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Viewing cable 09HANOI179, 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - VIETNAM - PART 3 of

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09HANOI179 2009-02-27 10:13 2011-08-26 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Hanoi
VZCZCXRO4558
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0179/01 0581013
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271013Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9207
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5615
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 HANOI 000179 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/MLS, and EAP/RSP, 
USAID/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB VM
 
SUBJECT:  2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - VIETNAM - PART 3 of 
3 
 
HANOI 00000179  001.2 OF 009 
 
 
G.  Numbers of TIP Victims Indentified 
 
MOLISA and the VWU reported that in 2008, there were over 3,000 TIP 
victim returnees (identified officially or informally), of which 80 
percent were provided government assistance.  The GVN claimed to 
have resettled and reintegrated 310 individuals out of the 410 
officially identified returnees in 2008.  The official number of 
returnees represents a slight decrease in the officially reported 
number from 2007 of 450 returning victims.  However, MOLISA and 
VWU's combined number of officially identified victims and those 
identified outside the official system is significantly higher and 
reflects the GVN's growing recognition of the scale of the problem. 
Both NGOs and government officials acknowledge that this number of 
victims is still apt to be conservative. 
 
H.  Identification of Victims by Immigration, Law Enforcement and 
Social Services 
 
In May 2008, the GVN enacted Inter-Ministerial Circular 03 between, 
MFA, MPS, and the Border Guard.  The document defines cross-border 
TIP victims, delineates responsibility for identifying victims and 
establishes procedures for referring victims to care upon return to 
Vietnam.  Also in May, the MPS Immigration Department issued 
Decision 2068 on the issuance of forms used for trafficked women and 
children returning from overseas. 
 
Under the new regulations, women and children are identified as 
victims of cross-border trafficking for the purposes of exploitation 
(forced commercial sex or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced 
labor or services, slavery, or removal of body organs) if they are 
forced or the threat of force is used against them, they are 
kidnapped and taken across borders, or they are cheated, taken 
advantage of, or taken overseas in exchange for other material 
interest (i.e. sold). 
 
The regulation tasks different government offices with the 
responsibility for officially identifying victims, depending on the 
victims' circumstances: 
 
-- The MPS Department of Immigration, in cooperation with the border 
province MPS Immigration Department, is responsible for identifying 
victims who return through bilateral arrangements with another 
country. 
 
-- Vietnamese diplomatic representatives overseas are responsible 
for identifying victims who are discovered while still overseas. 
 
-- The Border Guard at border crossings is responsible for 
identifying victims who are rescued or freely return via the land 
border. 
 
-- Provincial MPS Department of Immigration in the victim's home 
province are responsible for identifying victims who have returned 
home without entering via an official border crossing or without 
having been identified as a victim at the official border crossing 
(e.g. cases that come to light after the victim returns home). 
 
This is a positive development; however, as with the new referral 
system put in place by the same Circular, the official 
identification system is only just beginning to be effective.  A 
senior MOLISA official acknowledged that the system will continue to 
experience significant growing pains as officials are trained and 
advised of their responsibilities.  One gap, as identified by NGOs 
and international organizations, is that the definition and 
identification system does not include victims of internal 
trafficking.  GVN officials recognize this, but insist that in 
practice internal trafficking victims are provided the same services 
as cross-border victims. 
 
I.  Respect for Victims' Rights 
 
Trafficking survivors returning to Vietnam are not detained, 
arrested or placed in protective custody against their will.  The 
GVN routinely sends prostitutes to "rehabilitation centers" where 
they receive medical care and vocational training during a period of 
detention.  Trafficking survivors are not sent to these centers 
unless they are caught engaging in prostitution after their return 
to Vietnam.  MOLISA officials report that trafficking victims have 
the opportunity to enter a prostitute rehabilitation center 
voluntarily to take advantage of the medical care and vocational 
training, but that this is very rare due to the social and cultural 
 
HANOI 00000179  002.2 OF 009 
 
 
stigma associated with prostitution. 
 
Victims of internal trafficking for prostitution run the risk of 
being sent to rehabilitation centers.  However, police and local 
government officials in Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, and other 
provinces in Vietnam state that the most likely outcome for a victim 
of internal trafficking caught up in an anti-prostitution sweep 
would be to be sent back to her home village or district.  NGOs 
reported that interviews with victims bear this out. 
 
Post has no information indicating that returned trafficking victims 
in Vietnam are treated as criminals.  In all official meetings, 
conferences and seminars, and in the press, returnees are referred 
to as "victims."  Our own conversations with trafficking victims 
also support this.  The Director of MOJ's Legal Aid Agency advocated 
changing the law explicitly to acknowledge the victim status of 
returnees and the GVN's recent efforts to define, identify, and 
refer victims to care suggest that the need to avoid 
"re-victimizing" the victim is one aspects of trafficking better 
understood by the GVN. 
 
J.  Victims' Participation in Investigations and Prosecutions 
 
According to the MOJ, trafficking victims in Vietnam are encouraged 
to assist in the investigation and prosecution process.  They are 
also encouraged to file suit against the traffickers.  Article 31 of 
the Criminal Procedures Code explicitly states the right of any 
Vietnamese citizen to make complaints or statements during criminal 
proceedings. 
 
The Vietnam Women's Union has worked with courts at the local levels 
to help victims prosecute traffickers and to protect witnesses. 
Staff at assessment centers and shelters stated that victims are 
encouraged to participate in legal action against their traffickers. 
 An MPS official in Can Tho stated that his office consistently 
requested victim participation in investigations, but found that 
many victims still wish to remain anonymous.  There is no data 
available as to the number of victims who were involved in case 
prosecutions although, based on media reports, it is believed to be 
growing. 
 
Recent export labor laws and their related implementing documents 
provide some recourse to victims of labor-based trafficking, 
although bureaucratic inertia and a lack of resources for victims 
continue to be challenges.  MOLISA is actively negotiating MOUs with 
labor destination countries, although not all destination countries 
have been equally cooperative. 
 
If a court ruling is against an employer (for example, the employer 
is sentenced to imprisonment), then compensation will be awarded to 
the victim by the court, including back pay.  Article 29 of the 
Criminal Procedures Code establishes the right to compensation and 
the restoration of reputation and other benefits for the victims of 
injustice, including trafficking.  In reality, victims of 
international labor trafficking often encounter indifference when 
they attempt to seek redress or request that government officials 
investigate their cases. 
 
Victims may leave Vietnam in accordance with emigration regulations. 
 Witness protection is made available, as necessary (see section 
5.A). 
 
K.  Training for GVN Officials in Identifying Victims and Providing 
Assistance to Victims 
 
The GVN, working with UNODC, UNICEF (focusing on child trafficking) 
and the VWU, has provided significant anti-TIP training to MPS 
Police, Border Guard Command and court officials, in particular over 
the last three years.  The USG has supported this training through 
anti-TIP programs funded under USAID and the Department of State. 
During the reporting period, UNODC solicited donor support for a 
follow-on project to build the capacity of Vietnam's justice system 
and social services to adequately protect and assist victims, build 
referral mechanisms, enhance rehabilitation and reintegration for 
victims, and address legal assistance issues, including compensation 
and other legal recourse for victims. 
 
In 2008, in addition to other GVN courses, MOLISA conducted training 
courses on victim assistance, which included psychological support 
services, a component which has often been lacking.  Both MOLISA and 
the VWU have produced numerous training documents and are conducting 
 
HANOI 00000179  003.2 OF 009 
 
 
information and education campaigns across the country.  Both 
organizations continue to work closely with international 
organizations IOM and ILO in this area and counterparts in China, 
Cambodia, and Thailand under the established anti-TIP MOUs. 
 
The MFA regularly intervened to provide assistance in cases of 
Vietnamese TIP victims trapped overseas, and Vietnamese Embassies 
had some financial resources to assist with sheltering and 
repatriation.  MFA also worked with MPS in securing travel 
documentation in such cases. 
 
The GVN continued to increase the number of labor attaches sent to 
embassies located in countries that have the largest number of 
Vietnamese workers.  These attaches are responsible for working with 
the local authorities, the employers of Vietnamese workers and other 
Embassy staff members to monitor labor conditions and intervene on 
behalf of Vietnamese workers if necessary.  They also play a role in 
MOLISA's drive to negotiate export labor MOUs and bilateral 
agreements with all Vietnamese labor destination countries.  In 
addition, these officers have access to a fund that can be used to 
help Vietnamese workers who find themselves in a difficult situation 
(such as an abusive workplace, or a bankrupt employer) to go home. 
While this provides an important protection for workers while 
overseas, this fund does not address compensation issues once the 
worker returns to Vietnam. 
 
MFA consular officers receive training on trafficking in persons as 
part of their regular training program.  In addition, MFA officers 
assigned to Taiwan and Korea receive special briefings on working 
with Vietnamese women who are married to men from those countries. 
These officials do not hesitate to work with local or international 
NGOs, as needed. 
 
L.  Assistance to Repatriated Victims of Trafficking 
 
In January 2007, the GVN issued Decision No. 17, on receiving and 
providing assistance to TIP victims returning from abroad and 
reintegrating them into their communities.  The regulation assures 
rights, legitimate interests, dignity and non-discrimination for 
trafficking victims and provides for living skills, vocational 
training and financial aid, depending on circumstances.  The GVN 
also specifically allocated funds for such activities.  As mentioned 
previously in this report, new regulations now govern the referral 
of victims to care (see section 5.5.F) and, in accordance with the 
NPA, MOLISA and the VWU share responsibility for longer term care of 
trafficking victims (see section 5.E). 
 
The VWU has facilitated training of the Border Guard Command on how 
to identify, process, and support trafficking victims.  The GVN has 
also established a global fund that overseas Vietnamese Embassies 
and consulates can tap into to assist in the repatriation of 
trafficking victims.  This has typically been used in egregious 
labor cases. 
 
Anti-TIP MOUs with Cambodia, China, and Thailand have helped 
establish guidelines and standards for the processing and re-entry 
of victims.  Some international NGOs have complained to us of poor 
coordination, corruption and delays in processing Vietnamese victims 
in shelters on the Cambodian side of the border. 
 
The return of trafficking victims from Cambodia improved overall, 
however, with fewer reports of victims without nationality documents 
facing undue bureaucratic red tape upon arrival in Vietnam.  Some of 
these victims return to Vietnam on their own and are unable to tap 
into healthcare, education and other public benefits that require 
official residence.  MOLISA, the VWU, the MOJ Legal Aid Agency, and 
some NGOs assist victims in resolving these often legally complex 
problems.  The assessment centers and shelters are also increasingly 
equipped to assist with documentation issues.  Most victims are able 
to establish residency, following the normal but lengthy 
bureaucratic procedures. 
 
The 2007 export labor law re-mandates use of a fund created in 2004 
for the protection and welfare of overseas workers, allowing the GVN 
to assist overseas workers in distress without requiring workers to 
rely on either the labor export companies responsible for sending 
them overseas or the employers in the host country.  This allows the 
GVN to use public funds to repatriate workers whose employment 
situation outside of Vietnam deteriorates to the point that they 
need assistance to return to Vietnam. 
 
 
HANOI 00000179  004.2 OF 009 
 
 
M.  International Organizations and NGOs 
 
International Organizations and NGOs, along with a handful of 
domestic NGOs, provide support to victims through financial support 
from international donors, including the U.S., the EU, and the 
Government of Australia.  NGOs and international organizations 
providing such services in Vietnam include UNIAP, UNODC, UNICEF, IOM 
and ILO. NGOs include AFESIP, The Asia Foundation, Pacific Links 
Foundation, and Catholic Relief Services, among others. 
 
These organizations work cooperatively with GVN agencies in 
implementing the 2004-2010 NPA; however, they are largely funded by 
the international donor community.  For this reason, resource 
constraints are considerable and NGOs face financial challenges to 
maintain their presence on the ground in Vietnam.  Funding from the 
international donor community, including the USG, has not been 
consistent. 
 
Major ongoing NGO anti-TIP projects in Vietnam include: 
 
-- IOM programs focus on the protection of returnees and preventing 
trafficking.  IOM has assisted the GVN with the implementation of 
its MOUs with China and Cambodia and is active in the regional 
Mekong project providing assistance to trafficking victims who want 
to return to Vietnam.  IOM works with provincial and implementing 
partners in managing assessment centers for returning trafficked 
women, conducting training and capacity building activities, and 
developing appropriate services to facilitate the reintegration of 
trafficked women.  IOM also conducts prevention and behavior-change 
activities at the provincial and district levels, especially with 
the VWU.  Since 2004, IOM has worked closely with the USG (USAID, 
PRM, G/TIP) implementing national-level prevention activities, 
managing shelters and reintegration assessment centers in Quang 
Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang and Lao Cai provinces and 
developing return and reintegration skills and mechanisms in six 
additional provinces. 
 
-- UNICEF has a Vietnam component to its sub regional 
anti-trafficking project, which focuses on protection of victims and 
institutional capacity building, as well as legal reform.  UNICEF's 
project is unique in that it incorporates children themselves in 
project planning.  UNICEF has also conducted training programs for 
Vietnamese law enforcement, related to identifying and preventing 
trafficking in children.  UNICEF has worked closely with IOM and 
UNODC on other anti-TIP programs. 
 
-- The Asia Foundation (TAF), also funded by the USG, focuses on the 
prevention of trafficking in Quang Ninh and An Giang provinces.  TAF 
works with Vietnamese NGOs and the Women's Union to improve 
conditions and opportunities for women in the provinces.  Activities 
include the training of women political candidates and business 
managers, the provision of micro-credit loans for women starting 
small businesses and the improvement of cross-border communication. 
In May 2007, TAF launched a USD $300,000 project, funded by State 
G/TIP, to combat human trafficking in Vietnam over the next two 
years, focusing on five key provinces. 
 
-- Catholic Relief Services (CRS) continued its two-year 
anti-trafficking project (started in 2007 and funded by State 
G/TIP), in the Mekong Delta.  The project focuses on safe migration, 
public awareness, and assistance to TIP victims and returnees. 
 
-- The East Meets West Foundation is the lead organization in a 
partnership called ADAPT - the An Giang/Dong Thap Alliance to 
Prevent Trafficking.  The other organizations are the International 
Children Assistance Network (ICAN) and the Pacific Links Foundation 
(PALS), both members of the California-based Vietnamese American NGO 
Network (VA NGO Network).  This partnership's project focuses on 
prevention, and it launched in the fall of 2005 with a grant from 
USAID. 
 
ADAPT offers scholarships to at-risk girls until they finish high 
school, covering not only the cost of school fees and supplies, but 
also after-school tutoring and a high level of community and 
parental engagement. 
 
ADAPT also offers a program to enhance life options for young women 
who may have left school already and are considering traveling to 
Cambodia or elsewhere to find work.  For these at-risk young women, 
ADAPT has a program of vocational training combined with job 
placement.  ADAPT also provides reintegration services, including 
 
HANOI 00000179  005.2 OF 009 
 
 
access to health care, counseling, vocational training and other 
assistance, to trafficking survivors.  The current project will end 
in September 2009. 
 
-- AFESIP works to rescue and reintegrate trafficking victims 
through its rehabilitation center in HCMC, established in 2001.  The 
center provides former trafficking victims with medical and 
psychological assistance, safe accommodation, educational and 
vocational training courses.  Social workers continue to track 
reintegrated residents for at least three years, and some former 
residents have also begun mentoring new women arriving at the 
center.  AFESIP also opened a center in Can Tho in 2005 with 
assistance from UNICEF. 
 
-- UNIAP in Bangkok administers a USD three million (total project 
cost) project against trafficking in women and children in the 
Mekong Sub-region, including Vietnam, which attempts to collect data 
and to improve internal coordination among GVN agencies. 
 
-- The Australian Government is funding two projects under the Asia 
Regional Trafficking in Persons (ARTIP) project, a five-year 
initiative that began in 2006 in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and 
Myanmar.  During its second phase (2008-2010), the project includes 
Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. 
 
In March 2008, ARTIP launched a project to assist Vietnam's efforts 
to prevent trafficking of women and children in northern border 
province of Lang Son.  The one-year project, funded in the amount of 
approximately USD $57,000, aims to reach 8,000 people, including 
2,000 school children and 400 women and children in high risk 
groups. 
 
In December 2008, ARTIP undertook a two-year project to help to 
increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and 
the judiciary to tackle human trafficking, while protecting the 
rights of the victims.  The project will also help Vietnam to 
develop and adjust its policies and legal framework, allowing it to 
prevent and deal with human trafficking-related crimes more 
effectively.  Professional training and the provision of facilities 
for authorized Vietnamese agencies are among the other aims of the 
project. 
 
-- World Vision launched a project in the central province of Quang 
Tri in August 2008, funded by World Vision International in the 
amount of USD $72,000 USD.  The project, which will run until 
mid-2011, focuses on strengthening the local community's capacity to 
prevent trafficking and support victims. 
 
While the range of projects is impressive, these organizations 
altogether are spending well less than USD $5 million annually in 
Vietnam.  Most projects are small-scale and focused mainly on 
raising awareness of trafficking in at-risk communities, with some 
additional efforts to address "root causes" and protect returning 
victims of trafficking. 
 
Despite resource constraints, GVN participation and in-kind 
contributions are impressive.  All of these projects have a GVN 
partner organization and draw heavily on donated staff from the VWU, 
MOLISA, and, in some cases, MPS.  Local governments often cooperate 
with NGOs to provide support to returned trafficking victims in the 
form of vocational training, educational services, farmland or 
capital for micro-credit loans.  The GVN's contribution to these 
projects is nearly always in-kind, in the form of office space, 
personnel, equipment and supplies, if available. 
 
Smaller domestic NGOs also provide support service, primarily in the 
form of support groups, information access, and basic vocational 
training.  One domestic NGO in Hanoi provided a trafficking hotline 
and reported excellent cooperation with MPS and government social 
service organizations.  In January 2009, the NGO suspended the 
hotline's operation due to lack of resources. 
 
The international community in general, and the NGO and 
international organization community in particular, are unanimous in 
a positive assessment of GVN cooperation.  UN agencies with 
experience working with the GVN in several different sectors state 
that interaction on the issue of trafficking is the most productive 
and effective of all of their projects.  Even law enforcement 
cooperation, an area where the GVN is known to be cautious, is a 
bright spot in the area of combating TIP. 
 
 
HANOI 00000179  006.2 OF 009 
 
 
6. (SBU) PREVENTION 
 
A.  Public Awareness Efforts 
 
In 2008, both the Youth Union and VWU continued significant 
nationwide anti-TIP public awareness campaigns, and surveys show 
that these awareness campaigns have had a positive impact. 
 
Under the Prime Minister's Decree 130, establishing the anti-TIP 
National Program of Action and National Steering Committee, the GVN 
assigned the role of anti-TIP information, education and 
communication primarily to the VWU and the Youth Union.  Public 
awareness campaigns during the reporting period involved public 
information sessions, the development of numerous anti-TIP 
information products and advertising, radio and television campaigns 
and interventions at schools in high-risk zones. 
 
Anti-TIP activities are often included with other "anti-social evil 
programs" run by MOLISA's Department of Social Evils Prevention 
(DSEP).  (Note:  The GVN defines "social evils" as drug abuse, 
HIV/AIDS, prostitution and trafficking in persons.  End Note.)  For 
example, the GVN's official anti-prostitution program has been 
underway since 2001.  This program includes TIP information and 
education campaigns and, according to DSEP, has as its audience 
victims and high-risk groups.  The GVN reports that its anti-TIP 
campaigns and the anti-TIP components of other campaigns reach tens 
of millions of people altogether.  In general, government-run 
anti-trafficking programs in Vietnam are designed to reach potential 
trafficking victims rather than address the demand for trafficking, 
which is consistent with Vietnam primary status as a source rather 
than a destination country for trafficking.  Separate propaganda 
campaigns target consumers of prostitution. 
 
Cross-border information campaigns with China and Cambodia have 
grown and are believed to have an impact.  MTV Asia, under the 
auspices of USAID, continued to broadcast public service 
announcements on government-run Vietnam Television's youth channel 
on the perils of TIP. 
 
In cooperation with its counterpart in South Korea, the VWU 
continued a program of pre-marriage counseling centers and hotlines 
in key source areas of Vietnam, including the Mekong Delta, Hanoi, 
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Haiphong, to alert women to the risk of 
trafficking when marrying a foreign national.  MOLISA also worked 
closely with MPS on illegal labor recruitment, publicity campaigns, 
and illegal labor recruitment hotlines. 
 
Vietnam Television also occasionally addresses TIP in a popular 
television program about home economics, featuring returnees 
discussing their trafficking experiences and advising others on how 
to avoid being trafficked.  While it is difficult to quantify 
increased in public awareness, anecdotal evidence suggests that the 
messages are having an impact.  In Hue, for example, a provincial 
official stated that parents now contact the provincial level NSC 
representative when an adolescent goes missing, just in case they 
have been trafficked.  Members of rural communities are increasingly 
aware of the risks of trafficking, although economic desperation 
often leads those in search of work to ignore the dangers. 
 
B.  GVN Monitoring of Immigration and Emigration Patterns 
 
Sophisticated monitoring of immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking currently is beyond the GVN's technical and 
resource abilities.  Representatives from the General Criminal 
Division of MPS point to the countless forest paths and rivers along 
Vietnam's 5,000 km of land borders where people cross the border 
unofficially.  IOM and UNODC are two lead actors in Vietnam in terms 
of monitoring migratory patterns and TIP and establishing data. 
 
At regular border crossing points, immigration and border guard 
officers always check not only travel documents but also the purpose 
of every entry or exit to detect any suspect cases.  Such entry-exit 
records are well-maintained. 
 
During the reporting period, the GVN, with support from 
international NGOs, continued to conduct several anti-TIP training 
programs for its Border Guard Command and supplied it with training 
materials.  Senior Border Guard Commanders, though reporting an 
overall strengthening in its capacity and a raised skill level, 
stated that demand is not close to being met.  The number of border 
guard officers trained is still small, and the Border Guard Command 
 
HANOI 00000179  007.2 OF 009 
 
 
lamented that equipment, facilities and financial assistance for 
investigations are all lacking.  In particular, there is a lack of 
training in remote areas and islands. 
 
In 2008, the GVN, working with IOM, UNICEF and others, continued to 
establish more TIP victim assistance and assessment centers at key 
border locations.  Increased inter-governmental cooperation with 
China and Cambodia has also enhanced TIP interdiction at the 
borders.  The GVN has established a formal regulation for anti-TIP 
cooperation between the MPS and the Border Guard Command and this 
relationship is very good. 
 
C.  Interagency Coordination and Communication 
 
As discussed earlier, the 2004 GVN National Program of Action (NPA) 
established a National Steering Committee (NSC) chaired by the 
Deputy Prime Minister.  The Vice Chair is a senior official from 
MPS, the lead implementing agency.  Other NSC members include 
representatives from the MFA, MOJ, MOLISA, Ministry of Culture, 
Sport, and Tourism, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of 
Finance, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, 
and the Vietnam Women's Union and Youth Union.  Provincial-level 
Steering Committees, with compositions similar to the national 
level, have also been established under the NPA.  These are led 
respectively by the Provincial People's Committee chairman. 
 
The NSC in Hanoi has the responsibility for coordinating all GVN 
interagency efforts.  MPS is the lead agency within the NSC and acts 
as a focal point in cooperation with other relevant ministries, 
sectors, and international organizations.  In addition, there is a 
Central Coordination Office and an Anti-Trafficking Task Force of 23 
staff members from various member GVN agencies that operate under 
the umbrella of the NSC. 
 
The GVN's ability to operate in an interagency context remains 
limited, but has improved considerably under the NPA.  Problems 
include antiquated communications technology and the lack of a 
strong tradition of GVN interagency cooperation.  The MPS maintains 
a conservative police culture and remains reluctant to share 
information outside of the law enforcement establishment.  NGO 
sources complained of interagency clashes between law enforcement, 
MOLISA and the Women and Youth Unions. 
 
The GVN generally works well with relevant international 
organizations on TIP, especially those connected to the UN such as 
UNODC, UNICEF, and ILO.  MPS has played an active role in several 
UNICEF and UNODC trafficking projects, going so far as to assign one 
senior officer full time in the UNODC office as a national project 
coordinator.  This has greatly improved UNODC's ability to work with 
MPS.  Although its three year anti-TIP program came to an end in 
2007, UNODC continued its work with MPS in the area of domestic 
violence prevention and sought donor support for follow on work on 
anti-TIP efforts. 
 
While the GVN has facilitated international NGOs working on TIP in 
Vietnam, we occasionally hear complaints from NGOs about obstacles 
at the local government levels, including the demanding of bribes or 
difficulty in obtaining permits to operate in certain districts. 
 
On the TIP issue, civil society representation came primarily from 
the VWU, a mass organization dedicated to women's issues in Vietnam, 
as well as the Youth Union, although a growing number of domestic 
NGOs also provided services and training.  The VWU has branches and 
offices throughout the country down to the commune level and is 
effective at reaching women at all strata of society.  Some NGOs 
questioned the VWU's professional capacity as TIP has only really 
become a top issue in Vietnam in the last few years.  Relations 
between the VWU and other agencies on the subject of trafficking are 
adequate and improving. 
 
D.  National Plan of Action 
 
In July 2004, the Prime Minister's office published the Decision of 
the Government on the Approval of the National Program of Action 
against Trafficking in Women and Children from 2004-2010.  The NPA 
addresses the major elements of prevention, prosecution and 
protection and identifies both the deficiencies in Vietnam's 
previous approach and the challenges and constraints facing the GVN 
as it wrestles with TIP.  The NPA established the NSC and specific 
funding mechanisms for the 2004-2010 period. 
 
 
HANOI 00000179  008.2 OF 009 
 
 
The GVN completed Phase I (2004-2006) of the NPA and in 2007 
reviewed all Phase 1 programs and conducted a lessons learned 
exercise.  The GVN then issued a new Prime Ministerial Directive, 
Directive 16, on "Strengthening the Implementation of the NPA for 
the Prevention of and Combat against Trafficking in Women and 
Children."  This Directive called for greater inter-agency 
cooperation; increased responsibility and accountability for 
provincial government authorities; greater scrutiny and regulation 
of export labor, foreign adoptions and marriages; increased TIP 
prevention communications and educational awareness campaigns within 
communities. 
 
Further, the Directive instructed the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to 
submit a proposal to the National Assembly to draft a new 
comprehensive TIP law during Phase II of the NPA (2007-2010).  The 
new law is expected to include men in the definition of human 
trafficking for the first time.  According to the NSC, the draft law 
will be released for public comment in the first half of 2009. 
Including ratification, the entire process of establishing the new 
law is expected to take at least two to three years. 
 
MPS, MOJ, MOLISA, MFA, the Commission for Population, Family and 
Children (CPFC) (now part of the Ministry of Health), the Supreme 
People's Court and Supreme People's Procuracy and the Vietnam 
Women's and Youth Unions were all involved in the NPA's 
development. 
 
Outside of the Women's and Youth Unions, which are Party-affiliated 
"mass organizations," the GVN did not formally consult NGOs in the 
development of the NPA.  Nevertheless, the GVN relies heavily on 
assistance from international organizations, such as the ILO, UNODC 
and UNICEF, as well as funding from foreign donors, to implement its 
NPA. 
 
The GVN has also shown a willingness to take in other points of view 
in the NPA's implementation, including advice from foreign 
governments.  International NGOs and victim advocate organizations 
have been consulted during the process of drafting of the new TIP 
law.  During the reporting period, the GVN requested U.S. technical 
assistance in drafting the new TIP law and in improving its legal 
framework on trafficking.  The GVN publicly distributed NPA 
information through the GVN's regular channels for the publication 
of official documents, assisted by the NGO community. 
 
E.  GVN Efforts to Reduce Demand for Commercial Sex 
 
This is an area where the GVN recognizes it could do more work. 
Vietnamese culture and society traditionally expect women to remain 
faithful and chaste, to hold the family together, while the 
procurement of commercial sex by men is largely accepted.  However, 
Vietnamese society is changing and there is a growing effort to 
address and improve the status of women in Vietnam.  To date, these 
efforts have only tangentially touched on the issue of commercial 
sex procurement. 
 
As mentioned previously, the GVN has an extensive campaign to 
stigmatize social evils, including prostitution, and has 
criminalized the legal status of pimps and brothel owners, with 
limited success (see section 4.K). 
 
International child sex tourism is definitely a growing concern as 
foreign tourism to Vietnam continued to increase significantly since 
2004 (see section 4.M). 
 
F.  Steps to Reduce Participation in International Sex Tourism 
 
Vietnamese nationals are not believed to be among the tourists 
traveling abroad to participate in child sex tourism (see section 
4.M for details). 
 
G.  GVN Efforts to Reduce Peacekeeping Troops' Participation in TIP 
 
 
Post response is not required.  See section 4.L for more 
information 
 
7. (U) TIME SPENT ON REPORT: 
 
FSN 10:  18 hours 
FS-04:  3 hours 
FS-03:  90 hours 
 
HANOI 00000179  009.2 OF 009 
 
 
FP-05:  2 hours 
FS-02:  7 hours 
FS-01:  2 hours 
FE-OC:  3 hours 
 
8. (U) POST TIP POINT OF CONTACT: 
 
Jane Bocklage 
Political Officer 
United States Embassy 
Hanoi, Vietnam 
Phone: (84) (04) 850-5081 
Fax:  (84) (04) 850-5098 
E-Mail:  BocklageJE@state.gov 
 
MICHALAK