New step forward in efforts to improve the legal system to prevent and combat human trafficking

The draft revised Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking has introduced many outstanding new points to overcome the limitations of the current law and better meet practical requirements.

Workshop "Comments on the draft Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking (amended)" on March 19, in Hanoi. (Source: National Assembly)

Shortcomings that need to be overcome

Since taking effect in 2012, the 2011 Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking has actively played its role as a legal tool for the prevention and combat of human trafficking.

However, from the perspective of the agency responsible for preventing and combating human trafficking crimes, Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Van Trinh, Deputy Head of Department 5, Criminal Police Department, said that he has noticed some difficulties as follows:

Regarding prevention work : Although prevention work, especially propaganda, legal education and self-protection skills for people at risk of becoming victims of trafficking, has received attention, the results have not been as expected. Many localities do not have close coordination between agencies and sectors, especially between the police and the education, labor, war invalids and social affairs sectors. This leads to propaganda being formalistic, with uneven effectiveness and not having a significant impact on high-risk groups.

Identifying victims: The criteria for identifying victims of trafficking for the purpose of issuing a certificate of confirmation are still difficult, especially for those who have been trafficked abroad for a long time and then return on their own. There are cases where they return after nearly 20 years, or they do not remember their hometown address or relatives, making it difficult to verify. Many victims are ashamed, afraid and give false statements, making it difficult for the authorities to investigate.

Special cases: There are cases where victims leave the country without permission and are only trafficked, threatened, detained, and exploited once abroad, making investigation and handling difficult.

In cases that require “gender-sensitive” requirements, we encounter many difficulties because rescue and investigation forces are mostly men, while the victims are mainly women and girls.

In addition, resources to apply friendly, sensitive measures to victims of trafficking if they are over 18 years old are lacking.

Support policy: There is currently no special support policy in urgent cases. For example, rescuing and supporting victims who are infants or victims carrying infants. In addition, when handling cases with victims, subjects, or witnesses who are foreigners or ethnic minorities, police and border guards face difficulties due to lack of interpreters and specific regulations.

Inadequacies in the law: After the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of 2015 came into effect, a number of inadequacies and incompatibilities between the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking and these Codes were revealed.

These difficulties and obstacles have affected the effectiveness of the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Combating of Human Trafficking, causing many obstacles in the work of prevention, combating and supporting victims. We need to make adjustments and improvements to overcome these shortcomings, improve the effectiveness of law enforcement and better protect victims.

These shortcomings have caused many negative impacts on the practice of fighting and preventing human trafficking crimes.

The first consequence is that the effectiveness of preventing human trafficking crimes is low. Propaganda and legal education have not been highly effective, leading to limited public awareness of preventing and combating human trafficking. This reduces the ability of high-risk groups to protect themselves, causing many cases of human trafficking to not be detected and prevented in time.

In addition, identifying victims is difficult, causing many trafficked people to not receive timely support and protection. Cases where victims give false statements or do not remember information about their hometown and relatives have hindered the investigation and verification process of the authorities.

On the other hand, the lack of coordination between authorities and local authorities reduces the effectiveness of the investigation and handling of human trafficking cases. The lack of timely and complete information from relevant agencies has created conditions for criminals to easily hide and continue their criminal activities.

Notably, difficulties in meeting “gender-sensitive” requirements and the lack of special support policies for urgent cases have reduced the effectiveness of rescue and support for victims. Many victims, especially women and girls, do not receive the necessary care and support, affecting their health and psychology.

In cases where the victim, suspect or witness is a foreigner or an ethnic minority, investigators face many difficulties due to the lack of interpreters and specific regulations. This prolongs the investigation and handling of the case, reducing the deterrent effect of the law.

In addition, the incompatibility between the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking and the 2015 Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code has reduced the effectiveness of handling cases.

These negative impacts not only reduce the effectiveness of preventing and combating human trafficking crimes but also cause serious consequences for society. Victims who are not protected and supported in a timely manner will suffer health, psychological and economic consequences.

At the same time, the lack of strict punishment for criminals will reduce people's trust in the legal and justice system. Therefore, overcoming these shortcomings is very necessary to improve the effectiveness of human trafficking prevention and control in the coming time.

The 2011 Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking has many shortcomings that need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of prevention and combat of human trafficking in the coming time. (Source: Truth Publishing House)

Some new points in the Draft Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking amended

On that basis, the Draft Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking has introduced many new and outstanding points to overcome the limitations of the current law and better meet practical requirements.

Specifically, the Draft expands the definition of human trafficking. This helps identify and handle crimes more comprehensively.

At the same time, the Draft emphasizes the role of prevention, including strengthening education, propaganda and raising public awareness about preventing human trafficking. These measures aim to prevent crimes from the beginning.

The draft also provides more comprehensive and effective measures to protect and support victims, including psychological, legal and financial support. This helps victims reintegrate into the community in a sustainable and safe manner.

In addition, the Draft facilitates coordination between agencies and sectors in preventing human trafficking. This close coordination helps improve the effectiveness of investigation and handling of human trafficking cases.

From an international perspective, the new draft law also emphasizes strengthening international cooperation in the fight against human trafficking. This ensures that Vietnam will properly implement its international commitments and learn from the experiences of other countries in combating human trafficking crimes.

With the aim of ensuring conformity and compatibility with international treaties to which Vietnam is a member, the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking 2024 has four main changes.

First, update and supplement new concepts and regulations. New concepts and regulations are added to conform to international standards, ensuring that Vietnamese laws keep up with new changes and trends in combating human trafficking.

Second, strengthen international cooperation. The new law strengthens international cooperation in the fight against human trafficking, including sharing information, experience and coordinating investigations between countries. This helps improve the effectiveness of the fight against transnational human trafficking crimes.

Third, protecting victims' rights in accordance with international regulations. The new law guarantees victims' rights in accordance with international regulations, including the right to protection, psychological, legal and financial support. This helps victims overcome difficulties and reintegrate into the community in a sustainable manner.

Specifically, the Draft Law has established a series of provisions regulating the rights of victims, the reception, verification, identification and protection of victims, the protection of people in the process of being identified as victims and their relatives.

This shows the superiority of the new Law compared to the 2011 Law in protecting human rights, implementing in good faith international commitments to which Vietnam is a member, such as: Commitments from Article 6 to Article 13 of the Protocol on the Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; Chapter 4 of the ASEAN Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Fourth, strengthening the responsibility of competent authorities. The new law emphasizes the strengthening of the responsibility of competent authorities in implementing international commitments related to preventing and combating human trafficking. This ensures that measures to prevent and combat human trafficking are implemented effectively and synchronously.

Distributing leaflets on preventing and combating human trafficking to ethnic minority women at the central market of Ta Gia Khau commune, Muong Khuong district, Lao Cai province.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bai-3-buoc-tien-moi-trong-no-luc-hoan-thien-he-thong-phap-luat-phong-chong-mua-ban-nguoi-281418.html