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RR RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0190/01 0530812
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120848Z FEB 10 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0902
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 0135
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0494

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 HANOI 000190 
 
C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y - SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED 
 
SENSITIVE 
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 VM
SUBJECT: 2010 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - VIETNAM - PART 2 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 
 
HANOI 00000190  001.2 OF 011 
 
 
¶B.  Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses 
 
 
 
Prostitution is illegal in Vietnam and the legal age of consent is 
¶18.  The Ordinance on Prevention of Prostitution issued in 2003 
Art. 24 (para. 2) states that those who act as go-between for 
prostitution, harbor prostitution, coerce prostitution, organize 
prostitution, traffic in women and/or children in service of 
prostitution shall bear penal liabilities.  Penalties typically 
range from five to twenty years. 
 
 
 
¶C.  Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses 
 
 
 
Traffickers of individuals for labor exploitation are prosecuted in 
Vietnam under Penal Code section 275 and face penalties between two 
and twenty years in prison, depending on the severity of the crime. 
 
 
 
The 2007 export labor law includes a range of penalties from fines, 
restrictions on operations, and loss of license for export labor 
recruitment companies who violate the law.  The law also defines 
the rights and obligations of recruiting and other sending 
entities, the government ministries/agencies, and the workers 
themselves.  Reinforcement and punitive measures are applied to 
both unlicensed recruitment agencies and workers who violate the 
law.  MOLISA reports that in 2009 there were 165 licensed export 
labor companies.  In the destination country, a Foreign Ministry 
Official or a MOLISA labor attache, assigned to the Vietnamese 
Embassy, is required to supervise the companies to ensure that the 
laws are followed by these companies.  Sanctions for the companies 
are administrative punishments or withdrawal of the license to 
operate.  In 2009, according to MOLISA the GVN conducted 90 
inspections of labor export companies and 98 enterprises were 
required to pay $10,900 in fines.  Two firms had their licenses 
revoked. 
 
 
 
Currently, the International Labor Organization (ILO) is working 
with MOLISA and labor export recruiting companies to develop a code 
of conduct governing recruitment activities of these companies. 
The code seeks to improve compliance with the law, assist 
enterprises to better manage their operations, and prevent forced 
labor and human trafficking, particularly for female workers.  The 
ILO expects the code will be finished in 2010.  In September 2009, 
the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs announced a 
safe migration program designed to better manage the movement of 
guest workers abroad.  This program is expected to be submitted for 
approval at the next session of the National Assembly. 
 
While Vietnam has no specific laws on slavery, there are several 
articles in the Penal Code that may be used to prosecute cases of 
slavery, bondage or forced acts of labor, including: Article 110 
(mistreatment of others), Article 125 (violations of personal 
privacy), Article 128 (forced labor), and Article 151 
(ill-treatment of family members by other family members or legal 
guardians, including grandparents, parents, spouses, and children). 
These and other articles have been used when an individual's 
freedom was restricted. 
 
 
 
¶D.  Penalties for Rape/Forcible Sexual Assault 
 
HANOI 00000190  002.2 OF 011 
 
 
Under the 1999 Penal Code, the series of articles that outline the 
punishable acts of rape include: Article 111 (rape); Article 112 
(child rape); Article 113 (forcible sexual intercourse); Article 
115 (sexual intercourse with children); Article 116 (obscenity 
against children); Article 245 (harboring prostitution); Article 
255 (mediating prostitution) and Article 256 (procuring sex from 
adolescents). 
 
 
 
GVN penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault range from six 
months in prison to capital punishment.  Capital punishment is 
reserved for cases in which the victim is killed, seriously 
disabled or infected with HIV/AIDS; the perpetrator is a 
participant in a gang rape; or the perpetrator has raped more than 
one person.  With the exception of the possibility of the death 
penalty or life in prison in the circumstances mentioned above, the 
penalties for rape/sexual assault and for trafficking in persons 
are similar. 
 
 
 
¶E.  Law Enforcement Statistics 
 
 
 
In 2006, the GVN established a specialized anti-TIP police unit, a 
division of the MPS Criminal Department, to focus on trafficking. 
This unit registered significant successes in the investigation, 
arrest, and prosecution of traffickers in 2009.  After government 
conviction, all sentences have a review process.  In general, the 
level of TIP investigations and prosecutions in Vietnam has 
increased since 2005, reflecting an overall increase in the GVN's 
capacity to identify cases, as well as a dramatic improvement in 
the training of local officials. 
 
 
 
In January 2010, during a meeting of the National Steering 
Committee for Crime Prevention and Combat, Minister of Public 
Security Le Hong Anh stated that human trafficking crimes increased 
by 5.3 percent to 395 cases of trafficking which included 869 
victims last year.  In the past five years, the GVN reported 
investigating 1,586 cases of trafficking in persons involving 2,888 
criminals and identified 4,008 trafficking victims (ref C). 
 
 
 
NC-130 reported that police rescued approximately 250 trafficking 
victims, mainly from China and Cambodia, through police operations. 
An additional 500 trafficking victims were officially returned by 
foreign governments at border points or through diplomatic 
channels, 100 of whom were returned from Malaysia, Korea and 
Singapore (ref B). 
 
 
 
Note: Post is working with the GVN to obtain data on the number of 
individuals convicted on trafficking charges in 2009, and will 
provide it to the Department as soon as it is received. 
 
 
 
GVN officials report that human traffickers are prosecuted to the 
full extent of the law, though sentencing may vary from province to 
province. GVN officials also report that law enforcement on 
TIP-related cases is more difficult when a family relationship 
exists between the authorities and the traffickers.  Family members 
may blame and punish the victim when they return home with debt. 
Authorities tend not to intervene on behalf of the punished or 
abused victim.  The fact that many traffickers are people who 
return to their hometowns from overseas further complicates law 
enforcement. 
 
 
 
Significant TIP law enforcement cases are highlighted below: 
 
 
 
-- In February 2009, An Giang Police arrested two traffickers 
suspected of trafficking five victims from An Giang Province and 
 
HANOI 00000190  003.2 OF 011 
 
 
Quang Ninh Province to Guang Xi Province of China.  The police 
investigation is ongoing. 
 
 
 
-- In March 2009, the Ministry of Transportation found seven firms 
involved in organizing work for Vietnamese laborers abroad to have 
fraudulently charged excessive fees.  Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong 
Truong said the companies had overcharged employees by a total of 
US $118,000.  The companies were ordered to return these funds to 
the workers. 
 
 
 
-- In March 2009, an appeals court in southern Can Tho city upheld 
convictions for two women and a man guilty of trafficking 17 
Vietnamese women forced to work as prostitutes in Malaysia.  The 
sentences ranged from 6.5 to 16 years in prison. 
 
 
 
-- In June 2009, HCMC courts sentenced a woman from Tay Ninh 
Province to 6 years in prison and her mother to 4 years in prison 
for trafficking women to Singapore. Another accomplice was given 36 
months probation. 
 
 
 
-- In July 2009, HCMC and Tay Ninh courts and police broke up a 
trafficking ring of four Vietnamese Nationals.  The two residents 
of HCMC were sentenced to 10 years and 3 years in prison, 
respectively, while two other accomplices were tried and convicted 
in Tay Ninh province. 
 
 
 
-- In Oct 2009, the Tay Ninh People's Court handed down sentences 
of three to nine years in prison to three women and one man 
involved in a trafficking ring uncovered by the police in late May. 
The group admitted selling 10 women to Singapore and Malaysia in 
2008 and trafficking 30 other women to these countries in 2009. 
 
 
 
-- In November 2009, Can Tho police arrested a man believed to be 
the leader of a ring selling Vietnamese women to Malaysia to work 
as prostitutes. Police also detained 4 members of this ring for 
further investigation. 
 
 
 
-- In November 2009, a man was detained for trafficking 3 women 
from Dak Rlap and Dak Song Districts to Tan Than border gate. The 
women were brought to Lang Son border gate and transferred to a 
second man, who then sold them to brothels in China. The second man 
was arrested by Bac Giang Police. 
 
 
 
-- In January 2010, Tay Ninh People's Court sentenced two human 
traffickers to a total of 15 years in prison for trafficking seven 
women from Tay Ninh to brothels in Thailand. 
 
 
 
-- In February 2010, two female traffickers received a total of 42 
years in prison after they were found guilty at a trial by Lang Son 
Province's People's Court. According to the indictment, these two 
women sold another woman from Cao Loc District to a brothel in 
China. 
 
 
 
-- In February 2010, Tay Ninh police arrested three traffickers 
attempting to take nine young women to Singapore to sell into 
brothels. The police have arrested two additional accomplices.  GVN 
authorities are conducting further investigations in this case and 
are cooperating with their counterparts in Malaysia. 
 
 
 
¶F.  GVN Training for Law Enforcement Officials 
 
HANOI 00000190  004.2 OF 011 
 
 
From 2003 to 2007, MPS worked in close cooperation with the UNODC 
on a multi-year, multi-phase program to strengthen law enforcement 
institutions in Vietnam and provide anti-TIP training and manuals 
to hundreds of GVN Border Guard Command officers, MPS police 
officers, judges, and prosecutors.  As a result, MPS and Border 
Guard Command training academies and Court Training Schools now 
include information on TIP as part of their curriculum. 
 
 
 
The Asian Regional Trafficking in Persons (ARTIP) project, funded 
by the Government of Australia, established its office in January 
2009, to train police, prosecutors and judges on TIP law 
enforcement and prosecution.  In 2009, ARTIP conducted six training 
sessions with approximately 25 officers over three days on the 
Vietnamese TIP laws, definitions of trafficking, and victims' 
assistance and protection.  ARTIP will conduct five more training 
programs before the project ends in 2011. Additionally, in November 
2009, the USG sponsored six Vietnamese police officers to attend an 
anti-human trafficking training course at ILEA Bangkok. 
 
 
 
The Vietnamese Women's Union continues to work with local 
authorities and courts in many Vietnamese provinces on public 
education programs designed to increase the identification and 
prosecution of traffickers, as well as the Border Guard Command on 
how best to assist and process victim returnees. 
 
 
 
Using the new GVN interagency training materials published in 
August 2008, NSC-130 has conducted nine training courses for over 
500 local officials to date.  5,000 copies of the training manual 
have been distributed at provincial and district levels and 
additional training was held in 2009.  NSC-130 also developed a 
legal handbook for judges and prosecutors.  The NSC-130 is 
currently working on another training manual on protection of 
victims and the legal process.  In 2009, Border Guard personnel 
conducted training for several border posts on identifying, 
processing and supporting trafficking victims (ref D).  In December 
2009, UNODC and the Border Guard signed an agreement to strengthen 
the immigration control capacity at the international border gates 
and promote greater international cooperation to prevent and 
control migrant smuggling and human trafficking. 
 
 
 
¶G.  Cooperation with Other Governments 
 
 
 
The GVN has stated its commitment to implementing its obligations 
under international agreements and is making a concentrated effort 
to improve its ability to cooperate regionally to combat human 
trafficking, especially at the regional level.  It is an active 
member of UNIAP's COMMIT process and ASEAN's Regional Taskforce to 
Prevent Child-Sex Tourism.  The GVN implemented anti-TIP MOUs with 
Cambodia (signed October 2005), China (signed May 2006), and 
Thailand (signed March 2008).  Vietnam also has agreements with 
China, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on procedures for repatriating 
victims. 
 
 
 
The GVN has ratified the following international conventions: 
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), including two optional 
protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on 
the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the 
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination 
against Women; Forced Labor Convention (C29); Worst Forms of Child 
Labor Convention (C182).  Regionally, the GVN has signed onto the 
ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women 
and Children, ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, ASEAN 
Guidelines on Child Trafficking Victims, the COMMIT MOU on 
Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons in the Greater Mekong 
Sub-region, COMMIT Guiding Principles for Protection of Victims of 
Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. 
 
HANOI 00000190  005.2 OF 011 
 
 
With an estimated sixty percent of Vietnam's trafficking victims 
going to China, Vietnam is working to strengthen cooperation with 
China in order to combat trafficking, especially at the 
provincial-level.  An April 2009 meeting with Chinese police in 
Guangxi province is one example of many cross-border exchanges now 
taking place regularly between the two countries.  Vietnam and 
China are negotiating a bilateral agreement on procedures for 
repatriating victims (ref B).  The Border Guard report that Chinese 
officials return trafficking victims to Vietnam as part of general 
deportations, with no distinctions between victims of trafficking, 
other irregular migrants, and traffickers, making it difficult for 
Vietnamese border officials to quantify the number of TIP victims. 
 
 
 
In September 2009, a delegation of the High Command of the Border 
Guard of Vietnam, led by its Deputy Commander visited Cambodia to 
discuss trans-border crimes including trafficking.  In December 
2009, Cambodia and Vietnam devised concrete measures to combat 
human trafficking and provide aid to its victims.  During this 
workshop, Cambodia and Vietnam signed another bilateral agreement 
to standardize procedures for returning victims. 
 
 
 
The Vietnamese Women's Union also collaborates with several women's 
federations in neighboring countries, holding study trips, 
workshops and training sessions.  In May 2009, a delegation 
traveled to Korea to conduct a study tour of Vietnamese women and 
Korean men.  In August 2009, the women's union of the southern 
province of An Giang joined with two women's unions from Cambodia 
to launch an educational campaign to combat trafficking in women 
and children. 
 
 
 
Other highlights of international anti-TIP activities during the 
reporting period: 
 
 
 
-- In January 2009, the Prime Minister approved an agreement 
regarding future cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand in the 
fight against the trafficking of humans, particularly women and 
children.  The agreement addresses the coordination of assisting 
victims of human trafficking.  Thailand and Vietnam also held a 
seminar this year to develop an implementation plan based on their 
2008 bilateral agreement (ref B). 
 
 
 
-- The GVN continues to coordinate closely with UNIAP on 
COMMIT-related obligations, including: training, information 
campaigns and the 2010 work plan.  In 2010, Vietnam assumed one of 
two rotational member seats on the UNIAP governing board. 
 
 
 
-- From July to September 2009, Vietnam organized a nationwide 
campaign to crackdown on trafficking in the border areas with 
China, Cambodia and Laos.  Police coordinated with the Border Guard 
as well as their foreign counterparts to rescue trafficked women 
and children and to conduct further inspections of human 
trafficking rings. 
 
 
 
-- Vietnam works with Laos, Cambodia and China to strengthen 
information sharing network, including a tri-country hotline border 
guards can use to collect and share TIP information (ref B). 
 
 
 
-- Vietnam plays an active role in the ASEAN Regional Taskforce to 
Prevent Child-Sex Tourism and the ASEAN Regional Education Campaign 
aimed at protecting children from child sex tourists.  In March 
2009, Vietnam's National Administration of Tourism and the NGO 
Child Wise organized a National Roundtable for ASEAN members to 
share information on child sex tourism and discuss child sex 
tourism prevention activities in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. 
 
HANOI 00000190  006.2 OF 011 
 
 
The Roundtable also provided a platform for joint collaboration and 
implementation of the ASEAN Five Year Plan to Prevent Child-Sex 
Tourism in Southeast Asia (2009-2013).  The Five Year Plan aims to 
monitor program activities, facilitate consultations across 
Southeast Asia, and review relevant research. 
 
 
 
-- In January 2010, Cambodian and Vietnamese police met in Kampong 
Cham to discuss cross-border crimes.  The meeting focused on 
improving information exchanges on potential cases of trafficking 
in women and children. 
 
 
 
-- Laos and Vietnam are negotiating an MOU to establish a legal 
corridor to strengthen cooperation in combating human trafficking 
in 2010. 
 
 
 
¶H.  Extradition of Foreign Nationals 
 
 
 
There were no trafficking-related extraditions in 2009.  On a 
case-by-case basis, Vietnam expels and extradites foreigners who 
are charged with trafficking in other countries, even in the 
absence of extradition treaties.  According to MOJ, Vietnam has 
extradition agreements with other countries (Thailand and China 
being two of them in the region) and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty 
(MLA) treaties with 18 countries.  The GVN works with INTERPOL as 
needed.  Vietnam does not extradite its own citizens anywhere for 
any purpose, in accordance with the 1998 Citizenship Law.  Vietnam 
has signed an ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, a 
Thailand-Vietnam MLA Treaty, a China-Vietnam MLA Treaty, and 
several bi-lateral MOUs. 
 
 
 
¶I.  Evidence of GVN Involvement in or Tolerance of TIP 
 
 
 
Post, INGO contacts, and NGO contacts do not possess any 
information that suggests high-level officials participate in or 
condone trafficking in Vietnam. 
 
 
 
¶J.  GVN Steps to Counter Official Involvement in TIP 
 
 
 
If government officials are found to be involved in human 
trafficking, a combination of internal administrative punishments 
and legal prosecution would be applied, according to MPS.  There 
have been no cases of corruption specifically involving TIP 
investigated or prosecuted to date, according to NSC-130. 
 
 
 
¶K. Troop Contributions to International Peacekeeping Operations 
 
 
 
The GVN does not contribute troops to international peacekeeping 
operations. 
 
 
 
¶L.  Vietnam as a Child Sex Tourism Destination 
 
 
 
The GVN, INGOs and NGOs do not consider Vietnam a child sex tourism 
destination. Since 2005, only three cases of foreigners involved in 
child sex tourism have merited investigation, according to MPS. 
The GVN has conducted several public awareness campaigns as well as 
cooperated with other governments, international organizations, and 
NGOs on training programs and capacity building initiatives.  MPS's 
Criminal Police Department has the lead in investigating and 
 
HANOI 00000190  007.2 OF 011 
 
 
prosecuting cases of child sex crime and since 2008 does have a 
Special Unit on Child Sex Abusers. The GVN does not maintain 
statistics tracking child sex tourism. 
 
 
 
In 2009, MPS cooperated with the Australian government to provide 
training to more than 100 Vietnamese officers on investigative 
techniques targeting child sex tourism (ref H). The GVN, through 
the Hotel Department of the Vietnam National Administration of 
Tourism (VNAT), undertook public awareness efforts targeting the 
tourist industry that included workshops in Can Tho, Sapa, Hanoi, 
Quang Ninh, Nha Trang and HCMC.  These workshops aimed to educate 
hotel personnel, police, local authorities, tour guides, and other 
tourist industry workers who may come into contact with foreigners 
about child sex tourism.  The latest effort, a hotline to report 
suspicious activities operating in both Vietnamese and English, is 
a joint effort between VNAT and the Committee for the Protection 
and Care of Children under MOLISA.  The Hotel Department has also 
printed and distributed leaflets aimed at both foreign and domestic 
tourists.  Additional materials, along with the workshops, are 
intended to help hotel personnel better recognize the signs of 
child abuse, educate them on tactics used by criminals, and convey 
methods of reporting suspicious activities to authorities. 
 
 
 
MOLISA's Department of Protection and Care of Children has the lead 
in supporting child sex tourism victims.  Their efforts include 
temporary shelters, psychological support, social integration for 
victims, education and communication programs to raise public 
awareness in central and local levels, a hotline to report child 
sex tourism incidences, and capacity building training for staff 
working with abused children, as well as for staff working in 
community centers. 
 
 
 
Vietnam applies its criminal code for case prosecutions, and works 
with individual provinces, INTERPOL and with foreign governments 
whose nationals perpetrate offences. Under Article 6 of the 
Vietnamese Penal Code, Vietnamese citizens who commit crimes - 
including sex crimes - outside of Vietnam are still subject to 
prosecution under Vietnamese law. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
 
 
¶A.  GVN Legal Protections for Victims and Witnesses 
 
 
 
According to Vietnamese law, "citizens have the right to have their 
life, health, reputation, dignity and assets protected by law.  Any 
acts ruining life, health, reputation, dignity or assets will be 
dealt with by law.  If the life, health, reputation, dignity or 
assets of the victim, witness, or anyone else taking part in the 
prosecutorial process, or their loved ones, are threatened, 
competent authorities shall apply necessary measures for protection 
as stipulated by the law."  Further, witnesses have "the right to 
request the government to protect his/her life, health, reputation, 
dignity, assets and other legitimate rights and interests when 
taking part in the prosecutorial process." 
 
 
 
According to the National Assembly's Legal Department, security and 
police authorities provide protection for victims and witnesses, in 
most cases at their request.  If determined as warranted, in 
exceptional cases, the GVN will offer to provide protection, 
depending on the seriousness and the importance of the case. 
Protection may include: secure temporary residences, security guard 
escort, 24 hour security protection and special communications 
systems. 
 
 
 
Victims may be reluctant to participate in investigations or trials 
due to concerns that their testimony could lead to social 
 
HANOI 00000190  008.2 OF 011 
 
 
stigmatization, according GVN authorities.  Family members, 
including spouses, often do not support the prosecution of 
trafficking cases.  Some court officials have been trained to use 
sensitive litigation methods to support the victims and witnesses 
during their testimony in front of the court. 
 
 
 
In October 2009, MOLISA initiated a two-year project with the Asia 
Foundation to draft guidelines on victim assistance and a manual of 
minimum standards for victim protection to be used by provincial 
MOLISA offices.  The standards, which are expected to go into 
effect in 2010, will replace Decree 170. 
 
 
 
¶B.  Victim Care Facilities 
 
 
 
Vietnam has eight dedicated trafficking shelters and a network of 
130 shelters which provide a range of social services, including 
support for victims of trafficking.  Because of resource 
constraints, MOLISA shelters for trafficking victims sometimes are 
co-located with those for drug users rehabilitation and sex workers 
reintegration.  Services offered include psychological counseling, 
healthcare, vocational training, job placement, financial loans and 
micro-credit, and community reintegration.  MOLISA is interested in 
increasing capacity building in counseling and social work. 
 
 
 
IOM, with funding from the State Department's Bureau of Population, 
Refugees and Migration, in partnership with MOLISA, runs two 
assessment shelters for trafficking victims.  The objective of the 
IOM/MOLISA program was to build a cost-effective model to help 
return and reintegrate victims of trafficking as required by the 
NPA.  One is located in An Giang province in the Mekong Delta and 
the other in Lao Cai province in the north.  These centers provide 
room and board, medical checkups and treatment, access to legal 
assistance and counseling, and information about longer term 
shelter services as well as vocational training and education 
opportunities.  Stay at the center is voluntary and limited to one 
or two months.  The center's staff are MOLISA employees trained by 
IOM. 
 
 
 
Since the project's inception, 211 people have been assisted, 
including five men.  All the victims receiving services are victims 
of cross-border trafficking.  Initially, shelters were slow to 
attract victims, but referrals increased in 2009 as awareness of 
the GVN's trafficking victim referral system increased. Other 
provinces have expressed interest in creating similar shelters. 
 
 
 
A nationwide "reintegration network" to coordinate victim services 
meets every two month. INGOs, NGOs, and GVN agencies (such as 
MOLISA and the Vietnamese Women's Union) participate in these 
meetings.  Members discuss victims who need support and arrange the 
necessary services among network members throughout the country. 
 
 
 
UNIAP, with USAID funding, convened representatives from the eight 
trafficking shelters in two seminars designed to strengthen shelter 
services in Vietnam. The first seminar established quality 
standards for shelter services and the second shelter conducted a 
needs assessment to determine areas in which the shelters needed 
further capacity building. 
 
 
 
¶C.  Access to Legal, Medical, and Psychological Services 
 
 
 
At the national level, MOLISA and the Vietnamese Women's Union 
share responsibility for caring for victims of trafficking under 
the National Program of Action against Trafficking in Women and 
Children from 2004-2010.  MOLISA is responsible for income 
 
HANOI 00000190  009.2 OF 011 
 
 
generation activities, such as vocational training and job 
placement.  The Vietnamese Women's Union is responsible for 
psychological services and community re-integration.  MOLISA, in 
coordination with other agencies and localities, provides medical 
treatment to victims.  However, primary responsibility (financial 
and operational) for victims of trafficking is often delegated from 
the national level to the provincial and local levels of MOLISA and 
the Vietnamese Women's Union for implementation.  The GVN provides 
limited direct financial support to victims. 
 
 
 
The Department of Social Protection has developed a National Action 
Plan to develop a social work network of services for vulnerable 
groups, which includes services for victims of trafficking. 
 
 
 
The GVN provides legal assistance to TIP victims and workers who 
have lost their jobs, including those working overseas.  All 63 
provinces have a legal aid center at the provincial level as well 
as an additional 123 legal centers at the district level.  At the 
local level, 3,000 legal aid clubs meet monthly to provide legal 
advice.  The Legal Aid Society also offers a mobile clinic to 
provide legal information to villages without legal aid clubs. 
There are six legal aid centers dedicated to supporting women only. 
There are 300 legal aid providers along with 857 certified lawyers 
in the Legal Aid Society. 
 
 
 
Border Guard in five provinces educate TIP victims about their 
legal rights and their roles in investigations and prosecutions of 
TIP cases under a GVN-sponsored pilot program.  Legal aid then 
informs victims about available legal support services.  In 2009, 
the Legal Aid Society assisted in 60 TIP cases. 
 
 
 
¶D.  Assistance to Foreign Trafficking Victims 
 
 
 
Vietnamese law does not provide specific protections from 
deportation or granting of residency status for foreign national 
victims of trafficking.  There are no known cases of resettlement 
of TIP third country victims to another country.  The GVN does 
screen victims to see whether they are victims of TIP or illegal 
migration.  When Vietnam is a transit or destination country for 
foreign national victims, the GVN liaises with the sending country 
for safe return of victims. 
 
 
 
¶E.  Long-term Resources 
 
 
 
In March 2007, the Vietnamese Women's Union opened the national 
Center for Women and Development in Hanoi that provides two 
long-term (up to 18 months) shelter residences, including one 
specifically for trafficking victims.  This residence serves as a 
safe haven and provides vocational training and a psycho-social 
counseling center for victims.  The Vietnamese Women's Union now 
operates four centers nation-wide (in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can 
Tho, and Hue), all with support from INGOs.  Vietnamese Women's 
Union officials and local members collaborate to monitor each 
victim's progress upon her return home for up to two years.  Four 
additional long-term shelters for trafficking victims are operated 
by international NGOs in cooperation with MOLISA and the Vietnamese 
Women's Union. 
 
 
 
The Vietnamese Women's Union and Vietnamese NGOs offer long-term 
support services through "clubs," which provide community, 
entertainment and social services, particularly in rural areas. 
With limited resources or no shelter available, the Vietnamese 
Women's Union or NGOs often sponsor a club for victims of 
trafficking.  Women gather to discuss their experiences, support 
each other and educate one another about available social services. 
 
HANOI 00000190  010.2 OF 011 
 
 
¶F.  System of Referrals to Care 
 
 
 
In 2007, Decision 17 provided guidance for the reception, 
repatriation and reintegration for returned victims of trafficking. 
The Department of Social Evils Prevention (DSEP) of MOLISA has been 
appointed by the GVN as the lead agency to implement the referral 
component of the NPA, particularly Decision 17. 
 
 
 
Under the government's referral system, responsible agencies 
(please see below) are trained to identify, process and treat 
trafficking victims with dignity and ensure they are not processed 
with "criminals."  An "identified" victim will go to an assessment 
center for up to 30 days and receive initial care, counseling, and 
information.  The victim may then elect to move to a longer-term 
shelter for reintegration. 
 
 
 
The main roles and responsibility of each agency/organization in 
Vietnam's return, referral and reintegration process are described 
below: 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is responsible for 
identifying trafficking victims overseas.  Anti-TIP MOUs with 
Cambodia, China, and Thailand establish guidelines and standards 
for the processing and re-entry of victims and coordinate 
inter-country efforts. The GVN has labor attaches, assigned to 
embassies in countries that have the largest number of Vietnamese 
workers, who 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. 
 
 
 
-- The Border Guard is responsible for identifying and processing 
victims who are rescued, return on their own, or are returned by 
other governments via the land border. 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA), in 
coordination with MFA, MPS and the Border Guard, receives victims 
of trafficking and provides them with primary support at reception 
centers, as well as follow-on support for reintegration such as 
vocational skill training and loans through social support centers. 
 
 
 
-- The Provincial Ministry of Public Security's Department of 
Immigration, in the victim's home province, is responsible for 
identifying victims who have returned home without entering via an 
official border crossing or without having been identified at 
official border crossing. 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) receives victims who 
returned through the official system of repatriation per bilateral 
agreements with other governments at international airports and 
border areas (facilitated by the Border Guard).  The MPS 
coordinates with the Department of Immigration and MOLISA to trace 
family and provide assistance to victims to return home to their 
family's location. 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) provides legal aid to victims and 
instructions for the application for birth certificates for 
victims' children.  The Legal Aid Society at the provincial level 
provides legal counseling for victims of trafficking.  Women who 
intend to marry a foreigner are provided counseling to prevent them 
from being trafficked. 
 
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-- The Ministry of Finance (MOF) allocates the budget for relevant 
agencies and organizations, and develops financial guidelines for 
funding support for victims, victim identification, and 
reception/repatriation. The MOF also monitors and supervises 
utilization of state and international funding. 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) works with MOF to 
develop an annual budget for reintegration programs and activities, 
and develops support mechanisms for localities facing difficulties 
in construction of or upgrading social support centers or services 
for returned victims. 
 
 
 
-- The Ministry of Health, in coordination with other agencies, 
provides medical checks and treatment for victims when referred 
from reception and social support centers. 
 
 
 
-- The Vietnamese Women's Union (VWU) has a leading role in 
carrying out communication, education and counseling activities at 
the community level on prevention and combating trafficking.  In 
coordination with MOLISA, the Vietnamese Women's Union also 
provides support and assistance to returned victims for 
re-integration into the community. 
 
 
 
-- The People's Committees (Provincial, district and commune 
levels) coordinate the relevant agencies and organizations to 
implement the overall process of reception and reintegration for 
trafficked and returned victims.  The local People's Committees 
also mobilize local resources and allocate budgets for reception 
and reintegration activities. 
 
 
 
According to MOLISA, the GVN is spending $4.86 million from the 
State budget for 2005-2010 on a MOLISA-Border Guard Command 
coordinated project "to receive and provide initial support for 
victims who are women and children returning from overseas."  Under 
this project, about 15,000 victims will have access to legal aid, 
health and financial services. 
Palmer