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| Deputy Director of the Consular Department Phan Thi Minh Giang shared at the online roundtable "Preventing human trafficking: An uncompromising war" of The World and Vietnam Newspaper. |
Sharing at the online roundtable "Preventing human trafficking: An uncompromising battle" of The World and Vietnam Newspaper , Ms. Phan Thi Minh Giang, Deputy Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out the risks from human trafficking crimes in the current context, while emphasizing efforts and directions to improve the effectiveness of preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting victims of trafficking, especially children, in the coming time.
Madam, could you please tell us about the current situation of human trafficking, especially child trafficking in Vietnam?
In recent times, the situation of human trafficking in Vietnam has continued to develop complicatedly, both domestically and across borders.
In the country, human trafficking mainly occurs for the purpose of forced labor, most of whom are forced to work in business establishments with security and order conditions (karaoke bars, massage parlors, etc.); a few are forced to work on fishing boats.
Regarding cross-border human trafficking, we know that from 2021 until now, Southeast Asia has emerged as a key area for human trafficking crimes at online fraud establishments with the aim of forcing people to commit illegal acts. Therefore, there are still some citizens who are deceived into working in some countries in the region, forced to work at casinos, online fraud establishments, and forced to commit illegal acts.
According to the Ministry of National Defense's assessment, on the Vietnam-Laos and Vietnam-Cambodia borders, the recruitment of men and women (mainly aged 14-28) to organize emigration abroad (including legal and illegal emigration) for the purpose of labor exploitation and forced labor is still on the rise.
The current common method of human trafficking criminals is to use social networks (Zalo, Facebook, Telegram...) or create job advertising websites, approach victims through dating apps, through groups using fake names and addresses to make friends, deceive, threaten, force debt notes...
Similar to domestic human trafficking, the main method of human trafficking crimes abroad is to use social networks to advertise “easy jobs with high salaries” (800-1,000 USD/month) to approach victims. When the victims agree to work abroad, they organize and guide the victims to go abroad.
Victims are forced to do jobs such as: fraud, property appropriation on the internet, work at casinos; lure customers to participate in online gambling. During the work, victims are forced to work hard (15-16 hours/day), not allowed to go out, not paid as committed, and are bought and sold between companies if they do not work effectively. Those who refuse to work and want to return to Vietnam are beaten, detained, forced to sign debt papers and have to pay very high ransoms (1,500-3,000 USD, even up to 8,000 USD/person).
According to 2023 data, of the total 311 cases identified as victims of trafficking, 146 were under 18 years old, of which 121 were children (under 16 years old) (accounting for nearly 39%). In 2022, there were 74 people under 18 years old out of a total of 255 victims of trafficking, of which 23 were children. Thus, the number of child victims of trafficking in 2023 increased more than 5 times compared to 2022.
| "The current common method of human trafficking criminals is to use social networks (Zalo, Facebook, Telegram...) or create job advertising websites, approach victims through dating apps, through groups using fake names and addresses to make friends, deceive, threaten, force debt notes..." |
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| With the rapid development of digital platforms, children are facing risks in the online environment, including the risk of human trafficking. (Source: Family) |
In the context of the development of digital platforms today, what risks are children facing from human trafficking crimes?
According to the Global Digital Outlook Report released in early 2024 by Wearesocial , by early 2024, there will be 5.35 billion internet users worldwide, accounting for 66% of the world's population; 5.04 billion social media users, an increase of 5.6% compared to 2023; the average daily time spent on social media is 2 hours and 23 minutes.
In Vietnam, there are more than 78 million (78.44 million) internet users, equivalent to 79.1% of the population. There are 72.7 million social media accounts, equivalent to 73.3% of Vietnam's population.
According to an annual survey by the Department of Children, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, 89% of children use the internet, 87% use it daily, while only 36% of people aged 16-17 are taught about internet safety.
Children are considered vulnerable targets. Traffickers exploit children's vulnerabilities such as: psychological, physical, emotional, family problems...; use social platforms, messaging applications, chat rooms, dating applications, advertising to approach and recruit children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labor and other forms of exploitation.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has identified two strategies used by traffickers: predation and baiting. Predation involves actively seeking out victims. Baiting involves letting victims fall into a trap.
These tricks seem to be easier when applied to children because children have limited awareness and understanding and are easily trusting of strangers (for example, job advertisements with attractive opportunities can easily make children believe and fall into the trap).
With the rapid development of digital platforms, children are facing risks in the online environment, including the risk of human trafficking if we do not strengthen timely and effective response measures.
Faced with the above new trends in human trafficking, what measures has Vietnam taken to prevent and combat human trafficking, especially child trafficking?
In recent times, Vietnam has synchronously implemented many solutions and tasks to prevent and combat human trafficking according to the Program on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking for the period 2021-2025 and orientation to 2030 to overcome the causes and conditions that give rise to human trafficking crimes and reduce the risk of human trafficking.
These include solutions and tasks such as communication on prevention; combating and preventing human trafficking crimes; prosecuting and trying human trafficking crimes; receiving, verifying, identifying, rescuing and supporting victims; perfecting policies and laws related to preventing and combating human trafficking; and international cooperation.
Regarding international cooperation, Vietnam actively participates in international and regional mechanisms and forums on migration and preventing and combating human trafficking such as the Bali Process and the COMMIT Process; effectively implements agreements and memorandums of understanding on bilateral cooperation in preventing and combating human trafficking.
Faced with the current new trends in human trafficking, ministries, agencies and localities continue to further promote the above-mentioned groups of solutions and tasks, while focusing on prioritizing the prevention and fight against human trafficking crimes.
For children, a number of child-related programs have proposed many solutions to contribute to preventing and combating human trafficking, for example:
The program "Protecting and supporting children to interact healthily and creatively in the online environment for the period 2021-2025" (Decision No. 830/QD-TTg dated June 1, 2021 of the Prime Minister) aims to proactively prevent and detect acts of child abuse in the online environment, and handle acts of taking advantage of the online environment to commit prohibited acts against children in any form according to the provisions of law;
The Program "Prevention and reduction of child labor for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030" (Decision No. 782/QD-TTg dated May 27, 2021 of the Prime Minister), in which one of the tasks and solutions of the Program is to prevent and combat crimes of child trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation.
In addition, the Ministry of Public Security has issued the "Plan to prevent and combat crimes against children and prevent and combat crimes and violations of the law related to people under 18 years old for the period 2021-2025" (Plan 506).
In 2021, the Child Protection and Response Network was established with the participation of 24 units including state management agencies, social organizations, enterprises, international organizations (the Ministry of Information and Communications is the coordinating agency) ... to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management and the results of implementing tasks to prevent and combat child abuse in the online environment, contributing to raising social awareness and creating a safe and healthy online environment for children.
In 2023, the Ministry of Information and Communications coordinated to establish an interdisciplinary inspection team to inspect TikTok's operations in Vietnam, discovering 110 groups with nearly 15 million members (30% are children; 40% are teenagers).
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| Conference to review and evaluate the implementation results of the Agreement between Vietnam and Laos on cooperation in preventing and combating human trafficking in the period 2010-2022. (Source: tapchivietlao) |
In many cases of human trafficking, including children, victims are taken across borders to foreign countries. So how is the work of protecting and rescuing Vietnamese citizens in these cases being carried out?
The work of protecting and rescuing citizens has been carried out very urgently and promptly. There are cases where domestic authorities directly carry out the work in coordination with foreign authorities. There are cases where foreign authorities rescue people based on our request.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also organized many training courses to improve the capacity of the staff of the representative agencies, equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills so that they can best carry out the work of protecting citizens and supporting victims of human trafficking in the event of a human trafficking incident in the locality, on the principle of putting the victim at the center.
| "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also organized many training courses to improve the capacity of representative agency staff, equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills so that they can best carry out citizen protection work and support victims of human trafficking in the event of a human trafficking incident in the locality, on the principle of putting the victim at the center." |
In those cases, the coordination between domestic authorities was very close: between agencies of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Consular Department, and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to promptly exchange information with the local authorities, locate the place where citizens are staying, conduct rescues, implement citizen protection measures and support regimes for cases identified as victims according to regulations. Support regimes for victims include: support for essential needs, travel expenses, or medical care.
Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also organized many training courses to improve the capacity of the staff of the representative agencies, equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills so that they can best carry out the work of protecting citizens and supporting victims of human trafficking in the event of a human trafficking incident in the locality, on the principle of putting the victim at the center.
In particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a Handbook on identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking for Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad, including a questionnaire to screen for signs of human trafficking victims.
In 2023, the authorities received information about 167 citizens suspected of being victims of human trafficking (the most in Laos with 121 cases), of which 15 cases were identified as victims of human trafficking, 77 cases were rescued and supported to return home.
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| Overview of the training session on protecting Vietnamese citizens abroad on June 26. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
What role do families and society play in the fight against human trafficking? In your opinion, what should we do to improve the effectiveness of preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting victims, especially children, in the coming time?
In the Program on preventing and combating human trafficking for the period 2021-2025 and orientation to 2030, we have identified the need to promote the combined strength of the entire political system and the entire population. This is not only the responsibility of the functional forces implementing the work of preventing and combating human trafficking, but also requires the participation of each individual, family and the whole society.
Recently, in some ethnic minority areas, due to difficult circumstances and limited legal knowledge, there are still cases of parents and relatives selling children across the border to marry foreign men. In the context of human trafficking with the aim of forcing illegal acts to take place in a complicated manner as it is today, there have also been cases of many subjects deceiving their own relatives and friends into the trap of easy jobs with high salaries abroad.
In addition, family problems and social evils are also considered one of the causes affecting children's psychology and behavior, leading to their easy belief in the tricks and enticements of criminals, including human trafficking, especially in the online environment.
Therefore, the family and society play an important role in the fight against human trafficking. Not only by reporting, denouncing, and accusing the competent authorities of violations of the law on preventing and combating human trafficking, but importantly, the family and society need to promote responsibility, create a healthy environment to prevent the risk of human trafficking, ensure a solid and safe support against the risks of human trafficking and provide timely support for victims of human trafficking to quickly reintegrate and stabilize their lives.
To improve the effectiveness of the work of preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting victims of trafficking, especially children, I believe that in the coming time we need to continue to focus on implementing the following measures:
Firstly, we need to continue to promote communication about the tricks of human trafficking criminals, especially those on digital platforms, to raise awareness and proactive ways to prevent risks, targeting vulnerable groups. In particular, for children, we need to strengthen their skills in using the Internet safely, knowing how to protect their digital identity, knowing how to verify information, and using reliable information.
Second, strengthen measures to prevent and combat human trafficking in the online environment; develop digital tools to control content on the internet; promote the participation of network operators and technology companies; continue to ensure social security measures, enhance counseling and career guidance on safe employment and safe migration to prevent risks of human trafficking during migration.
Third, enhance inter-sectoral coordination and strengthen international cooperation in cracking down on illegal migration and human trafficking networks across borders; online recruitment fraud; effectively implement programs and plans related to preventing and combating human trafficking, including the Plan to implement the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) to create a safe migration environment and prevent the risk of human trafficking in the context of international migration taking place strongly as it is today.
Thank you!
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| Dialogue with leaders: Women and youth actively lead communication work to prevent and combat human trafficking in Hanoi, August 2. (Source: IOM) |
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bao-ve-cong-dan-truoc-mong-vuot-cua-toi-pham-mua-ban-nguoi-283153.html
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