3rd Asia Partnership Forum on Legal Empowerment

On August 27 in Hanoi, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, in collaboration with the Vietnam Lawyers Association, organized the 3rd annual meeting of the “Asian Partnership Forum on Legal Empowerment” with the participation of practitioners in the field of legal empowerment, government representatives and civil society organizations from 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Poor people struggle to make a living

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov, Acting Country Director of UNDP in Vietnam, said that UNDP has identified four pillars, including access to justice and the rule of law, labor rights, property rights and business rights - important factors that govern the livelihoods of the poor and need to be recognized for the human development of the poor and vulnerable. The legal empowerment program for the poor can break the vicious cycle by using the law as a shield to protect their livelihoods and businesses.

Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov emphasized that in order to effectively implement the above work and recommendations, the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor has proposed regional initiatives for the development of legal empowerment programs. Specifically, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, adopted in December 2008, also emphasized the importance of sharing best national implementation experiences.

At the conference, delegates focused on discussing issues of legal empowerment and methods and measures to implement economic and political rights, promoting achievements in implementing the Millennium Development Goals; achievements in legal empowerment, challenges in the context of Vietnam, expanding the inter-regional forum on challenges and achievements in supporting legal empowerment activities in other Asian countries and exchanging typical practices and initiatives in legal empowerment.

Discussing the issue of land and legal empowerment and experiences in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Cham from the Institute of Cultural Studies and Mr. Huynh Xuan Phong, Director of the Legal Consulting Center of Lam Dong Province, said that the right to access land is the basis for the implementation of a series of human freedoms and capabilities and that much of the life of Asian people depends on it. In some cases, economic development can push the poor into more difficult situations. Cases of land acquisition, land transfer and environmental pollution can lead to displacement or damage if there are no appropriate resettlement and compensation measures.

Discussing the awareness raising approach to legal empowerment, Mr. Nicholas Booth, Policy Advisor on Rule of Law and Access to Justice, UNDP Vietnam emphasized that in essence, legal empowerment for the poor is a practical concept that uses power to integrate separate legal status into a comprehensive legal system for the benefit of all. Therefore, the 3rd conference also introduced the efforts of civil society organizations in working with state agencies to support the poor to protect their rights, assets and livelihoods, and shared national initiatives to support the work of the government and civil society in the field of legal empowerment.

On this occasion, UNDP released the publication “Ways and Measures” introducing concepts and recommending specific measures in consolidating achievements related to economic and social rights mentioned in the Millennium Development Goals./.

According to (vietnamplus)-TN