, especially for those who arestill living in poverty, inequality, discrimination, limited accessibility andsocial protection.

“We have anexcellent opportunity now when the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmentare very much complementing each other. Our job is to turn these internationalframeworks into synergetic and coherent actions to achieve an inclusive andsustainable society that ensures, promotes, and upholds the rights of allpersons with disabilities”, the ambassador added.

Nga cited the factthat Vietnam is among countries with high disability prevalence with 7.2million persons living with one or more disabilities or about 8 percent of thepopulation.

The country has putin place legal, regulatory and policy frameworks to promote and protect therights of people with disabilities as the Law on Persons with Disabilitiesapplies 25 of 30 articles of the CRPD, the ambassador noted.

“Vietnam promotesthe full participation of persons with disabilities which is essential not onlyfor themselves but also to help develop disability-sensitive legislations andstrategies. Disability associations and organizations in Vietnam are increasingin number and actively engaging in disability policy development andimplementation. Persons with disabilities are able to access free legal serviceto better protect their rights. We also encourage the multi-stakeholder approachto explore and mobilize the potential of the society in assisting persons withdisabilities”, she said.

Nga also thanked UN agencies, development partners and many organizations andindividuals for the support extended to persons with disabilities in Vietnam,and look forward to their continued assistance.

Underway at the UNheadquarters in New York from June 13-15, theconference aims to address the impact of multiple discrimination on persons with disabilities and promoting theirparticipation and multi-stakeholder partnerships for achieving the SDGs in linewith the CRPD; Inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities inhumanitarian action; and Promoting inclusive urban development and implementationof the New Urban Agenda.-VNA