The US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have just announced a three-year partnership to support Vietnam in strengthening systems to better protect children from violence, whilst effectively tackling human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
According to 2021 statistics provided by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Public Security, 40 per cent of the total number of trafficked victims identified were children. Evidence suggests that with the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children facing increased vulnerability has grown.
“This programme puts the safety, the protection of girls and boys from abuse, exploitation and trafficking at the top of the agenda. Our goal in coming together is to strengthen justice for children, to facilitate a strengthened protective net and support system around children and their families. Evidence confirms that children who have come into contact with the justice or welfare systems are too often left feeling lost and disempowered, and this in turn increases their vulnerability to traffickers,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative.
Despite progressive law reform over the past decade, there continues to be a need for comprehensive child justice reforms that bring consistency across the different laws relating to children and to strengthen key area related to the care and protection of children.
With this in mind, the collaboration will bring an increased focus to comprehensive capacity building, to ensure a shifting of mindsets and approaches – working directly with those who are in a position to support and better protect children, particularly those within the broad justice sector.
“It is crucial to equip police, border guards, judges, lawyers and court personnel with essential knowledge and skills on child-friendly and gender-sensitive criminal judicial techniques and procedures. Effective prevention and combat against human trafficking and migrants smuggling require institutionalization of staff capacity building with sufficient resource allocation to ensure all staff are trained to conduct their tasks in a victim-centered and trauma-informed manner”, said Park Mihyung – Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration in Viet Nam.
The three-year project aims to achieve its objective through a three-pronged approach. The first goal is improving the legal and policy framework for protection of minors in contact with the law in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties to which Viet Nam is a party. The second goal is strengthening capacity of law enforcement, including border guards, and justice officers for improved investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases involving child victims, especially child survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking. And the last objective is enhancing access of children victims of abuse to timely and quality protection services.
The project will be implemented in close coordination with Vietnamese government partners.