RECENT GVN SUCCESSES IN COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 002760 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; INL/AAE; G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KWMN PINS CH CB VM TIP CVR SUBJECT: RECENT GVN SUCCESSES IN COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REF: Hanoi 1143 ¶1. (U) Summary and Comment: Vietnam, grimly aware of its humiliating status as a source country for trafficking in persons, continues to make a strong effort to combat the crime and has racked up an impressive number of trafficking prosecutions and convictions. Security officials have identified trafficking routes and begun to accumulate data on trafficking while stepping up their enforcement of Vietnam's anti-trafficking laws and pursuing closer bilateral cooperation with destination countries Cambodia and China. International cooperation, mostly with the UN and international NGOs, forms an important part of Vietnam's antitrafficking efforts. Although Vietnam has made relatively significant strides in combating trafficking in persons, it is still in the early stage of the fight. Lack of equipment and resources and low capacity in the legal, law enforcement and prosecution arenas remain obstacles to Vietnam's success in the trafficking effort, along with the practical socioeconomic realities in this developing country. End Summary and Comment. -------------- Country Background -------------- ¶2. (U) The GVN sees trafficking in persons as an evolving and emerging crime in Vietnam. Vietnam's long, hard-to- control borders with China and Cambodia facilitate trafficking of women and children not only via the official border gates but also along numerous forest paths. According to one Border Army officer, border forces have identified more cases along the Vietnam - China border than the Vietnam - Cambodia border, partly owing to more effective cooperation between Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. Vietnam acknowledges that trafficking data is lacking, and is attempting to rectify that. According to Colonel Nguyen Manh Te, Deputy Director General, Department for Order and Social Crimes Investigation, Ministry of Public Security (MPS),MPS is currently working on establishing a national-level trafficking-in-persons data center at the instruction of the Office of the Government. The center would help make trafficking-in-persons statistics available to better serve international cooperation, Te said. -------------- Vietnam's Determination to Tackle Trafficking -------------- ¶3. (U) The Vietnamese government is frank and open about its vulnerability to TIP. A GVN spokesperson said at a major international conference, "trafficking has been a major problem in Vietnam since the border with China opened up in the early 1990s. The GVN is making real efforts to tackle human trafficking by introducing programs to raise awareness amongst rural women and policing the border areas." ¶4. (U) In March 2005, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department for Order and Social Crimes Investigation held a conference to discuss the implementation of the 2004 - 2010 TIP plan of action. Maj. General Pham Xuan Quac, Director General of the MPS Department for Order and Social Crimes Investigation (the central government-level parent of the HCMC Department hosting the conference),described TIP as "a national pain and ignominy" and said Vietnam will strive to reduce trafficking by 20 percent during the 2004 - 2006 period and solve "most of the problem" by 2010. -------------- Law Enforcement Efforts -------------- ¶5. (U) MPS has had some success in enforcing TIP laws. During the March conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Major General Quac reported that between 1998 and 2005, MPS detected 1,434 trafficking cases throughout Vietnam involving 2,488 suspects. Quac confirmed that the China and Cambodia border areas are centers of TIP activity. ¶6. (U) Most recently, according to Major General Cao Ngoc Oanh, Deputy Director General, General Department of People's Police, the police have uncovered Vietnam's largest- ever woman trafficking ring, which was believed to have lured 40 women to prostitution dens in China. The ring, led by Le Quoc Dzung, born in 1978 in Thanh Hoa Province, committed 21 cases, with seven cases in Thanh Hoa. The raid was successful and benefited from the effective cooperation between the Vietnamese local police and Chinese counterparts, said Oanh. Further investigation into the case also led to the discovery of a number of other trafficking rings, rescuing 60 victims and arresting 27 suspects. ¶7. (U) In a separate case, in March 2005 police in Hanoi arrested four people accused of human trafficking and are currently seeking two of their accomplices, according to Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Director of Dong Da District Police (in Hanoi). The arrest came almost a month after a 25-year- old woman was reported missing to local police. Two of the alleged traffickers admitted to taking the woman across the border in Lang Son, 154 kilometers northeast of Hanoi, where they sold her for 5000 Chinese Yuan (equivalent to USD 580). Thanh said the four men confessed to deceiving and selling seven women to agents in China in the past three months. The seven victims are believed to still be in China. -------------- Cooperation Between Vietnam and its Neighbors -------------- -------------- Vietnam - China -------------- ¶8. (U) A Chinese spokesman quoted in the Vietnamese press stated that China has always attached great importance to the protection of the rights and interests of women and children. He said, "China has made great efforts in cracking down on trafficking of women and children. Those held responsible will be punished in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations. The Chinese government is willing to cooperate with relevant countries to crack down on border criminal activities." ¶9. (U) Since early July 2005, the General Department of People's Police has been working on a campaign against trafficking in women and children along the border with China. This campaign focused on six key border provinces: Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Lai Chau. The campaign's purpose is to identify and eradicate the gangs trafficking women and children to China. Vietnamese police are cooperating with their Chinese counterparts in order to identify and support Vietnamese trafficked women and children (and help them return to Vietnam) and to arrest the traffickers who are at large in China. ¶10. (U) As part of a two-month joint "anti-abduction campaign" from July to September 2005 involving police from China and Vietnam, 37 Vietnamese women were rescued while eight suspects were arrested (six of them Vietnamese) for organizing the trafficking of the victims. Combating trafficking in persons is the first campaign under a package of agreements between Chinese and Vietnamese police in fighting cross-border crimes, said Zhu Yantao, a Chinese Ministry of Public Security official, quoted in the Vietnamese press. Joint efforts began in April, with police from the two sides reaching agreements to cooperate on law enforcement, information sharing and the training of personnel. (Note: See reftel on year 2005 Chinese- Vietnamese security cooperation. End note.) Much trafficking involves women and girls from Vietnam who are destined for the sex trade, experts said. In one widely reported incident, on July 4, police in China's Guangxi Province launched a raid to rescue 11 Vietnamese sex workers. Besides Guangxi, Vietnamese authorities say other trafficking destinations are Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong and Henan Provinces. MPS statistics indicate that Guangxi has repatriated more than 1,000 trafficked women over the past four years to Vietnam. ¶11. (U) According to MPS' anti-trafficking unit, during the first six months of 2005, Vietnamese police forces in the northern border provinces discovered 46 cases related to trafficking women and children to China, and 75 traffickers were arrested and 109 victims were identified. The Vietnamese police also cooperated with Chinese police to rescue 61 women and children who were trafficked to China and returned them to their families. This campaign to combat transnational trafficking in women and children in the Vietnam - China border area was based on cooperation between the two countries' security ministries, according to Maj. General Cao Ngoc Oanh, Deputy Director of the General Department of People's Police. This, he said, also supports the activities of National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Women and Children 2004-2010. ¶12. (U) The Vietnamese press has featured Sino-Vietnamese police cooperation against trafficking prominently in recent months. According to Tuoi Tre ("Youth") newspaper, in a recent joint effort, Vietnamese police said four people were arrested and charged with trafficking nine women to work for gangs running prostitution rings in China. The four suspects, aged between 22 and 41, are believed to have taken young women from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai (not normally known to be a hot trafficking source point) to Vietnamese-run brothels in China. ¶13. (U) During May 25 - 27, The Asia Foundation (TAF) held a USG-funded anti-trafficking workshop in Quang Ninh Province, the northeastern border province famous for containing both the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay and the decidedly non-UNESCO gambling and "entertainment" center of Do Son. The workshop attracted participants from central and local levels in China and Vietnam. As a result of the two-day workshop, Vietnamese and Chinese officials recommended a list of issues for the two governments' plans of action, including: improvement of legal frameworks to combat trafficking in persons; simplification of administrative procedures on civil registration, residence permits, birth registration and marriages for victims; provision of land/housing for victims; establishment of reception centers in both countries; issuance of special policies or regulations to protect the rights of women and children in the prosecution and trial process of trafficking cases; prompt dissemination and implementation of agreements by the two countries' security ministries; strengthening cooperation in research on trafficking in persons between the two countries; allocation of a budget to provide training on legal issues and legal assistance for counseling staff; involving participation of psychologists, lawyers in anti-trafficking work; exchanging visits, sharing experience; and, mobilizing financial support from international organizations. -------------- Vietnam - Cambodia -------------- ¶14. (U) Late last year, TAF also organized an international conference on combating trafficking in women and children across the Vietnam - Cambodia border. During the conference, the participants discussed the trafficking situation in both countries and preventive measures and community reintegration. The two sides agreed to closer coordination to promptly detect trafficking cases. Earlier, Vietnam and Cambodia held another conference in Ho Chi Minh City on border law enforcement, which had a trafficking component. -------------- International Community also Assists -------------- ¶15. (U) Most recently, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) pledged more assistance for the Vietnamese judicial system and law enforcement agencies to improve their capacity to combat human trafficking in Vietnam. An agreement to this effect was signed on August 26 in Hanoi by Senior Lieutenant General Le The Tiem, Deputy Minister of Public Security, and Narumi Yamada, chief of UNODC's Vietnam Representative Office. Under the deal, UNODC will conduct the second phase of a project involving Vietnam's Border Army and the Ministries of Public Security and Justice. The project aims to strengthen current mechanisms that prevent and combat human trafficking by strengthening the judicial and law enforcement agencies, improving criminal investigations, prosecution procedures and judges' skills and training officers of related agencies. Implementing the project will help the country adopt and accelerate the implementation of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children and help build a related national action program, UNODC states. ¶16. (U) Earlier, representatives of international organizations had pledged to work with MPS to design a training program for officials in charge of antitrafficking. The commitment was delivered at a seminar, jointly organized by MPS, the UN Inter-agency Project, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),the International Labor Organization, the International Organization for Migration and Save the Children (UK),in Ho Chi Minh City on August 18-19. The 2005-07 training program will not only target Vietnamese officials but also include officials from other countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion. BOARDMAN