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| Ms. Park Mi-Hyung, Head of IOM Mission in Vietnam, gives an interview to The Gioi & Viet Nam Newspaper. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
In an interview with The Gioi & Viet Nam Newspaper on the sidelines of the Training Course on Safe Migration and Protection of Vietnamese Citizens Abroad (June 25-26), Ms. Park Mihyung, Head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Vietnam, pointed out current international migration trends and assessed Vietnam's efforts to ensure safe migration.
Could you tell us about the current emerging international migration trends and their connection to the reality in Vietnam?
Labour migration is a defining feature of the global economy and a powerful driver of development, welfare and growth. When migrants have full access to their rights, they can truly realise their potential and harness the full power of labour migration.
Asia has long been a major hub for labor migration, accounting for 14% of all migrant workers globally.
Global demographic changes, economic transformation and climate change are expected to be the main drivers of migration in Asia in the coming decade. Southeast Asia is one of the most disaster-prone subregions in the world, with millions of people displaced each year. In the near future, this will be an issue that we all need to address.
Data shows that migrant workers are contributing to important economic sectors including agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic work.
The benefits of labor migration are well documented. In destination countries, labor migration helps address labor and skill shortages. In destination countries, migrant workers improve the lives of their families and communities by transferring skills and financial resources, while also relieving pressure on the domestic labor market. According to the World Bank (WB), in 2023, Vietnam will continue to be in the top 10 countries receiving the most remittances in the world, with an estimated $14 billion.
However, it is important to highlight some of the risks involved in the labour migration journey, including lack of transparent information, unclear or substitute labour contracts, inadequate accommodation, unpaid or underpaid wages, lack of access to remedies, etc. These increase the risk of human and labour rights violations at all stages of the labour migration journey.
That is why IOM works closely with both national governments of origin and destination, international partners, civil society and the private sector to protect human rights, conduct responsible business and promote the further expansion of regular migration pathways. This contributes to providing migrant workers with access to safe, regular and standard-compliant migration pathways where they can fully enjoy their human and labour rights.
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| Overview of the Safe Migration Training Session on June 25. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
How do you assess Vietnam's efforts to facilitate “safe migration for the benefit of all” and combat human trafficking?
In recent years, Vietnam has been very active in promoting safe migration as well as making serious efforts to combat human trafficking. A typical example is the implementation of the "Program to prevent and combat human trafficking for the period 2021-2025 and orientation to 2030", which includes new solutions and tasks to prevent and combat human trafficking in all fields.
Besides, Vietnam also recorded other achievements such as:
Increase attention to investigating and identifying different forms of trafficking, such as domestic trafficking and forced labor; compile more detailed data on the global trafficking situation to better understand the domestic trafficking situation.
Increased identification and support of victims of human trafficking, as demonstrated by the significant number of victims assisted in 2022. In particular, recent cases of human trafficking involving victims of forced labor on fishing vessels have been identified and prosecuted by the Vietnam Border Guard.
In particular, the Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contract (or Law No. 69), effective from January 1, 2022, is a step closer to ensuring fair and ethical labor recruitment.
In addition, the Vietnamese Government is also making efforts to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination with standardized procedures. For example, an initiative of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has been implemented, the "Coordination Regulations on the Reception, Protection and Support of Victims of Trafficking" which will take effect from August 2022, and will apply to four specialized ministries: MOLISA, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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| Signing ceremony of the 'Coordination regulations in receiving, protecting and supporting victims of human trafficking' on July 18, 2022. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Currently, the situation of recruitment fraud to exploit workers at online fraud establishments abroad is increasing. In your opinion, what should we do to prevent this risk?
Although the benefits of migration are well documented, migrant workers remain at risk of various forms of human and labour rights violations at all stages of their labour migration journey.
Migrant workers often pay high recruitment fees, which leaves them vulnerable to debt bondage, exploitation or forced labour. Furthermore, they may face other risks throughout their labour migration journey, including: lack of transparent information, unclear or alternative employment contracts, inadequate accommodation, and discriminatory selection procedures and requirements (e.g. pregnancy testing requirements).
| “We need to work to ensure that migrant workers have access to safe, regular and standard migration routes where they can fully enjoy their human and labour rights.” (IOM Chief of Mission Park Mihyung) |
Migrant workers are three times more likely to experience forced labour than local workers, according to the latest Global Estimate on Modern Slavery published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), IOM and Walk Free.
While the vulnerability of migrant workers is often supported by structural and policy support, the private sector is responsible for 85% of exploitation. At the same time, gaps in the governance of labour migration remain as governments in the region strive to implement the principles of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in line with relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
Current conventional labour migration pathways do not meet the overall demand for migrant labour in destination countries and the demand for income opportunities for workers from origin countries. This results in high rates of irregular labour migration and the presence of large undocumented populations in destination countries with increased risk of exploitation.
Despite some progress over time, gaps in existing laws and regulations in the region tend to exacerbate the vulnerability of migrant workers. In countries of origin, effective recruitment regulation remains a challenge as migrant workers can be legally charged recruitment fees and related costs, pre-departure orientation systems are weak, and there is a lack of monitoring of employers, and effective penalties and sanctions. In destination countries, migrant workers’ basic rights to change employers and freedom of association are restricted.
To address these issues, in all its programmes, IOM supports countries in expanding and improving pathways for regular labour migration, including policies, legal frameworks, regulations and implementation mechanisms. IOM takes a “whole of government” approach, working across relevant ministries and agencies as well as at national, state and local levels.
We also work to raise awareness about safe migration, including skills development, job matching, raising awareness about anti-trafficking, providing pre-departure information to workers on health issues and raising awareness about Law 69 so that all know their rights and reduce the risk of labour exploitation.
When it comes to ensuring workers’ rights, we cannot ignore business. That is why we also have regional programmes to develop projects and strategic partnerships with industry associations, multinational companies, employers and recruiters. Through this, we hope to strengthen business respect for migrants’ rights and implement innovative solutions to promote ethical and responsible recruitment, increase supply chain transparency, conduct human rights due diligence and provide effective grievance mechanisms and remedies.
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| Young people participating in the "Youth Communication Initiative to Promote Safe Migration and Combat Trafficking in Persons" competition in January 2024. (Source: IOM) |
Currently, IOM is implementing many projects in Vietnam to protect migrants. What are the highlights of these projects, Madam?
First is data, effectively addressing human trafficking requires up-to-date and reliable data as an empirical basis for policy, programs and support for victims.
IOM is supporting the Ministry of Public Security to further develop the trafficking database and is currently implementing a nationwide training programme to collect data on the trafficking situation. We remain committed to this process.
Human trafficking is a complex and rapidly evolving problem. That is why anti-trafficking agencies must be flexible and understand the many facets of the problem. It is important to find innovative ways to identify emerging trends, especially cybercrime; provide comprehensive support to victims; and find timely, actionable solutions to meet the new and growing challenges of human trafficking.
Second, raising awareness. Over the past few years, through our anti-trafficking campaign, we have reached nearly 1.8 million people (from August 2022 to March 2024) both online and offline, many of whom are young people. We have a popular fan page called “Think Before You Go”, which promotes information about safe migration to young people and those who want to migrate, with over 12,000 active followers.
By integrating anti-trafficking strategies and safe migration content into extracurricular activities in schools, we aim to educate every Vietnamese student about the risks of human trafficking, emphasizing the potential for large-scale impact.
This approach is sustainable because it promotes universal access to education, ensures that every young person knows how to prevent human trafficking, and promotes a culture of empathy and responsibility throughout society.
It is encouraging to see that the Vietnamese National Assembly has recently discussed the potential for integrating anti-trafficking into school curricula, suggesting that IOM’s approach is aligned with the Government of Vietnam.
In addition, through outreach activities, we encourage youth to actively engage in youth migration communication, empowering them to become future change makers. We organized a competition called “Youth Communication Initiatives to Promote Safe Migration and Combat Trafficking” earlier this year, which attracted over 600 youth participants. Ultimately, we supported 6 initiatives by providing seed funding, supporting their implementation, contributing to a safer future for all.
Third , strengthen protection and prosecution capacity. IOM is working closely with Vietnam to improve standardized tools for screening and identifying victims of trafficking.
Together with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and other partners, we are also developing standard screening forms for frontline staff to detect, screen, refer and identify victims of trafficking in businesses and services at risk of social evils.
Finally, strengthen partnerships. In particular, work better with civil society organizations close to workers to reach the most vulnerable groups of migrant workers.
In addition, we also strengthen engagement with the private sector through a network of over 40 private sector partnerships, to adopt responsible business practices and provide transparency in the migration process, preventing any inadvertent involvement in human trafficking in the region.
At the same time, IOM actively collaborates with technology companies and experts to detect the tricks of traffickers and come up with innovative solutions to address the problem.
Thank you!
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/truong-phai-doan-iom-viet-nam-rat-tich-cuc-thuc-day-di-cu-an-toan-va-nghiem-tuc-chong-mua-ban-nguoi-276331.html
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