Legal aid skills for people with disabilities

Kỹ năng trợ giúp pháp lý cho người khuyết tật- Ảnh 1. — Scene of the training session

The conference is part of the 2025 Action Plan of the project "Strengthening Legal Aid for the Poor and Vulnerable" funded by the World Bank (WB) from the support of the Japan Social Development Fund and for the State Legal Aid Centers of Lao Cai, Cao Bang, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and Gia Lai provinces.

In her opening speech, Ms. Vu Thi Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Legal Dissemination, Education and Legal Aid, said that the project "Strengthening legal aid for the poor and vulnerable" was developed and implemented in the context of the Party and State promoting judicial and administrative reforms, building a rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people.

To implement project activities, the Minister of Justice has established and assigned the Ministry's specialized Project Management Board to carry out the task of managing project implementation. From 2023 to present, the specialized Project Management Board has coordinated with project implementing units, WB expert team and relevant agencies and organizations to comprehensively implement all 4 components of the project.

Discussing and guiding the participants, Lawyer Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Director of Ngoc Lan Law Firm and his colleagues shared 4 topics including: General issues on vulnerable groups; Some international regulations and Vietnamese laws on vulnerable groups; Legal aid for vulnerable groups and necessary skills for legal aid practitioners when providing legal aid for vulnerable groups.

Within the framework of the program, the trainees actively exchanged and discussed specific situations, especially difficulties, obstacles, unclear issues, and limitations in legal aid activities to share and resolve difficulties and obstacles, contributing to improving the quality of legal aid for people with disabilities.

According to the Summary Report of the National Committee on Persons with Disabilities in Vietnam in 2024, there are about 7-8 million people with disabilities, accounting for 6.11% of the population; about 10% of people with disabilities are from poor and near-poor households.

To facilitate equal access to justice for people, especially those with disabilities, the State Legal Aid System has been established and developed for nearly three decades.

In particular, from 2018 to present, the State Legal Aid Centers and organizations participating in legal aid have carried out 258,225 legal aid cases, including 160,140 litigation cases, the rest are legal advice and non-litigation representation cases. Of which, there are more than 5,500 legal aid cases for people with disabilities.

Legal aid work has contributed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of people, including people with disabilities, improving livelihoods, raising legal awareness, and spreading social responsibility towards disadvantaged groups.

Bich Phuong

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/ky-nang-tro-giup-phap-ly-cho-nguoi-khuet-tat-102251107110007931.htm