The Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Control which was passed by the 12th National Assembly and took effect on January 1, 2012, has created an important legal basis for the prevention, detection, and handling of human trafficking crimes in Vietnam. Over the last 11 years, Vietnam has achieved positive results in curbing crimes.

In January, Commander of the Border Guard Command, Lieutenant General Le Duc Thai, and Head of Home Office International Operation of the UK’s Home Office Victoria Pullen signed an agreement on cooperation in the prevention and combating of human trafficking between the two sides.

Under the agreement, the two sides will increase information exchange; cooperate in detecting, investigating, and handling drug crimes; coordinate to verify, rescue, and support victims in specialized projects and cases; exchange experiences in human trafficking prevention and combat; provide support in training and capacity building in human trafficking prevention and control, particularly improve English skills for border guard officers.

Commander of the Border Guard Command Lieutenant General Le Duc Thai and Head of Home Office International Operation of the UK’s Home Office Victoria Pullen at the signing ceremony. Photo: PANO

The two governments set up a plan to work closely with each other in the coming years. Both sides agreed to meet every two years between the Vietnam Border Guard Command and the Department of International Cooperation, British Ministry of Home Affairs. Talks will be organized once a year between the Department of Drug and Crime Prevention, Border Guard, and the Immigration and Migration Management Department, British Embassy in Hanoi.

In case there is an emergency that needs to be handled, the two parties report to the competent authorities and organize working talks, meetings, and information exchange according to regulations. The parties will contact and exchange information by official note through the Foreign Affairs Department of Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense and the British Embassy in Hanoi.

At the agreement signing ceremony, Lieutenant General Le Duc Thai emphasized that this is an important event marking a new, substantive, and effective development in international cooperation between law enforcement forces of Vietnam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in implementing the bilateral agreement between the Governments of the two countries on preventing and combating human trafficking.

Thai hopes that the authorities of the two countries in general and the law enforcement forces of the Border Guard Command and the Home Office International Operation of the UK’s Home Office will continue to coordinate closely and together effectively implement the agreement's contents, achieve the set goals and requirements, and actively contribute to the fight against human trafficking crimes in Vietnam in particular and the Asia-Pacific region in general.

Information at the signing of the cooperation agreement shows that in 2023, the Border Guard organized information and dissemination of legal education for nearly 25 thousand sessions with 700,000 participants; and distributed more than 22,000 leaflets on preventing and combating human trafficking.

The Border Guard also has detected, prevented, and handled 1,604 cases equivalent to 66,621 people illegally entering and exiting the country, many of whom are at high risk of becoming victims of human trafficking rings.

Vietnam's Border Guard handled 103 cases and arrested 92 subjects; rescued, received, supported, and transferred 235 victims and suspected victims. They organized training on law and general crime prevention and combat skills, including law and human trafficking prevention skills for nearly 2,000 drug and crime prevention officers.

Additionally, the Border Guard coordinated with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UK Embassy in Vietnam, and the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation to organize five in-depth training classes on human trafficking prevention and combat for 180 people. officers working on drug and crime prevention and control; held three interdisciplinary seminars to improve capacity to prevent and combat human trafficking.

From 2021 up to now, the Vietnam Border Guard Command and the Border Protection Agency, the Department of International Cooperation, UK’s Home Office have implemented many cooperation activities in the field of human trafficking prevention and combat.

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