US embassy cable - 05HANOI2760

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 002760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; INL/AAE; G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KWMN, PINS, CH, CB, VM, TIP, CVR 
SUBJECT:  RECENT GVN SUCCESSES IN COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS 
 
REF: Hanoi 1143 
 
1. (U) Summary and Comment:  Vietnam, grimly aware of its 
humiliating status as a source country for trafficking in 
persons, continues to make a strong effort to combat the 
crime and has racked up an impressive number of trafficking 
prosecutions and convictions.  Security officials have 
identified trafficking routes and begun to accumulate data 
on trafficking while stepping up their enforcement of 
Vietnam's anti-trafficking laws and pursuing closer 
bilateral cooperation with destination countries Cambodia 
and China.  International cooperation, mostly with the UN 
and international NGOs, forms an important part of Vietnam's 
antitrafficking efforts.  Although Vietnam has made 
relatively significant strides in combating trafficking in 
persons, it is still in the early stage of the fight.  Lack 
of equipment and resources and low capacity in the legal, 
law enforcement and prosecution arenas remain obstacles to 
Vietnam's success in the trafficking effort, along with the 
practical socioeconomic realities in this developing 
country.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
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Country Background 
------------------ 
 
2. (U) The GVN sees trafficking in persons as an evolving 
and emerging crime in Vietnam.  Vietnam's long, hard-to- 
control borders with China and Cambodia facilitate 
trafficking of women and children not only via the official 
border gates but also along numerous forest paths. 
According to one Border Army officer, border forces have 
identified more cases along the Vietnam - China border than 
the Vietnam - Cambodia border, partly owing to more 
effective cooperation between Vietnamese and Chinese 
authorities.  Vietnam acknowledges that trafficking data is 
lacking, and is attempting to rectify that.  According to 
Colonel Nguyen Manh Te, Deputy Director General, Department 
for Order and Social Crimes Investigation, Ministry of 
Public Security (MPS), MPS is currently working on 
establishing a national-level trafficking-in-persons data 
center at the instruction of the Office of the Government. 
The center would help make trafficking-in-persons statistics 
available to better serve international cooperation, Te 
said. 
 
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Vietnam's Determination to Tackle Trafficking 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3. (U) The Vietnamese government is frank and open about its 
vulnerability to TIP.  A GVN spokesperson said at a major 
international conference, "trafficking has been a major 
problem in Vietnam since the border with China opened up in 
the early 1990s.  The GVN is making real efforts to tackle 
human trafficking by introducing programs to raise awareness 
amongst rural women and policing the border areas." 
 
4. (U) In March 2005, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department 
for Order and Social Crimes Investigation held a conference 
to discuss the implementation of the 2004 - 2010 TIP plan of 
action.  Maj. General Pham Xuan Quac, Director General of 
the MPS Department for Order and Social Crimes Investigation 
(the central government-level parent of the HCMC Department 
hosting the conference), described TIP as "a national pain 
and ignominy" and said Vietnam will strive to reduce 
trafficking by 20 percent during the 2004 - 2006 period and 
solve "most of the problem" by 2010. 
 
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Law Enforcement Efforts 
----------------------- 
 
5. (U) MPS has had some success in enforcing TIP laws. 
During the March conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Major 
General Quac reported that between 1998 and 2005, MPS 
detected 1,434 trafficking cases throughout Vietnam 
involving 2,488 suspects.  Quac confirmed that the China and 
Cambodia border areas are centers of TIP activity. 
 
6. (U) Most recently, according to Major General Cao Ngoc 
Oanh, Deputy Director General, General Department of 
People's Police, the police have uncovered Vietnam's largest- 
ever woman trafficking ring, which was believed to have 
lured 40 women to prostitution dens in China.  The ring, led 
by Le Quoc Dzung, born in 1978 in Thanh Hoa Province, 
committed 21 cases, with seven cases in Thanh Hoa.  The raid 
was successful and benefited from the effective cooperation 
between the Vietnamese local police and Chinese 
counterparts, said Oanh.  Further investigation into the 
case also led to the discovery of a number of other 
trafficking rings, rescuing 60 victims and arresting 27 
suspects. 
 
7. (U) In a separate case, in March 2005 police in Hanoi 
arrested four people accused of human trafficking and are 
currently seeking two of their accomplices, according to 
Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Director of Dong Da District Police 
(in Hanoi).  The arrest came almost a month after a 25-year- 
old woman was reported missing to local police.  Two of the 
alleged traffickers admitted to taking the woman across the 
border in Lang Son, 154 kilometers northeast of Hanoi, where 
they sold her for 5000 Chinese Yuan (equivalent to USD 580). 
Thanh said the four men confessed to deceiving and selling 
seven women to agents in China in the past three months. 
The seven victims are believed to still be in China. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Cooperation Between Vietnam and its Neighbors 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
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Vietnam - China 
--------------- 
 
8. (U) A Chinese spokesman quoted in the Vietnamese press 
stated that China has always attached great importance to 
the protection of the rights and interests of women and 
children.  He said, "China has made great efforts in 
cracking down on trafficking of women and children.  Those 
held responsible will be punished in accordance with Chinese 
laws and regulations.  The Chinese government is willing to 
cooperate with relevant countries to crack down on border 
criminal activities." 
 
9. (U) Since early July 2005, the General Department of 
People's Police has been working on a campaign against 
trafficking in women and children along the border with 
China.  This campaign focused on six key border provinces: 
Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Lai 
Chau.  The campaign's purpose is to identify and eradicate 
the gangs trafficking women and children to China. 
Vietnamese police are cooperating with their Chinese 
counterparts in order to identify and support Vietnamese 
trafficked women and children (and help them return to 
Vietnam) and to arrest the traffickers who are at large in 
China. 
 
10. (U) As part of a two-month joint "anti-abduction 
campaign" from July to September 2005 involving police from 
China and Vietnam, 37 Vietnamese women were rescued while 
eight suspects were arrested (six of them Vietnamese) for 
organizing the trafficking of the victims.  Combating 
trafficking in persons is the first campaign under a package 
of agreements between Chinese and Vietnamese police in 
fighting cross-border crimes, said Zhu Yantao, a Chinese 
Ministry of Public Security official, quoted in the 
Vietnamese press.  Joint efforts began in April, with police 
from the two sides reaching agreements to cooperate on law 
enforcement, information sharing and the training of 
personnel.  (Note: See reftel on year 2005 Chinese- 
Vietnamese security cooperation.  End note.)  Much 
trafficking involves women and girls from Vietnam who are 
destined for the sex trade, experts said.  In one widely 
reported incident, on July 4, police in China's Guangxi 
Province launched a raid to rescue 11 Vietnamese sex 
workers.  Besides Guangxi, Vietnamese authorities say other 
trafficking destinations are Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, 
Shandong and Henan Provinces.  MPS statistics indicate that 
Guangxi has repatriated more than 1,000 trafficked women 
over the past four years to Vietnam. 
 
11. (U) According to MPS' anti-trafficking unit, during the 
first six months of 2005, Vietnamese police forces in the 
northern border provinces discovered 46 cases related to 
trafficking women and children to China, and 75 traffickers 
were arrested and 109 victims were identified.  The 
Vietnamese police also cooperated with Chinese police to 
rescue 61 women and children who were trafficked to China 
and returned them to their families.  This campaign to 
combat transnational trafficking in women and children in 
the Vietnam - China border area was based on cooperation 
between the two countries' security ministries, according to 
Maj. General Cao Ngoc Oanh, Deputy Director of the General 
Department of People's Police.  This, he said, also supports 
the activities of National Plan of Action to Combat 
Trafficking in Women and Children 2004-2010. 
 
12. (U) The Vietnamese press has featured Sino-Vietnamese 
police cooperation against trafficking prominently in recent 
months.  According to Tuoi Tre ("Youth") newspaper, in a 
recent joint effort, Vietnamese police said four people were 
arrested and charged with trafficking nine women to work for 
gangs running prostitution rings in China.  The four 
suspects, aged between 22 and 41, are believed to have taken 
young women from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai 
(not normally known to be a hot trafficking source point) to 
Vietnamese-run brothels in China. 
 
13. (U) During May 25 - 27, The Asia Foundation (TAF) held a 
USG-funded anti-trafficking workshop in Quang Ninh Province, 
the northeastern border province famous for containing both 
the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay and the 
decidedly non-UNESCO gambling and "entertainment" center of 
Do Son.  The workshop attracted participants from central 
and local levels in China and Vietnam.  As a result of the 
two-day workshop, Vietnamese and Chinese officials 
recommended a list of issues for the two governments' plans 
of action, including:  improvement of legal frameworks to 
combat trafficking in persons; simplification of 
administrative procedures on civil registration, residence 
permits, birth registration and marriages for victims; 
provision of land/housing for victims; establishment of 
reception centers in both countries; issuance of special 
policies or regulations to protect the rights of women and 
children in the prosecution and trial process of trafficking 
cases; prompt dissemination and implementation of agreements 
by the two countries' security ministries; strengthening 
cooperation in research on trafficking in persons between 
the two countries; allocation of a budget to provide 
training on legal issues and legal assistance for counseling 
staff; involving participation of psychologists, lawyers in 
anti-trafficking work; exchanging visits, sharing 
experience; and, mobilizing financial support from 
international organizations. 
 
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Vietnam - Cambodia 
------------------ 
 
14. (U) Late last year, TAF also organized an international 
conference on combating trafficking in women and children 
across the Vietnam - Cambodia border.  During the 
conference, the participants discussed the trafficking 
situation in both countries and preventive measures and 
community reintegration.  The two sides agreed to closer 
coordination to promptly detect trafficking cases.  Earlier, 
Vietnam and Cambodia held another conference in Ho Chi Minh 
City on border law enforcement, which had a trafficking 
component. 
 
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International Community also Assists 
------------------------------------ 
 
15. (U) Most recently, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC) pledged more assistance for the Vietnamese judicial 
system and law enforcement agencies to improve their 
capacity to combat human trafficking in Vietnam.  An 
agreement to this effect was signed on August 26 in Hanoi by 
Senior Lieutenant General Le The Tiem, Deputy Minister of 
Public Security, and Narumi Yamada, chief of UNODC's Vietnam 
Representative Office.  Under the deal, UNODC will conduct 
the second phase of a project involving Vietnam's Border 
Army and the Ministries of Public Security and Justice.  The 
project aims to strengthen current mechanisms that prevent 
and combat human trafficking by strengthening the judicial 
and law enforcement agencies, improving criminal 
investigations, prosecution procedures and judges' skills 
and training officers of related agencies.  Implementing the 
project will help the country adopt and accelerate the 
implementation of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and 
Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children 
and help build a related national action program, UNODC 
states. 
 
16. (U) Earlier, representatives of international 
organizations had pledged to work with MPS to design a 
training program for officials in charge of antitrafficking. 
The commitment was delivered at a seminar, jointly organized 
by MPS, the UN Inter-agency Project, the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF), the International Labor Organization, the 
International Organization for Migration and Save the 
Children (UK), in Ho Chi Minh City on August 18-19.  The 
2005-07 training program will not only target Vietnamese 
officials but also include officials from other countries in 
the Greater Mekong Subregion. 
 
BOARDMAN