Vietnam's Police Discuss TIP and Child Sex Crimes

UNCLAS HANOI 000698 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, EAP/MLS, and EAP/RSP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM PREL ELAB VM SUBJECT: Vietnam's Police Discuss TIP and Child Sex Crimes ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On July 23, the Deputy Director of the Criminal Police Department in the Ministry of Public Security (MPS),Colonel Ho Sy Tien, discussed trends in human trafficking, including labor exploitation of men and the manipulation of tourist visas and fraudulent marriages for cross-border prostitution. Tien also highlighted current measures to protect children from sexual exploitation, as well as the difficulties faced by MPS in the investigation and prosecution of child sex crimes. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On July 23, Poloff met with Colonel Ho Sy Tien, Deputy Director General of MPS's Criminal Police Department, to review new developments in trafficking in persons (TIP). Tien characterized trafficking in men for labor exploitation as a new trend in Vietnam. The most frequent scenario, he said, involved men who are offered "good jobs" overseas -- usually to China -- only to be forced into hard labor. He cited one example where several men from Hai Phong who were forced to work at a Chinese brick factory. Through cooperation with Chinese authorities, MPS was able to rescue the men and return them to Vietnam. ¶3. (SBU) Turning to the issue of female victims, Tien indicated that women from rural areas were often misled by fraudulent labor opportunities and then sold to brothels on the border of Cambodia and China, with some eventually sent to third countries. Other women, Tien said, were also trafficked abroad for prostitution under the premise of false foreign marriages. Tien said that cross-border prostitution may also occur under the guise of tourism, with women traveling overseas on, say, a 30-day tourist visa, where they work in a brothel and then return to Vietnam. These women may or may not be aware of the type of work they are being sent to do, Tien emphasized, which puts them at risk for trafficking. ¶4. (SBU) On the subject of child sex tourism, Tien stated that despite economic growth and a tremendous upsurge in Vietnam's tourist industry, there had only been three cases since 2005 that merited investigation. Tien posited that unlike in Cambodia, foreign tourists rarely come to Vietnam to sexually exploit children, though he speculated that some might engage prostitutes who are between 16 to 18 years of age (legally adults under Vietnamese law). He also suggested that children sold into fraudulent foreign adoptions were sometimes trafficked into the child sex trade. ¶5. (SBU) In July, MPS initiated a two-month campaign to focus on combating the trafficking of women and children in the border regions. Tien said that the General Department of Police would work closely with the Border Army and other agencies to rescue and repatriate trafficking victims. Highlighting his department's other efforts to protect children, Tien noted that Vietnam had cooperated with Australia to provide training to more than 100 Vietnamese officers on investigative techniques targeting child sex tourism. In previous years, MPS had worked with UNICEF to provide training materials to officers in Hanoi and HCMC as well as to set up "friendly interview centers" in HCMC, Hai Phong, Dong Thap, and Lao Cai to question children and suspects in child sexual exploitation cases. ¶6. (SBU) Tien explained that under Vietnamese law, it was important, but sometimes difficult, to establish firmly the ages of the victims of child sex crimes. Sexual abuse of children under 13 can result in capital punishment, Tien explained, while prison sentences of up to 15 years are handed down for the sexual abuse of children between 13 and 16. The lack of accurate birth records, particularly for children in rural areas, was a complicating factor in proving child sexual exploitation cases, he said. Other challenges stem from the fact that children often find it too difficult to report their abuse to the authorities or to their families, making it hard to find, catch, and prosecute perpetrators. Tien acknowledged that MPS was still new to combating child sex crime, and requested U.S. and international assistance to train Vietnamese officers and obtain updated equipment. MICHALAK