Vietnam has affirmed the country’s commitments to effectively implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at national, regional and global levels towards the target of not leaving anyone behind.

Addressing the 12th session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the CRPD in New York, which took place from June 11-13, Dinh Nho Hung, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Vietnam Mission to the United Nations said that Vietnam has for the first time completed a national survey on persons with disabilities to the international standards.

The survey’s results showing their socio-economic conditions are important foundation for Vietnam to design policies and programmes to remove obstacles facing them, increase their engagement in all social aspects, and improve their living quality.

Hung underscored that Vietnam always gives priority to activities to raise the awareness of State agencies, persons with disabilities and their family members as well as the whole community through training courses, conferences, and media programmes and publications.

Vietnam has chosen April 18 as the Day for Persons with Disabilities, he noted.

At the session, themed "Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in a changing world through the implementation of the CRPD," representatives from countries and organisations shared their experience in realizing the convention, ensuring that disabled people are recognised and respected, and promoting their contributions to the society.

They highlighted the need to making full use of science and technology to make the life of disabled people easier through new inventions to renovate their traveling means, hearing and seeing support devices at affordable cost, thus contributing to coping with challenges facing them in discrimination, inequality and poverty.

Addressing the event, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that disability inclusion is central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda.

He called for CRDP members to continue joining hands together and with UN agencies as well as partners to realise goals of the convention.

He also announced the launching a new UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, “to raise the standards of the UN’s performance on disability inclusion across the board, and action to bring about the unified and transformative change we need”.