VZCZCXRO2086
OO RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0188/01 0430840
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 120839Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0878
INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0123
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0482

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 HANOI 000188 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G/TIP-CHRISTINE CHAN-DOWNER, G-LAURA PENA, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/MLS, AND EAP/RSP, USAID/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
SUBJECT: 2010 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - VIETNAM - PART 1 of 3 
 
REF: 10 STATE 2094; 09 HANOI 1436; 09 HANOI 1216; 10 HANOI 68 
09 HCMC 622; 09 HANOI 559; 10 HANOI 70; 09 HANOI 698; 09 HCMC 608 
 
¶1.  (U) Post provides the following responses to the questions in 
paragraphs 25-33 of ref A, taking into account the additional 
guidance and reporting requirements required by the William 
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 
(TVPRA of 2008).  Post's responses cover the reporting period of 
February 2009 to February 2010.  Due to system limitations, the 
report will be sent in three parts. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Vietnam's TIP Situation 
 
 
 
¶A.  Documentation and Sources of TIP Information 
 
 
 
The Government of Vietnam's (GVN) interagency National Steering 
Committee (NSC-130) for the 2004-2010 National Program of Action 
against Trafficking in Women and Children (NPA) is headed by Deputy 
Prime Minister and Politburo Member Truong Vinh Trong.  The Central 
Coordination Office of the NSC-130 is responsible for, among other 
things, collecting and reporting information on trafficking victims 
and cases.  While the GVN does not have a formal mechanism for 
sharing TIP data, information is available upon request on a 
case-by-case basis; it is also shared in media reports and is often 
disseminated by international donor organizations supporting 
anti-trafficking projects.  There are additional data-tracking 
systems at the local level in Vietnam; however, they need to be 
strengthened significantly to provide fully representative and 
credible data. 
 
 
 
Vietnam maintains a dedicated crime statistics office under the 
Supreme People's Procuracy.  (The Procuracy functions similar to a 
prosecutor's office or attorney general's office in the U.S. and 
handles all prosecutions.)  This office tracks data on arrests, 
prosecutions and convictions of traffickers and other criminals. 
Its data and classification system differ in some respects from 
that of the NSC-130, but is fairly reliable.  The Ministry of 
Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) also provides 
statistics on trafficking victims who receive some kind of 
government assistance.  MOLISA's data are generally reliable, but 
do not include estimates on the number of victims outside the 
government assistance system.  The GVN does not officially classify 
trafficking cases with labor-related criteria and therefore does 
not collect data on labor trafficking, although a new TIP law being 
drafted may change this. 
 
 
 
The diplomatic and NGO communities in Vietnam are active in sharing 
TIP data and information, though much of the data are anecdotal. 
The UN Interagency Program on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) also shares 
data with the government and the NGO community.  See 1.F for 
further information. 
 
 
 
¶B.  General Overview and Changes 
 
 
 
Vietnam remains a significant source country in a region known for 
trafficking in persons.  To a much lesser degree, Vietnam is a 
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the 
purposes of begging, sexual exploitation or forced labor.  There is 
some anecdotal information that suggests internal trafficking does 
occur in Vietnam, but no reliable data exists to substantiate the 
scale.  NSC-130 has stated that human trafficking is a complicated 
 
HANOI 00000188  002 OF 012 
 
 
and challenging issue for Vietnam, citing poverty, high 
unemployment, and widespread gender inequality as factors that 
leave many poor Vietnamese vulnerable to trafficking.  The GVN 
believes that its own efforts to combat trafficking, including 
legal reform, awareness-raising campaigns (particularly in rural 
communities), improved victim assistance, and enhanced regional and 
international cooperation, together with domestic economic 
development, will help reduce the incidences of trafficking in 
Vietnam (ref B). 
 
 
 
Vietnam as a Source Country 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
The People's Republic of China remains the largest destination 
country for trafficked Vietnamese nationals, accounting for 60 
percent of the total number of TIP cases, while Cambodia and Laos 
account for about 10 percent and 6.3 percent respectively.  Laos is 
still primarily a transit country; NGO contacts, however, report 
that Laos is slowly becoming a destination country for Vietnamese 
trafficking victims (ref C). 
 
 
 
According to Vietnam's Border Guard, the majority of TIP cases 
across the Chinese border involve women trafficked for prostitution 
or forced marriage.  There are also cases of Vietnamese children 
being trafficked across the Chinese border for labor.  Most women 
and children trafficked to Laos are victims of sex trafficking (ref 
D).  Many Cambodia cases involve sexual exploitation in Cambodia or 
transit of Vietnamese women and teenage girls to Thailand and 
Malaysia, often engineered by criminal syndicates in those 
countries with representatives in Vietnam (ref E). 
 
 
 
Other transit and significant destination countries for trafficked 
Vietnamese nationals include Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, 
Taiwan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the Czech Republic. 
Additional destination countries include Indonesia and countries in 
Western Europe and the Middle East.  Those trafficked to China, 
Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and the Czech 
Republic are typically forced into prostitution, while routes to 
the Middle East are primarily used to traffic Vietnamese laborers. 
China, Taiwan, and the ROK remain the top destination countries for 
Vietnamese brides who end up in misrepresented or fraudulent 
marriages.  There were media reports of pregnant women being 
trafficked across the Chinese border, where traffickers intend to 
sell the newborn children and their mothers.  NSC-130 has expressed 
concern that these types of cases are increasing in frequency and 
kidnappers are becoming more aggressive (ref B). 
 
 
 
According to the Border Guard, the provinces of Lang Son, Lao Cai 
and An Giang received the largest number of TIP returnees in 2009. 
Along the Lao border, Ha Tinh and Quang Tri received the most 
returnees, while An Giang, Kien Giang, Tay Ninh, and Long An were 
the provinces along the Cambodian border with the most TIP return 
cases (ref D). 
 
 
 
Vietnam as a Destination Country 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
Vietnam is also a destination country for Cambodian children who 
are trafficked to urban centers in Vietnam, primarily for begging, 
but there are cases of forced labor or sexual exploitation also. 
Although no data on the scale of the problem is available, in 2009, 
Vietnam did assist with the repatriation of 900 Cambodian beggars. 
It was reported by the Cambodian Ministry of Social Affairs that 
603 of the returnees were children under the age of 18, and that 
143 children were sent home after being involved in human 
trafficking - 84 of those were young girls.  See 5.D for further 
 
HANOI 00000188  003 OF 012 
 
 
details. 
 
 
 
Internal Trafficking within Vietnam 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
The GVN, INGOs, domestic NGOs and researchers do not have hard data 
to substantiate the scale of internal trafficking within Vietnam. 
Media reports and anecdotal information provided by NGOs, such as 
Blue Dragon and the IOM, suggest some cases of children from Hue 
and young women from rural provinces being trafficked to Ho Chi 
Minh City for the purposes of labor or sex work. 
 
 
 
Significant Changes in 2009 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
In 2009, the GVN recognized officially, in public and private 
statements, for the first time, that trafficking in men, internal 
trafficking, and labor trafficking constitute human trafficking, 
and that these problems affect Vietnam.  This is important since 
the GVN continues to promote export labor programs as essential to 
Vietnam's poverty reduction efforts and socio-economic development. 
An increased awareness and willingness to develop and implement 
safeguards for export laborers is key to combating potential 
trafficking.  Deputy Prime Minister Trong also has been forthright 
in acknowledging publically the severe resource constraints that 
Vietnam faces in combating trafficking.  In light of these resource 
constraints, the GVN has highlighted the particular contributions 
that INGOs have made in Vietnam's effort to combat trafficking (ref 
C); this is significant, since INGOs in other fields are often 
viewed suspiciously by conservative elements in Vietnam's Communist 
Party and security services.  The GVN is also increasingly open to 
discussing trafficking in persons with the USG. 
 
 
 
In 2009, the GVN increased protection for trafficking victims and 
witnesses; increased public assistance for victims in a way that 
protects their dignity; increased public awareness campaigns; and 
strengthened law enforcement cooperation, training, and prosecution 
by the courts.  Prosecutions continued to receive increased 
attention and publicity.  The GVN is enhancing bilateral 
cooperation on TIP with China and Cambodia at all levels of 
government, which is resulting in positive exchanges on both sides. 
The GVN has also increased regional cooperation within ASEAN and 
the United Nations framework, including the Coordinated Mekong 
Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT) process in 
which Vietnam will assume a seat on the board for 2010. 
 
 
 
Specific highlights include: 
 
 
 
- In January 2009, GVN signed a Bilateral Agreement on 
 
Anti-Trafficking with Thailand (an upgrade from the existing 
bilateral MOU) and held a bilateral conference in March 2009 to 
discuss the agreement's implementation (ref F). 
 
 
 
- In March 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Trong convened a public 
meeting of the National Steering Committee to provide support for 
the Committee and urge it and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) 
to redouble efforts to implement the NPA.  In addition to GVN 
officials, representatives of the media, INGOs and diplomatic 
community were present at the workshop.  The NSC-130 decided to 
request that the NPA be upgraded to a National Targeted Plan 
raising the profile of TIP issues by assigning oversight of the 
NSC-130 to the Office of the Government (Prime Minister's 
office)(ref F). 
 
HANOI 00000188  004 OF 012 
 
 
- In May 2009, Vietnam entered final negotiations with China on a 
Bilateral Agreement on Anti-Human Trafficking that will upgrade the 
existing bilateral MOU.  The GVN expects to sign the agreement in 
¶2010.  The two countries conducted a joint public awareness 
campaign on preventing and combating human trafficking in areas 
along the border between July 15 and September 15 (ref F). 
 
 
 
- In June 2009, the National Steering Committee completed the first 
draft of the new comprehensive trafficking in persons law and 
submitted the draft to the relevant government agencies for comment 
(ref F). 
 
 
 
-- In June 2009, the National Assembly voted to amend articles 119 
and 120 of the Penal Code to expand the GVN's definition of 
trafficking to include men over the age of 16, and expand all 
trafficking-related laws and services to include men.  This change, 
which will go into effect in early 2010, will bring the GVN more in 
line with the accepted international definition of trafficking. 
The National Assembly instructed the Ministry of Justice draft a 
more comprehensive Law on Human Trafficking.  (ref B). 
 
 
 
- In August 2009, MPS developed guidelines to protect TIP victims 
during investigations and prosecutions in cooperation with the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM).  MPS organized 
three-day training courses in northern Vietnam in May and in June 
2009 to introduce the guidelines and incorporate feedback from 
course participants into a revised draft sent to the GVN for 
approval (ref F). 
 
 
 
-- In September 2009, Cambodia and Vietnam signed a bilateral 
agreement to standardize procedures for returning trafficking 
victims. 
 
 
 
-- In October 2009, the GVN assessed the implementation of the NPA. 
The NSC-130 is currently analyzing lessons learned during the first 
five year implementation of the NPA (2004-2009).  Once this report 
is complete, the Committee will draft the implementation plan 
covering the next five years (2010-2015) (ref C). 
 
 
 
-- In November 2009, the Overseas Labor Management Department, 
under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, launched 
a new website (www.dolab.gov.vn) providing free information to 
workers who want to know more about export labor programs, 
including: markets recruiting foreign workers, businesses dealing 
in export labor and remedies if problems are encountered. 
 
 
 
Plans for 2010 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
During his speech at the NPA policy review, DPM Truong Vinh Trong 
said the draft bill on the prevention of trafficking will be 
presented to the National Assembly in 2010.  The National Assembly 
also is scheduled to consider ratification of the UN International 
Convention on Trafficking in Persons.  The GVN is developing its 
next National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking of Women and 
Children (2011-2020), the blueprint for the GVN's anti-TIP efforts. 
As part of the drafting process, the GVN will review current 
programs related to raising public awareness, identifying, rescuing 
and reintegrating victims, and the legal framework for implementing 
the NPA.  The GVN also plans to increase bilateral and multilateral 
cooperation in key areas, including: public awareness campaigns, 
police/border guard training, and support for victims.  NSC-130 
 
HANOI 00000188  005 OF 012 
 
 
continues working on bilateral issues and agreements with China, 
Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand.  NSC-130 has also indicated in 2010 
special attention will be given to trafficking as it relates to 
export labor (ref B). 
 
 
 
¶C.  Conditions Faced by Victims 
 
 
 
Vietnamese trafficking victims were subjected to physical and 
mental abuse, sexual abuse and assault, debt bondage, indentured 
servitude, harsh working conditions, and imprisonment by their 
traffickers.  Victims also described arranged marriages that turned 
women into domestic slaves.  Some laborers abroad reported working 
long hours in dangerous jobs with little or no ability to dispute 
the conditions of their employment.  Many victims of trafficking 
said their traffickers kept them in isolation without mobile 
phones, identity documents or money.  Most victims who escaped did 
so on their own and returned home or went to other locations 
without proper assessment or screening. 
 
 
 
¶D.  Groups Vulnerable to TIP 
 
 
 
Despite the public awareness and outreach efforts by the GVN and 
NGOs on the dangers of trafficking, a large number of Vietnamese 
men, women and children remain unaware and vulnerable to human 
trafficking.  The economic incentives associated with working or 
marrying abroad often outweigh fears of becoming a trafficking 
victim.  This is especially true for young women in rural areas 
with few opportunities for education or employment.  The highest 
percentage of trafficking victims in Vietnam continues to be 
undereducated rural women between 18 and 40 years of age. 
 
 
 
Vietnamese trafficking victims come from almost all provinces and 
cities in Vietnam, but most were concentrated in certain northern 
and southern border provinces.  The following provinces reported 
the most cases in 2009: Ha Giang (134 cases), Lao Cai (105 cases), 
Lang Son (95 cases), Quang Ninh (73 cases), Ha Noi (66 cases), Nghe 
An (66 cases), Lai Chau (56 cases), and Bac Giang (44 cases)(ref 
C). 
 
 
 
According to the Border Guard, while hard data are scarce, the 
Border Guard suspect the number of trafficking cases is rising, 
with a particular increase in the number of cases involving 
children kidnapped to China (ref D).  (Vietnam defines child 
selling to be a form of trafficking.) 
 
 
 
New trends in trafficking are also having a greater impact on men. 
MPS's Criminal Police Department characterized trafficking in men 
for labor exploitation as a new trend in Vietnam.  The most 
frequently described scenario involved men who are offered "good 
jobs" overseas -- usually in China -- and then forced to do hard 
labor, often in dangerous jobs and/or unacceptable working 
conditions.  One example involved several men from Hai Phong who 
were forced to work at a Chinese brick factory.  Through 
cooperation with Chinese authorities, MPS was able to rescue the 
men and return them to Vietnam (ref H).  There is no data available 
on male sex-related trafficking in Vietnam, but the level is 
believed to be low. 
 
 
 
With export labor a strategic component of Vietnam's economic 
development, Vietnamese laborers are vulnerable to trafficking as 
the GVN struggles to strike a balance between increasing export 
labor and protecting its workers overseas from labor trafficking. 
According to official statistics, nearly 75,000 Vietnamese workers 
went abroad to work in 2009 on long-term labor contracts to more 
than 40 countries around the world, fulfilling 83 percent of the 
country's 2009 target.  This number is down from 85,000 in 2008 due 
 
HANOI 00000188  006 OF 012 
 
 
to a decrease in export labor demand as a result of the global 
economic crisis.  Vietnamese laborers abroad sent back between USD 
$1.6 billion and $2 billion in annual remittances, according to 
MOLISA's Department of Overseas Labor (DOLAB).  According to the 
Department of Overseas Worker management, under MOLISA, Taiwan 
received the most Vietnamese workers (17,776), followed by South 
Korea (6,451), Japan (4,740), Laos (4,580), United Arab Emirates 
(3,812), Macau (2,892), Cyprus ( 1,454) and other markets with 
14,481 workers.  MOLISA attempts to establish MOUs with all labor 
destination governments, but enforcement of these agreements is 
weak.  The GVN has no data available regarding labor trafficking. 
 
 
 
This year Canada, Libya and the UAE both signed new Labor MOUs that 
establish cooperation in labor, employment and human resource 
development with Vietnam.  The GVN appears increasingly aware of 
the seriousness of exporting large numbers of workers overseas 
without adequate protections and enforcement mechanisms and has 
been discussing both publically and privately the need to address 
this issue for both men and women. 
 
 
 
Other at-risk populations have been highlighted anecdotally by 
NGOs, but there are insufficient data to demonstrate whether a 
significant number are victims of trafficking.  These include 
internal migrants, especially young women migrating from rural 
areas to urban centers, street children and foreign laborers who 
are crossing borders informally. 
 
 
 
¶E.  Traffickers and Their Methods 
 
 
 
Trafficking victims, their relatives and friends, and numerous 
press reports identified traffickers mainly as residents or former 
residents of the victims' provinces or communities.  In some cases, 
the traffickers were former trafficking victims themselves.  Some 
are cross-cultural couples (e.g., a Malaysian husband and a 
Vietnamese wife) while others are described as traders or 
businesspeople.  Family members and acquaintances were often 
involved in trafficking cases.  NGOs and GVN organizations 
documented many TIP cases that involved complicated, informal 
referral chains where a sibling, neighbor or friend referred a 
family member to someone else who passed the individual on to a 
third person or group.  The practice of third-party referrals is a 
common feature of Vietnamese business culture, and in such cases, 
individuals along the chain are unlikely to know many details about 
the final destination of the victim and the responsible trafficker 
becomes more difficult to identify.  There is also growing concern, 
among GVN officials and NGOs alike, that human trafficking in 
Vietnam is being increasingly handled by organized criminals. Le 
Hong Anh, NSC-130 Chairman, stated that trafficking in Vietnam had 
become greater in scale, more complicated, and diversified, with 
traffickers becoming more sophisticated, organized, and 
transnational (ref F).  Additionally, the use of technology is 
another new trend in trafficking for Vietnam; the internet and chat 
rooms have been noted as new methods used by traffickers to lure 
victims into a trafficking situation. 
 
 
 
Lucrative employment opportunities, marriages to wealthy foreign 
men, and tourism continued to be the primary solicitation methods 
most often used by traffickers to lure victims.  The usual tactic 
of traffickers is to offer a so-called "easy" job as a trader, 
waitress or domestic helper overseas.  In some cases traffickers 
negotiated with a parent or guardian who then gave permission for 
their daughters to go to work.  Many victims reported strong 
familial pressure to contribute to the household income.  Victims 
of labor exploitation abroad reported being lured by lucrative 
offers from state-licensed export labor recruitment companies as 
well as illegal labor recruiters, and were then sent to various 
destinations, including Malaysia, Thailand, and the Middle East, 
where they found themselves working in substandard conditions for 
little or no pay and no legal recourse.  In addition to false 
advertising, victims said traffickers and employers commonly used 
debt bondage, confiscation of travel and identity documents, and 
threats of deportation to force them to keep working. 
 
HANOI 00000188  007 OF 012 
 
 
Victims are generally transported across borders without documents. 
Vietnam's long land borders with China, Laos and Cambodia are 
extremely porous and difficult to control, and traffickers are 
known to frequently use forest, mountain and river routes away from 
legal border checkpoints.  In cases involving victims trafficked to 
more distant destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan or Malaysia, 
MPS officials say that traffickers disguise victims as tourists or 
workers in a labor export program. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM'S (GVN) ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
 
 
 
¶A.  Acknowledgement of TIP 
 
 
 
The GVN acknowledges that trafficking is a problem in Vietnam and 
is actively engaged in the fight against TIP.  The GVN understands 
the issue and its dimensions, appears committed to tackling the 
problem.  The GVN's understanding and approach to combating TIP 
continues to evolve.  This year the legal definition of trafficking 
was expanded to include men and the GVN's lead official on TIP, 
Deputy Prime Minister Trong, publically called on GVN officials to 
increase efforts to address labor trafficking (ref C). Prime 
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also discussed labor trafficking during a 
January 2010 meeting with the heads of the International Labor 
Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the 
UN Office in Geneva. PM Dung noted that an important component of 
the GVN's policy on export labor was the GVN's effort to fight 
illegal migration, particularly human trafficking.  Foreign 
governments, international organizations and NGOs were active 
partners in combating TIP, and the GVN welcomes their support and 
works cooperatively with them (and the U.S.). 
 
 
 
¶B.  Lead Agencies and Interagency Cooperation 
 
 
 
The GVN's National Steering Committee on anti-trafficking remained 
the government's key interagency coordinating body.  The 2004 NPA 
established the NSC-130 and specified funding mechanisms for the 
2004-2010 period.  The NPA assigns specific roles to government 
agencies under the overall direction of the MPS, thus eliminating 
some of the confusion regarding overlapping jurisdictions.  In 
addition to overall responsibility for coordinating GVN interagency 
efforts, MPS also has a separate investigative unit dedicated to 
anti-trafficking enforcement. 
 
 
 
A brief description of additional main actors in the GVN anti-TIP 
effort follows: 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs' (MOLISA) has 
responsibilities related to TIP, including:  formulation and 
implementation of the NPA; providing protection and reintegration 
assistance for returnees (including services such as job training 
and victim shelters).  The Department for Social Evils Prevention 
has a Prostitution Prevention Unit and an Anti-Trafficking 
Taskforce.  The Department for Overseas Labor is responsible for 
monitoring labor export companies and export labor. 
 
 
 
-- The Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) is responsible for awareness 
raising at the community level to prevent human trafficking.  It is 
active in drawing attention to the problems of girls being 
trafficked for purposes of prostitution, domestic work or marriage. 
The Youth Union and the Committee for Population, Family and 
Children also have programs aimed at trafficking prevention and 
victim's protection, including publicity to warn of dangers, 
repatriation programs, and vocation training. 
 
HANOI 00000188  008 OF 012 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Justice is currently drafting Vietnam's first 
comprehensive law on human trafficking, expected to go before the 
National Assembly in the fall of 2010. 
 
 
 
-- The Border Guard Command, in coordination with the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, is responsible for receiving victims from foreign 
governments or self-returns.  Both organizations verify the TIP 
victim's status and refer them to MOLISA for reintegration.  The 
Border Guard typically act independently on TIP along Vietnam's 
land borders; the MFA becomes more involved in trafficking cases 
overseas. 
 
 
 
Other GVN agencies involved in anti-TIP are the Supreme People's 
Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy.  The Ministry of Finance 
and the Ministry of Planning and Investment play a role in the 
budget process.  The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism also 
participates in the NSC-130 as it plays a role in combating child 
sex tourism and tourist demand for commercial sex.  Vietnam's 
legislature, the National Assembly, plays a key role in approving 
legislation and, to a degree, international cooperation.  Each 
national level agency is assigned specific responsibilities under 
the NPA which are fulfilled at not only the national level, but the 
provincial and local levels as well. 
 
 
 
¶C.  Limitations and Challenges Faced by the GVN 
 
 
 
Poor interagency cooperation at all levels of government, long and 
porous borders, inadequate law enforcement and legal 
infrastructure, and limited resources and capacity are the main 
challenges for the GVN.  As a developing country with a 2009 annual 
per capita income of USD $1,024, Vietnam has limited funds for all 
public programs, and the battle against TIP is no exception.  Lack 
of funding and human resources was the challenge most often cited 
by local and international participants at an October 2009 workshop 
organized by the NPA and convened by DPM Trong.  Limited resources 
affected all aspects of anti-trafficking programs: outreach, victim 
support, training, law enforcement, and even international 
cooperation.  NSC-130 has moved to ask the Prime Minister to 
upgrade NC130 to a National Targeted Program which would guarantee 
national funding for TIP programs (ref C and G). 
 
 
 
There are indications the victim referral system created under 
Inter-ministerial Circular (03/2008) is improving, but the ability 
to address TIP varies greatly from one province to another, 
especially at the lower levels of local government.  Local 
officials tell us coordination has improved, citing examples 
ranging from victim referral, to prosecutions, to outreach efforts. 
The decentralization of government authority in Vietnam allows for 
greater autonomy at the provincial level in theory, but in 
practice, because such decentralization does not come with a 
budget, many initiatives are "unfunded mandates" at the local 
level.  Therefore, prevention, protection and reintegration efforts 
vary greatly from region to region as does the political will to 
combat trafficking. For further information, see 5.L. 
 
 
 
Geography also hinders the GVN's anti-TIP efforts.  Vietnam's land 
border with Cambodia, Laos and China is extremely rugged, porous 
and difficult to police.  Smuggling of all kinds is a problem and 
physical interdiction of trafficking cases is particularly 
difficult.  This is especially true in the Mekong Delta and along 
the mountainous northern border with China, where many informal 
border crossings take place via waterways and footpaths away from 
official border gates.  In 2009, the Border Guard expanded efforts 
to monitor and track suspected cases.  As a result, the unit 
identified an unprecedented 205 cases of suspected trafficking this 
year, which were then turned over to MPS for investigation and 
prosecution.  154 women and children were rescued by the Border 
 
HANOI 00000188  009 OF 012 
 
 
Guard, while there were 131 returnee cases from neighboring 
governments (ref D).  (The 131 cases do not indicate the actual 
number of individuals returned, as each individual case might have 
more than one returnee.) 
 
 
 
Other challenges include a lack of standardized and comprehensive 
legislation and the limited ability of the national government to 
enforce implementation at the provincial, district and commune 
levels.  Although Vietnam has a national legal framework to address 
trafficking, legal sanctions against trafficking are still 
scattered throughout the GVN Penal Code and can be subject to 
diverse interpretation, definitions and sentencing guidelines.  A 
new, comprehensive anti-trafficking law is being drafted by the 
Ministry of Justice to reconcile the various laws and ensure full 
compliance with UN conventions. 
 
 
 
¶D.  GVN Monitoring and Assessments 
 
 
 
The NSC-130's Central Office is responsible for, among other 
things, helping prepare anti-TIP work plans, campaigns and 
projects, and investigating and evaluating their outcomes.  NSC-130 
is also responsible for disseminating the results of the GVN's 
anti-trafficking efforts, but the GVN does not have a formal 
mechanism for sharing TIP monitoring and evaluation information. 
In October 2009, MPS hosted a workshop to evaluate the GVN's 
implementation of its NPA on human trafficking.  This event 
included representatives from 14 GVN ministries, INGOs, and 
representatives of the diplomatic community.  Stakeholders assessed 
the current NPA, shared statistical data and discussed best 
practices and lessons learned.  Additionally, media coverage of TIP 
issues continued to expand in 2009, including several media 
interviews of GVN officials discussing human trafficking, sharing 
statistical data and making assessments regarding current GVN 
efforts to combat trafficking.  Coverage of TIP in Vietnam's 
state-run press continued to increase, an indication of the GVN's 
willingness to address this issue. 
 
 
 
¶E.  Birth Registration, Citizenship and Nationality 
 
 
 
According to the 2008 Law on Citizenship, children born to at least 
one Vietnamese citizen parent are automatically considered to be 
Vietnamese citizens; there are also provisions for children born to 
non-citizenship parents to acquire Vietnamese citizenship under 
certain circumstances.  Foreign nationals may apply for Vietnamese 
citizenship provided that they meet certain criteria including 
either being a spouse, a biological parent/child of Vietnamese 
citizens, or contributing to the development of Vietnam.  The State 
President has authority to grant citizenship to foreigners.  The 
2008 legislation allows dual citizenship under some circumstances. 
 
 
 
According to the Law on Residence 2006, Vietnamese citizens have 
the right to reside in Vietnamese territory.  Registration is 
compulsory at birth though, in practice, not all children are 
registered immediately.  A birth certificate is required for public 
services, such as education and health care.  At the age of 
eighteen residents are eligible to apply for an identity card at 
the local police.  Identity numbers are allocated geographically, 
and if someone moves they must re-register in their new locality 
and apply for a new identity card.  Implementation varies widely, 
particularly in rural localities where the most vulnerable to TIP 
are born and reside. 
 
 
 
Authorities keep track of citizen registration through a 
registration book, which is issued to each household. 
 
Foreign passport holders must register to stay in private homes, 
although there were no known cases of local authorities refusing to 
allow foreign visitors to stay with friends and family. Citizens 
 
HANOI 00000188  010 OF 012 
 
 
are also required to register with local police when they stay 
overnight in any location outside of their own homes, though in 
practice there is limited enforcement of this provision. 
 
 
 
¶F.  GVN Data Gathering Capabilities 
 
 
 
The GVN collects some TIP-related data, but with individual 
ministries responsible for information as it relates to their 
responsibilities, collection can be piecemeal.  The Supreme 
People's Procuracy, for example, collects statistics on the arrest, 
prosecution and conviction of traffickers, while MOLISA counts 
trafficking victims receiving repatriation and reintegration 
assistance.  Methods used to compile data vary by Ministry and 
level of government and is at times inconsistent. 
 
 
 
One example shared by the IOM illustrates the point.  Local-level 
police tend to report higher numbers of trafficked women from their 
community than do local branches of the Women's Union.  This is 
because of differences in data collection.  Police often rely on 
residency records to compile trafficking statistics.  When there is 
an unaccounted absence, this is attributed to trafficking, when in 
reality many of the women have chosen to leave for a variety of 
reasons, including to find work in urban areas or industrial zones. 
By contrast, the Women's Union tends to underestimate trafficking 
as they primarily rely on the numbers of women who join their Women 
and Family Clubs (which include trafficked, at risk, and other 
vulnerable women) or trafficked women who are formally identified 
by the authorities.  Because many trafficked women do not want to 
be identified as having been trafficked (the stigma and 
discrimination is high and the benefits of being identified are 
low), the Women's Union's figures are often lower than other 
reported estimates (ref E).  The most reliable way to compile 
trafficking statistics in Vietnam tends to be through interviews 
with households, or later with the women themselves, but this is 
difficult to do on a large scale and in a manner that can be 
extrapolated beyond a specific locality. 
 
 
 
Much of this is a reflection of capacity and resources, and the 
inability of Vietnam to coordinate and correlate its TIP data 
collection is indicative of the GVN's data collection efforts in 
other fields.  However, there is some progress being made. MOLISA, 
for example, recently released the first in a series of labor 
market trend reports based on data from 1997 - 2007 as part of an 
EU-funded ILO project to collect, analyze and disseminate labor 
related data.  Several NGOs have begun projects related to 
improving the data available concerning the trafficking situation 
in Vietnam.  UNIAP has two ongoing projects funded by the USG.  The 
first is a recently completed community-based survey on TIP, 
conducted in collaboration with An Giang University.  The report's 
findings will be presented in a regional workshop on TIP statistics 
in Bangkok scheduled for March 2010.  The second project will 
analyze returning immigration cases on the Vietnam-China border to 
determine what factors influence whether an individual becomes 
trafficked or experiences labor exploitation.  A contractor is 
currently in the field to assess the best way to collect data (ref 
G). 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
 
 
¶A.  Existing Laws against TIP 
 
 
 
Most traffickers in Vietnam are prosecuted under Articles 119 and 
120 of Vietnam's Penal Code.  Trafficking in persons is treated as 
a criminal offense; victims of trafficking, however, are not 
criminalized by the Penal Code.  Article 119, as amended in June 
2009, expands the definition of human trafficking to include men, 
criminalizes the trafficking of men, and allows men access to 
victim support services (ref B).  Under Article 119, traffickers 
 
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can be penalized with sentences ranging from five to twenty years 
in prison.  Article 120 concerns trafficking in children and 
includes penalties ranging from three years to life in prison. 
Offenders may also be subject to a fine of up to $2,000 dollars and 
probation or parole for one to five years. 
 
 
 
International trafficking for the specific purpose of labor 
exploitation is covered under Penal Code 275 (entitled "organizing 
and/or coercing other persons to flee abroad or to stay abroad 
illegally").  Penalties for this crime range from two to twenty 
years in prison. 
 
 
 
In 2009, government efforts to enact a comprehensive law on human 
trafficking progressed.  The National Assembly issued a directive 
instructing the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to submit a comprehensive 
TIP law for the Assembly's review in 2010.  The United Nations 
Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) is currently 
assisting MOJ to draft the new law, and according to the NSC-130, a 
draft will be submitted to the Assembly in the fall of 2010 (ref 
B).  The GVN will also submit to the National Assembly for 
consideration the ratification of the United Nations Convention 
against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), together with its 
Protocol on Human Trafficking, in 2010. 
 
 
 
The GVN has several laws, resolutions, national programs and plans 
of action to protect children.  The Law on Protection, Care and 
Education of Children, issued in 1991, prohibits all acts of cruel 
treatment, humiliation, abduction, sale and coercion of children 
into activities harmful to their healthy development.  The 1999 
Penal Code criminalizes all acts of sale, fraudulent exchange or 
control of children.  Articles 254, 255 and 256 specifically 
prohibit acts related to child prostitution including harboring 
prostitution, brokering prostitution, and buying sex with minors. 
The Penal Code also criminalizes forced child labor.  Any person 
convicted of buying, selling, fraudulently exchanging or 
appropriating a child for the purpose of prostitution faces a 
prison term ranging from 10 to 20 years or to life imprisonment or 
probation from 1 to 5 years.  In addition, the offender could be 
fined up to $2,000 and banned from certain commercial activities or 
positions from 1 to 5 years. 
 
 
 
According to NSC-130 officials, there are several new crimes for 
which Vietnam does not yet have specific laws, including the 
solicitation of children via the Internet, online child pornography 
and the use of webcams for online sex.  However, these crimes can 
be prosecuted using existing articles of the Penal Code. 
 
 
 
In 2006, the Prime Minister's Decree 69 amended the Law on 
Marriages "having a foreign factor," requiring the Vietnamese 
spouse to interview with local authorities within 50 days of 
marriage to ensure that the marriage is voluntary, that there are 
sufficient language skills for basic communication and that each 
participant understands each other's family situation.  The Decree 
also restricts large gaps in age between marrying parties.  In July 
2009, the government introduced additional regulations to further 
prevent fraud in foreign marriages (ref B). 
 
 
 
Vietnamese laws regulating export labor have expanded to address 
more comprehensively and explicitly issues faced by Vietnamese 
workers overseas.  The Vietnamese Labor Code, first issued in 1994 
and updated in 2002, 2006, and 2007, contains a section entitled 
"Vietnamese working abroad."  Contracting enterprises must have a 
permit issued by Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs 
(MOLISA) to send workers abroad.  The Code details the rights and 
obligations of both workers and enterprises, and includes 
provisions requiring all enterprises "to manage and protect the 
interests of laborers during the period of working abroad under 
their contracts in accordance with the law of Vietnam and the law 
of the foreign country;" "to pay compensation for damage to the 
laborer caused by the breach of the contract by the enterprise;" 
 
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and, "to complain to the authorized State body against breaches of 
the laws in the field of labor export." 
 
 
 
A decree issued in 2003 provides the legal mechanism to implement 
the Labor Code and requires companies "monitor, manage and protect 
the legal rights of labor during their time of working abroad." 
Companies must routinely inspect foreign workplaces both before and 
after signing labor contracts.  Information from these inspections 
must be included in the registration of the labor export contract 
submitted to MOLISA.  The 2003 Decree also lays out the conditions 
for granting and revoking licenses for labor export.  MOLISA 
reviews current licenses and new applications and can deny 
applications by companies that do not meet the stipulated 
conditions.  If serious abuses of worker's rights occur, MOLISA can 
coordinate with MPS to prosecute violators under criminal statutes. 
MOLISA and MPS jointly issued an interagency circular in January 
2005 that defined the roles and responsibilities of labor export 
companies as well as police and labor agencies at all levels of 
government.  The circular outlines regulations and responsibilities 
and details labor violations that can result in administrative 
sanctions or criminal prosecution. 
 
 
 
The Prime Minister's Decree 141, issued in November 2005, requires 
labor export companies to guarantee overseas contracts and resolve 
problems in which "laborers have accidents, risk accidents or 
occupational diseases or their dignity or honor is infringed upon." 
In turn, laborers are required to respect the terms of labor 
contracts.  The Decree anticipates that labor export companies in 
Vietnam, with the cooperation and assistance of the GVN, will be 
able to resolve disputes between laborers and overseas employers. 
It does not, however, give laborers the right to break a labor 
contract. 
 
 
 
Vietnam's law "On Vietnamese Labor Working Abroad by Contract," put 
into effect in July 2007, superseded Decree 141 and further 
regulates enterprises and protects workers participating in 
Vietnam's labor export industry.  The related legal instruments 
that fall under this umbrella law regulate everything from labor 
recruitment and pre-departure fees to contract transparency, the 
settlement of disputes and licensing of labor brokerages. 
 
 
 
In 2008, two additional documents were enacted to broaden 
implementation of the 2007 Export Labor Law: 1) Circular No. 11 on 
the management of the labor export assistance fund; and, 2) 
Decision No. 61/2008 on the brokerage fees for labor export which 
provides stricter caps on the fees labor brokerages can legally 
charge workers. 
Palmer