VZCZCXRO7658
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #1436/01 3640530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 300529Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0662
INFO ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0322

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001436 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KWMN SOCI VM
SUBJECT: National Standing Committee on TIP Reflects on 2009 and 
hopes for improved engagement in 2010 
 
REF: HANOI 1216 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In a December 10 meeting with the Political 
Counselor, Colonel Le Van Chuong, the chair of Vietnam's 
coordinating agency on trafficking, National Committee 130, 
reviewed his country's efforts over the past year to combat human 
trafficking.  The Ministry of Public Security reported that in 
2009, Vietnam focused on a) improving the capacity of its ongoing 
anti-trafficking programs, b) expanding the legal definition of 
trafficking to include men, c) working to improve bilateral 
relationships with its neighbors, and d) beginning the process of 
developing the next National Action Plan on Human Trafficking for 
2011-2020.  NC-130 estimated that in 2009, 250 victims had been 
rescued through police operations, some coordinated with foreign 
governments, and approximately 500 victims had been received at the 
borders or through diplomatic channels.  MPS also reported 350 
trafficking cases and the arrest of 500 suspects.  In 2010, Vietnam 
intends to focus on labor export, foreign marriages and expanded 
TIP awareness programs.  Key legislative goals in 2010 include the 
passage of a comprehensive law on trafficking to supersede current 
piecemeal legislative efforts and approval of a proposal before the 
National Assembly to ratify the UN Convention on Transnational 
Organized Crime.  Chuong stated that Vietnam had studied the TIP 
Report and welcomed further engagement with the United States.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On December 10, PolCouns and the Poloff responsible for 
TIP reporting and advocacy met with Colonel Le Van Chuong, the head 
of Vietnam's National Committee 130 (NC-130), a national-level 
steering committee headed by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) 
that is responsible for coordinating the government's 
anti-trafficking activities.  Chuong emphasized that NC-130 met 
with USG officials more frequently than with any other country to 
discuss trafficking in persons, an indication he said of his 
government's desire to work with the U.S. government.  He 
reaffirmed that Vietnam remained committed to combating trafficking 
-- from the grassroots to the national level -- and said that 
NC-130 greatly appreciated the U.S. government's continuing 
interest and concern. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Chuong said TIP remained a complicated and challenging 
issue for Vietnam and cited poverty, high unemployment, and 
widespread gender inequality as factors that left many poor 
Vietnamese vulnerable to trafficking.  He said that economic 
development, together with legal reform, awareness-raising efforts 
(particularly in rural communities), improved victim assistance, 
and enhanced regional and international cooperation, would help 
address the problem.  Like other GVN officials, Chuong also pointed 
to "foreign influences" as a source of much of the problem, noting 
that increasing regional and international integration had 
contributed to trafficking, particularly in the form of fake 
foreign marriage brokers, trafficking to China, and export labor 
exploitation. 
 
2009 TIP Highlights: Legal Reform 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Colonel Chuong emphasized efforts this year to make 
several important changes to Vietnam's legal code to address human 
trafficking this year.  First, in June, the National Assembly 
approved an amendment to Article 119 that broadened the definition 
of human trafficking to include men, a move he stressed would 
enable men to make use of victim support services.  In July, the 
government introduced a new regulation designed to prevent fraud in 
foreign marriages.  And in October, Deputy Prime Minister (and 
Politburo member) Truong Vinh Trong chaired an extensive review of 
the five-year implementation of its National Plan of Action on the 
Trafficking of Women and Children (reftel).  Twenty-five embassies 
and international organizations were present at that event.  Chuong 
said the Ministry of Justice was still working on Vietnam's 
comprehensive law on human trafficking, which he hoped would be 
presented to the National Assembly for passage in 2010. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In addition to legal reform, Chuong said Vietnam also 
improved its regional cooperation efforts, noting that MPS and the 
Ministry of Defense's Border Guards developed a mechanism to 
exchange information and coordinate the investigations and arrests 
of suspects in their efforts to fight against organized crime. 
Thailand and Vietnam held a seminar this year to develop an 
implementation plan based on their 2008 bilateral agreement and on 
December 3, Cambodia and Vietnam also signed a bilateral agreement 
to standardize procedures for returning victims.  With an estimated 
sixty percent of Vietnam's trafficking victims going to China, 
Vietnam is working to build better relationships with their Chinese 
counterparts in order to combat this serious problem involving both 
countries.  Chuong highlighted an April 2009 meeting with Chinese 
 
HANOI 00001436  002 OF 002 
 
 
police in Guangxi province as one example of enhanced cross-border 
efforts, and said a bilateral agreement with China is currently 
being negotiated. He expects it will be signed by the Prime 
Minister in 2010.  (Note: During an October visit to the border 
provinces of Cao Bang and Lang Son, Poloff met with MPS officials 
in the provincial capitals and at the border, who emphasized that 
enhanced cooperation with China has already begun, with provincial 
law-enforcement officers from both sides meeting regularly to 
discuss coordination.  End note.)  Vietnam has also been working 
with Laos, Cambodia and China to establish better networks for 
information sharing, including a tri-country hotline border guards 
can use to collect and share TIP information.  Chuong said Vietnam 
also continues to work closely with INGOs on TIP-related projects. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Chuong said Vietnam's improved anti-TIP efforts have led 
to the investigation this year of over 350 trafficking cases, with 
the arrest of 500 suspects.  (Note: We have requested prosecution 
figures.  End note.)  He estimated that 250 victims, mostly from 
China and Cambodia have been rescued in police operations, some in 
conjunction with coordinated police actions.  Approximately 500 
victims had been received at the borders or through diplomatic 
channels, of which 100 were from Malaysia, Korea and Singapore. 
Asked about internal trafficking, Chuong acknowledged there was a 
problem, but responded that much of it remains hidden and related 
to prostitution and the tourism industries. 
 
Looking forward to 2010 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Looking ahead, Chuong said NC-130 would review current 
projects related to public awareness, victim identification and 
reintegration, as well as the legal mechanism to implement the next 
National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking of Women and Children 
(2011-2020), which is the GVN's blue print for anti-TIP efforts. 
NC-130 would also continue working on bilateral issues and 
agreements, such as the one pending with China, Chuong said. 
NC-130 intended to submit a comprehensive law on TIP to the 
National Assembly, Chuong said, adding that the National Assembly 
would also consider the UN International Convention on Trafficking 
in Persons.  Chuong stated that NC-130 intended to give special 
attention to trafficking as it relates to export labor, 
acknowledging USG concerns in this area. 
 
A Nod to USG Efforts 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Chuong referred to the 2009 TIP report and U.S. criminal 
code several times during the discussion and identified potential 
areas of cooperation between Vietnam and the United States. He 
requested that the USG provide Vietnam with TIP success stories and 
best practices from countries in similar circumstances, and pledged 
to continue frank exchanges on how best to combat trafficking. 
Chuong expressed the Vietnamese government's appreciation for 
training efforts such as the November ILEA Bangkok training on 
human trafficking, to which Vietnam sent six officers, and an 
upcoming training in Roswell, New Mexico regarding law enforcement 
management. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment:  Our NC-130 interlocutors were collegial, 
informative and highly interested in exchanging information, a 
positive sign that our outreach efforts are paying off.  NC-130's 
wish list presents a window of opportunity to positively influence 
Vietnam's anti-TIP activities.  End Comment. 
 
¶10.  (U) This cable was coordinated with ConGen HCMC. 
Michalak