A ceremony was held in Hanoi on July 27 to launch activities responding to World Day against Trafficking in Persons, spreading a message that preventing and fighting human trafficking is the responsibility of the whole political system and society, and that human trafficking is a global issue that needs international cooperation to deal with.
Statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that 50% of human trafficking cases served sexual abuse purposes, while 38% of the total victims are forced to work mostly in the sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East regions.
Particularly, COVID-19 is creating an ideal condition for human trafficking activities, as governments are mustering resources to respond to the health crisis, according to experts.
To date, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, adopted in November 2000, is the only globally binding instrument against trafficking in persons.
The ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP) was signed by ASEAN leaders on November 21, 2015 at the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia. Up to now, nine ASEAN member states have ratified the ACTIP. This is the only binding regional convention on trafficking in persons outside of Europe. This document also demonstrates the strong commitment and unprecedented joint determination of the member states in the fight against trafficking in persons.
In Vietnam, the Government has rolled out drastic measures to combat human trafficking, including a Human Trafficking Prevention and Control Programme for the 2016-2020 period and the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Control. Over the years, the country has effectively strengthened efforts in verifying, protecting and supporting victims of trafficking, while formulating and perfecting relevant laws, and increasing international cooperation in the field.
Punishments for human traffickers have been clarified in the Criminal Code.
At the same time, Vietnam's cooperation with other countries, especially those in the region and where a large number of Vietnamese are trafficked, as well as international organisations on preventing and combating trafficking against persons, has been fostered and expanded.
A programme on human trafficking prevention and control for the 2021-2025 period is underway.
Nguyen Minh Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Ministry of Public Security and head of the Steering Committee of the ASEAN-Australia Programme on Anti-Trafficking in Persons in Vietnam, emphasised the significant role of international cooperation in effectively fighting human trafficking crimes. No country can solve it alone, he said, adding it needs coordination and cooperation between countries as well as between international organisations./.
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Human trafficking is a major social phenomenon in a globalised and borderless world
“trafficking in persons” means “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, or deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”.
Trafficking in persons or human trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon due to its ramification on the social and cultural life of a nation, it exists in many forms but the major forms of human trafficking include: forced labor, bonded labor, debt bondage, and involuntary servitude among migrant laborers, involuntary domestic
servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, sex trafficking and prostitution, children exploited for commercial sex, and child sex tourism
Human trafficking in general, with trafficking of women and children in particular, takes place in almost all countries globally and regionally. Asia and the Greater Mekong SubRegion are no exceptions.
Located in Greater Mekong Sub-region, Vietnam confronts similar human trafficking problems men, women and children.
It is estimated that nearly 400,000 Vietnamese women and children have been trafficked across border mainly via paths and border gates in the northern and southwestern boundaries
Vietnam is also identified as a destination country for trafficked
Cambodians and a transit country for Chinese children into Cambodia
Confronting the problems of human trafficking, the government of Vietnam has made great efforts to combat it
In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations in Vietnam have supported the country with anti-trafficking activities
the government has taken steps to counter crossborder sex trafficking by expanding investigations and prosecutions of traffickers
The government provides health care, accommodation and shelter, repatriation and reintegration programs. It has also implemented activities regarding prevention of victims, advocacy, community awareness raising and law enforcement
The problem could not be resolved in a couple of year due to complicated social, traditional and global issues.
it is important for the governments of neighboring countries to work together for jointsolutions to solve the trafficking problems as well as cooperate with others to support victims.
Vietnam has been intensifying efforts to bring a stop to human trafficking in recent years
to implement the programme on anti-human trafficking for 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, Vietnam has been stepping up measures to prevent human trafficking with the engagement of all ministries, sectors and localities.
Vietnam has also issued documents guiding the enforcement of the 2020 law on Vietnamese working abroad under contracts, along with policies and laws to fight human trafficking and forced labour, assist victims, and protect children in cyber space.
Vietnam is continuing its efforts to carry out the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to consolidate a transparent migration environment and prevent risks of human trafficking.
Vietnam hopes the US and the other Western countries will cooperate more closely to offer an all-round assessment of the situation of and efforts against human trafficking in Vietnam.
Vietnam is ready to discuss specific cooperation issues with other countries, including the US and relevant parties, to effectively prevent and control human trafficking
80 percent of human trafficking victims were taken to countries that shared land borders with Vietnam. Since 2011, thousands of human trafficking victims have been found and rescued by the police, he added.
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