HANOI, October 9, 2014 -- I know that everyone is this room agrees that the rights of persons with disabilities is a subject on which all Vietnamese should and can be united. I am therefore honored to represent the United States Agency for International Development — USAID — and its implementing partner VNAH in support of this important national workshop on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The CRPD is the first global comprehensive international instrument that protects and advances the rights of persons with disabilities, and it represents an important opportunity for Vietnam to express a united commitment to rights as it completes its first year as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. That opportunity was highlighted in the visits last spring by Senator Patrick Leahy and Special Advisor for International Disability Rights Judy Heumann, who play important roles in our bilateral cooperation.

The National Assembly, the Government of Vietnam and MOLISA in particular should be recognized for showing leadership on the development of the National Law on Disability and related laws and policies. The effort today is a further example of the commitment of members of the National Assembly, MOLISA and disability rights advocates in the private sector to complete a legal framework to CRPD standards and advance the inclusion of Vietnamese with disabilities.

We look forward to seeing the National Coordinating Committee on Disabilities – the NCCD – to become more effective across ministries as the CRPD is ratified and Vietnam’s focus is on implementation. This is a critical point, because we all recognize that legislation and legal framework for persons with disabilities is ahead of implementation and enforcement. While there are still challenges in ensuring that an independent monitoring mechanism would be in place for all ministries to make the CRPD an actionable reality, measures taken by the Prime Minister’s Office in this direction will certainly be headed in the right direction.

The US Government is pleased to support the GVN in these efforts. Since 1989, the U.S. has engaged in diplomacy and provided over $64 million in assistance to people with disabilities, regardless of cause, through a variety of agencies and programs. USAID's own efforts to expand opportunities for vulnerable populations tie into our five-year strategy aimed at greater inclusion and partnership. We believe that a mix of assistance directed at policy and services is USAID’s best way of supporting inclusiveness in Vietnam.

Working with implementing partners such as VNAH, we worked with you on the National Law on Disability and various decrees and circulars guiding the implementation of the Law, along with the Accessibility Codes and Standards for public transportation, public construction, and access to information. We agree on a rights-based approach to expanding opportunities for persons with disabilities, and we know that partnerships with the private sector, such as through the outstanding model established by the Blue Ribbon Employer Council, are important to the success of that approach.

With ratification of the CRPD, Vietnam would make an important step forward on social integration and economic independence for persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society that is inclusive for all. Ratification in the coming session of the National Assembly would coincide with the end of Vietnam’s first of three years on the Human Rights Council and December’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It would also set the stage for Vietnam to actively participate in the UN’s current efforts to set a disability-inclusive post-2015 development agenda.

Thank you again for your participation today, and for this opportunity to share some thoughts from the U.S. perspective. I am confident that with government leadership and partnership among other stakeholders, including the United States, Vietnam will be successful in advancing the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities in Vietnam. Thank you and we wish you all good health and success!