Việt Nam rebukes US report on human trafficking as inaccurate: Foreign ministry

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng said the US State Department’s 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report contains “unverified information, and does not reflect fully and accurately the situation in Việt Nam and the country’s efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking”.

The diplomat made the remarks in a statement on Thursday in response to the US report released earlier this week, which downgrades Việt Nam to tier 3, the lowest in the three-tier ranking.

The report claims: “The Government of Việt Nam does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity.”

Countries in this tier 3 ranking – this year include China, Cuba, Cambodia, Brunei, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Russia, South Sudan, Venezuela, among others – may be subject to “certain restrictions on foreign assistance” from the US, including Government nonhumanitarian, non trade-related foreign aid, funding for educational and cultural exchanges, etc.

Hằng said in implementing the Programme on Prevention and Combating Human Trafficking in 2021-25 period with orientations to 2030 (issued in February 2021), Việt Nam has been promoting the tasks and measures to combat human trafficking with “utmost involvement” from all ministries and localities.

The country has also issued many documents guiding the implementation of the 2020 Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers, as well as a multitude of policies and legal documents on prevention of human trafficking and forced labour, support for victims of trafficking, as well as protection of children in the cyberspace, the spokesperson noted.

“In reality, the situation of domestic and cross-border human trafficking prevention and combat is constantly promptly reviewed, so that timely and appropriate measures can be deployed to overcome challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic,” Hằng said.

Việt Nam is also continuing its efforts to implement the Implementation Plan of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) to consolidate a transparent migration environment, prevent the risk of human trafficking in international migration activities.

On July 18, 2022, on the occasion of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons (July 30), the ministries of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Public Security, Defence, and Foreign Affairs signed the agreement on coordination mechanism in receiving, protecting, and supporting victims of trafficking, spokesperson Hằng said.

“In that spirit, we hope the US will cooperate with Việt Nam more closely in the future to have a full, comprehensive assessment of the situation in Việt Nam as well as the country’s efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking,” Hằng said.

Việt Nam is also ready to discuss with the US and related parties about specific cooperation issues to jointly implement effectively the prevention and combat of human trafficking, she noted. — VNS