Nearly 3,500 Vietnamese trafficked over past six years

Staff from the northern province of Lao Cai’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs launch a dissemination campaign to raise awareness on human trafficking for local people. (Photo plo.vn)

The information was revealed by Nguyen Xuan Lap, head of the Social Evils Prevention Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 29.

The event aimed at reviewing the implementation of a Government decree guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Combat (Decree 09/2013/ND-CP).

Statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed that there have been around 244 million international migrants in the world, and the number of migrants was increasing due to terrorism, conflict and violence. Many of them have become trafficking victims.

“The Mekong sub-region, including Vietnam, is considered a hot spot for human trafficking and illegal migration, with profits from trafficking activities estimated at up to dozens of billions of dollars a year,” said Le Van Nhan, deputy head of the Anti-Human Trafficking Office under the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Police Department.

Most of the trafficking victims live in rural areas and face financial difficulties. They are not well-educated and are either unemployed or involved in agriculture.

Traffickers often took advantage of the financial situations of victims as well as their poor education, he said.

Some foreigners worked with Vietnamese people who act as middlemen to bring labourers to work abroad illegally. While they are abroad, the identity documents of the labourers were seized so they would be forced to work or have their wages withheld.

The Government has taken many measures to support victims of trafficking.

From 2013 to June this year, 2,960 victims had received assistance from the State and social organisations in the forms of medical, psychological, legal and cultural support as well as vocational training.

However, many participants at the conference said some sectors and local authorities have failed to pay due attention to human trafficking prevention and combat, as well as support for victims after they are rescued in some localities.

They proposed that there should be clear regulations relating to the verification of trafficking victims and care for them. Close coordination between agencies in receiving victims back and providing support for them is needed.

It is necessary to have staff with professional skills to help the victims stabilise their lives as soon as possible, said the participants.