GVN Officials, NGOs Assess TIP issues in Workshop on VN's

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001216 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KTIP KCRM PHUM PREL ELAB VM SUBJECT: GVN Officials, NGOs Assess TIP issues in Workshop on VN's National Plan of Action ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On October 22, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong chaired a workshop to evaluate the GVN's implementation of its "National Plan of Action (NPA) against Trafficking in Women and Children 2004-2010" and to discuss prospects for the future. The workshop's reports will affect planning and influence the next five-year NPA, as well as the law on TIP currently being drafted by the Ministry of Justice. During the course of the workshop, participants cited a number of accomplishments, including: successful public awareness campaigns, increased border surveillance, and numerous training and capacity building activities. As most workshop participants noted, the greatest challenge to combating trafficking in Vietnam continues to be a serious lack of funding and human resources. To that end, post is extremely pleased that Vietnam was named a priority country for G/TIP funding, and we have begun outreach efforts to publicize the grant application process. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On October 22, the GVN hosted a one-day workshop to review the five-year implementation of the "National Plan of Action (NPA) against Trafficking in Women and Children 2004-2010." Approved by the Prime Minister on July 14, 2004, the NPA was an attempt to provide a coherent framework for anti-TIP efforts in Vietnam. This event, presided over by Deputy Prime Minister (and Politburo member) Truong Vinh Trong, was simultaneously broadcast in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and included representatives from all levels of Vietnamese government, including all fourteen members of the National Committee 130 (NC130) Steering Committee and members of the National Assembly. International organizations such as UNODC, IOM, UNDP, UNICEF, World Vision, and the Asia Foundation and representatives from several embassies attended. Workshop presenters included the Chairman of NC130, the President of the Vietnamese Women's Union (VWU),the director of the Asia Foundation, people's committee representatives from provinces sponsoring pilot projects, and officials from the Ministries of Public Security (MPS),Foreign Affairs (MFA),and Justice (MOJ). ¶3. (SBU) The workshop reported that during the five years of the NPA's implementation, the government investigated 1,586 cases of trafficking in persons involving 2,888 criminals and identified 4,008 trafficking victims. According to the GVN, over 60 percent of victims had been trafficked to China, around ten percent had been trafficked Cambodia, and a smaller percentage to Laos. Data on trafficking cases to other countries was not presented. While all 63 provinces reported trafficking cases, the following provinces reported the most cases: Ha Giang (134 cases),Lao Cai (105 cases),Lang Son (95 cases),Quang Ninh (73 cases),Ha Noi (66 cases),Nghe An (66 cases),Lai Chau (56 cases),and Bac Gian (44 cases). ¶4. (SBU) Le Hong Anh, NC130 Chairman, opened the conference, stating that trafficking in Vietnam had become larger in scale, more complicated, and diversified, with traffickers becoming more sophisticated, organized, and transnational. He noted that many trafficking victims hailed from remote, economically disadvantaged areas, which made them more vulnerable to trafficking. ¶5. (SBU) Representatives from An Giang, Lang Son, and Quang Ninh -- designated as pilot provinces under the NPA -- reported that they had established steering subcommittees to work on TIP, increased border surveillance, instituted anti-TIP training programs, and established services to assist TIP returnees. The provincial representatives commented that the success of their efforts had increased significantly when anti-trafficking messages were integrated with the other economic and social activities of their organizations. All three stated that in the past five years there had been a drop in the number of TIP cases in their provinces, which they attributed to their coordinated efforts. The Lang Song representative, for example, noted that in the last five years, there had 98 been cases of trafficking with 128 traffickers identified and 102 victims rescued, a 30 percent reduction in trafficking cases compared with the preceding five years. ¶6. (SBU) The lack of funding and human resources was a common challenge mentioned by most workshop participants. Limited resources affected all aspects of anti-trafficking programs: outreach, victim support, training, law enforcement, and even HANOI 00001216 002 OF 003 international cooperation. Many of the participants expressed concern that Program NC130 was set to expire at the end of 2010, and urged Program NC130 to become a "National Level Target." (Note: Program NC130 is a separate anti-TIP program from the NPA. Program NC130 is the legal mandate under which NC130 operates. It expires in 2010; renewing the mandate will be the Prime Minister's decision. End note.) Many attendees expressed hope that this would raise the importance of the program and more resources would be dedicated to combat trafficking from the central government to increase the capacity of the program nationwide. ¶7. (SBU) Several presenters criticized Vietnam's continued inability to reintegrate victims of trafficking. Some efforts have been made to help strengthen the capacity of victim identification and referral, and a few "self-help clubs" have been established at local levels to assist former victims of TIP access services and to support reintegration into the community; however, these services still fall far short of the need and are available in only a few localities. MPS representatives noted that victims are afraid of being stigmatized, and this affects their willingness to cooperate with police in TIP investigations, a view seconded by MOJ officials who stated that victims were often reluctant to assist prosecutions. Some presenters also noted the challenges of working with their international counterparts. The representative from Quang Ninh province also explained that investigation cases overseas could be complicated, lengthy, costly and hampered by limited funding. Participants also recommended the need to improve language capabilities of staff, especially in the languages of border countries. INGO Input -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Speaking on behalf of INGOs who support anti-human trafficking activities in Vietnam, the Country Director of the Asia Foundation highlighted many of the past five years' accomplishments, and discussed new trends involving internal trafficking, overseas labor recruitment, and men. The main accomplishments cited, include: raising awareness about human trafficking issues, implementing pilot programs to provide victim protection services, and numerous training and capacity building programs with many government partners regarding TIP. Based on these trends, she offered recommendations about activities international NGOs would be interested in supporting, including projects to promote safe migration and improve TIP victim support. She also suggested that INGOs support efforts to bring the GVN's definition of TIP into accord with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. (Note: Currently, the GVN's law on trafficking does not include men or certain cases of labor exploitation. End note.) Speaking for NC130, Anh welcomed strengthened relations with INGOs. In his concluding remarks, DPM Trong instructed conference attendees to pay attention to the report prepared by the INGOs. (Note: Post provided significant input into the report and included references to labor and internal trafficking. End Note.) DPM Tasks anti-TIP Action -------------- ¶9. (SBU) In what was billed as the "instructional conclusion" of the event, DPM Trong acknowledged a lack of resources, but called on government at all levels, mass organizations, local leaders and "important people with titles" to redouble their efforts to combat TIP. He assigned tasks to the various departments and organizations in attendance, singling out specific GVN officials responsible for police and border guard training. Trong also called for further efforts to raise public awareness of trafficking and to improve support for trafficking victims. Comment: Next steps for USG Support of anti-TIP Action -------------- -------------- HANOI 00001216 003 OF 003 ¶10. (SBU) At the conclusion of his speech, DPM Truong Vinh Trong asked "what was the next step forward for Vietnam?" The answer is a great deal. With only fifteen months remaining on the current action plan, the GVN has a full agenda: First, the draft bill on the prevention of trafficking must be concluded and presented to the National Assembly in 2010. Second, cooperation between Vietnam and its neighbors must be improved. And, finally, the GVN must develop its next NPA. We are encouraged that DPM Trong specifically mentioned the contributions that INGOs can bring, as well as the marching orders he gave specific ministries/agencies. We are also encouraged that the discussion on TIP now includes trafficking in men, internal trafficking, and labor trafficking, although the GVN's concerns about labor trafficking appear primarily focused on cross-border trafficking with Vietnam's immediate neighbors. The DPM was forthright in acknowledging the severe resource constraints that Vietnam faces in combating trafficking, a consistent problem affecting all of Vietnam's social programs. Despite the commitments expressed during this workshop, we still have questions about the GVN's "political will" to tackle TIP issues beyond the government's traditional focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation, and intend to follow up with our GVN and NGO contacts to see if Trong's "marching orders" result in concrete movement towards addressing the remaining challenges. ¶11. (SBU) Trong's assessment of what is needed in Vietnam opens the door for future bilateral and multilateral cooperation in key areas regarding human trafficking, including: raising public awareness, police/border guard training, and support for victims. With this in mind, Post is pleased that Vietnam was designated a priority country for TIP-related programming. We already have publicized widely the grant information, and look forward to working with the Department to devise approaches and projects to partner with local and international NGOs and the GVN to strengthen its capability in combating TIP in areas such as safe migration and victim support. End Comment. Palmer