VIETNAM ANTI-TIP PROPOSALS FOR G/TIP FY 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000733 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, G/TIP, AND PRM FOR SONIA DENTZEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KCRM PHUM PREL SMIG KWMN VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM ANTI-TIP PROPOSALS FOR G/TIP FY 2007 REF: A) STATE 028143; B) HANOI 393; C) HANOI 394; D) HANOI 402 ¶1. (SBU) Mission Vietnam recommends the para 3's five anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) project proposals for G/TIP FY 2007 funding. ¶2. (SBU) Post will forward to G/TIP the proposal and budgetary materials related to the five proposals. Mission recommends full funding of all five of these strong proposals and stands ready to assist G/TIP in the evaluation and due diligence process. Post thanks G/TIP for consideration of these proposals. ¶3. (SBU) I. APPLICANT: Save the Children U.K. (SCUK) (Vietnam Office) REQUESTED FUNDING AMOUNT: USD 200,000 PROJECT TITLE: Promoting the Protection of Children from Harm Associated with Human Trafficking in Places of Transit and Destination PROJECT DURATION: Two Years PROPOSAL ABSTRACT: At an April 2007 government conference in Vietnam, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that Vietnam had experienced a rise in women and child trafficking cases between 2005 and 2006 and spoke of a "doubling" of cases over the period. One of the key contributing factors is the absence of a comprehensive and appropriate child protection mechanism for children at local, provincial and national levels. SCUK is proposing a two-year project to be implemented in the three provinces of Quang Ninh, Hanoi and Ca Mau, targeting those children who are vulnerable to human trafficking and abuse, trafficked victims and law enforcement personnel at different levels. Expected project results include: 1) a strengthened participatory community protection system in two provinces that responds effectively to the prevention and protection needs of children who are vulnerable to and affected by human trafficking; 2) a better developed capacity of legal and law enforcement officials in two destination provinces in Vietnam to provide appropriate support for protection and safe return of child victims of trafficking; and, 3) improved services in two transit centers in Quang Ninh and Hanoi to ensure the safe return and rehabilitation of the child victims of trafficking. II. APPLICANT: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vietnam Country Office REQUESTED FUNDING AMOUNT: USD 203,400 PROJECT TITLE: Strengthening Vietnam's Criminal Justice Responses to Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants PROJECT DURATION: One Year PROPOSAL ABSTRACT: Capacity among legal and law enforcement institutions in Vietnam is still far from adequately equipped to draft new legislation and conduct investigations and trials. And in-depth UNODC legal assessment report on the existing Vietnamese legislation, in comparison with the UNTOC and its Supplementing Protocols on Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants, has identified several gaps in Vietnam's existing legislation. It is expected that Vietnam will ratify the UNTOC and its Human Trafficking Supplemental Protocol in 2007. This proposed project will assist Vietnam in the development of legal frameworks on human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, including the development and implementation of bilateral MOUs and mutual legal assistance, especially with other ASEAN member states. The project is based upon lessons learned from prior UNODC projects on human trafficking in Vietnam and will build on the materials developed and lessons learned from those projects. The project is proposed to be implemented in conjunction with a larger three-year project aimed to strengthen Vietnam's criminal justice responses to human trafficking and migrant smuggling through enhanced border control capacities and international cooperation. III. APPLICANT: The Asia Foundation - Vietnam REQUESTED FUNDING AMOUNT: USD 249,049 PROJECT TITLE: Preventing Trafficking and Protecting the Rights of Trafficking Victims in Vietnam PROJECT DURATION: Two Years PROPOSAL ABSTRACT: Vietnamese women and their children who have been trafficked to other countries face a range of serious obstacles upon their return to Vietnam. Government agencies may deny legal recognition and protection to returnees who have been out of the country for extended periods if they departed without notice. In a growing number of cases, Vietnamese trafficking victims return home effectively "stateless," having given up their Vietnamese legal identity in order to apply for citizenship elsewhere, but ending up without any legal status in Vietnam or their country of residence because of divorce or separation from their new husbands. This project has two objectives: 1) to prevent trafficking by promoting safe migration of Vietnamese migrants through legal education; and 2) to enable returned trafficking survivors to claim their rights. The program will be implemented in four provinces with significant trafficking problems. The Foundation will refine and deepen its work in Quang Ninh in the north and An Giang in the south, where it has established strong partnerships with local governments and HANOI 00000733 002 OF 002 community organizations. The program will then capitalize on resources and strategies already developed and being implemented in these provinces to expand legal education and legal aid services to Lang Son, a border province in the north, and to Tay Ninh, a border province in the south. In implementing this project, the Foundation will continue to partner with the National Legal Aid Agency of the Ministry of Justice and the Vietnam Women's Union, and with other community-based organizations working on victim protection and re-integration. IV. APPLICANT: Pacific Links Foundation (Oakland, California) REQUESTED FUNDING AMOUNT: USD 309,140 PROJECT TITLE: Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking (APT) PROJECT DURATION: One Year PROPOSAL ABSTRACT: Each year, thousands of women and children are trafficked from the southern Vietnamese provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Tay Ninh, Kien Giang and Tien Giang into Cambodia and then sold to other countries. The World Human Rights Organization and UNICEF reported in 1998 that one third of the 55,000 prostitutes in Cambodia were under 18 and Vietnamese. This project proposal is an expansion effort of ADAPT - the An Giang Dong Thap Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking, a counter-trafficking program with the collaboration of three U.S.-based non-profit organizations including the Pacific Links Foundation (PALS),the East Meets West Foundation (EMW) and the International Children's Assistance Network (ICAN). ADAPT is implemented by PALS from September 2005 - August 2008. ADAPT's goal is to prevent the sex trafficking of young Vietnamese girls and women by enhancing their education and by expanding and improving their vocational choices through a web of support services in An Giang and Dong Thap, two southern provinces of Vietnam bordering Cambodia. Drawing from PALS' experience in direct services in ADAPT, this project proposal represents an expansion of ADAPT to include Kien Giang, a border province that has also suffered greatly from human trafficking activities. It also includes a public awareness and capacity building component to assist local communities deal more effectively with the issues of trafficking. The project specifically targets poor families with daughters in the high-risk age group and trafficked victims and their families to prevent recidivism. Communes and districts in the three target southern provinces are selected based on high poverty level, high risk and high potential impact to prevent trafficking. The proposal model focuses on three main components: 1) prevention, 2) re-integration of victims and 3) awareness and capacity building for local partners, families and communities. ¶V. APPLICANT: United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) - Vietnam REQUESTED FUNDING AMOUNT: USD 160,600 (TOTAL FUNDING: USD 196,000, with USD 35,400 cost-share) PROJECT TITLE: Human Trafficking Case Monitoring and Documentation for Improved Prosecution and Victim Protection PROJECT DURATION: Two Years PROPOSAL ABSTRACT: UNIAP was established to facilitate a stronger and more coordinated response to human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). It initially brought together six governments and select implementing agencies; this has now evolved into an extensive network of government, local and international NGOs, UN organizations and donors throughout the six countries, with links to similar networks beyond the GMS. Vietnam's National Program of Action to combat trafficking in women and children has been in place since 2004 but with no significant improvements in the legal framework. UNIAP proposes to take a new, more targeted approach to jump-starting positive change in the legal framework and its implementation on the ground. This more operational approach involves case monitoring, documentation and analysis of human trafficking and labor exploitation cases (successful, failed, and in progress) by small, core GO-NGO mobile technical teams involving the most dedicated counter-trafficking officers in Vietnam - from the Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; Ministry of Public Security; Vietnam Women's Union; the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs and elsewhere. While the activity is relatively small in scale, it aims to bring about several immediate results, including: higher-level policy advocacy; practical, realistic training cases; improved, reliable systems for trafficking case monitoring; and improved government case handling. This program will also link up with the Worst Offenders Project, which is being implemented by the UNIAP Regional Office. In both this project and the Worst Offenders Project, UNIAP will leverage its unique position to advocate for improved legal frameworks, at high levels and at the working/technical level. ALOISI