Country Information Pack
Published 01 March 2011
Vietnam
National legislation
- 01/01/1992
Criminal Code (Arts. 114-115, 143-145, 147-149, 202)
- 21/12/1999
Penal Code (Arts. 12, 18-20, 41-42, 48, 52, 119-120, 251, 279, 289)
- 23/06/1999
- 09/06/2000
Protection of the Marriage and Family Regime (Art. 4)
- 22/09/2006
- 01/01/1996
Decree No. 38-CP of the Administrative Sanctions Against Violations of Labour Legislation, (Art. 21)
Dated 1996. ...read more
- 01/03/2011
Humantrafficking.org, Summary of laws relating to human trafficking in Vietnam
Accessed 31/03/2011. Provides a brief summary of laws related to human trafficking in Vietnam. ...read more
- 01/07/2008
Thi Tue Phuong Hoang, Legislation to combat trafficking in Vietnam
Research analysing trafficking legislation in Vietnam. ...read more
Caselaw
Home Office documents
- 26/05/2010
UK Border Agency, Country of Origin Information Report: Vietnam
- 09/06/2009
UK Border Agency, Operational Guidance Note: Vietnam
Human Rights Reports
- 01/05/2010
Published May 2010. This document provides information on recent legislation and cooperation agreements entered into by Vietnam. It details the law enforcement units responsible for investigations of human trafficking and some of the training they receive. It gives an overview of shelters available for victims of trafficking. The document makes recommendation to the countries of the Greater Mekong region, including Vietnam. ...read more
- 14/06/2010
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2010: Vietnam, 14/06/2010
The Vietnam report is at p.349-352. Vietnam has been ranked in the Tier 2 Watch List. This represents a down-grading of status as Vietnam was previously ranked in Tier 2 and was last in the Tier 2 Watch List in 2004. ...read more
- 07/04/2010
Freedom House, Countries at the Crossroads 2010: Vietnam
The report found that “Combating human trafficking remains a significant challenge despite increased government efforts to enforce the law and implement a national action plan. Thousands of women and children are trafficked internally and externally each year, many into forced prostitution. Those found guilty of trafficking may face punishments ranging from two years to life in prison. A national steering committee coordinates government efforts to prosecute cases and organize public awareness programs. Prosecutions and official reporting on trafficking cases have increased in recent years. Between 2005 and 2007, over 900 cases involving 1,600 traffickers and 2,200 smuggled women and children were uncovered. [33] Cooperation with other Southeast Asian countries has also improved. [34]”. ...read more
- 27/03/2010
Vietnam Human Rights Network (USA), 2009 Report on Human Rights Situation in Vietnam
The report found that “human trafficking has become a serious social ill in Vietnam. Victims mostly consisted of young women and even children (girls and sometimes even boys as young as 8 or 9) being tricked into crossing the borders of Cambodia and China to become prostitutes. A great many other women were sold as ‘brides’ to Taiwan and Korea, where not a few were brutally mistreated and exploited as slave laborers.
These are poor and innocent rural women who desperately searched for an exit only to be duped into the traps. Because these ‘match-making’ offices are run by government officials, who schemed with intermediaries to skim off as much as 70 to 80 percent of the monies supposed to go to the families of the ‘brides,’ the government therefore must be held responsible for this ‘modern-day slavery.’
Human trafficking is also involved in the case of so-called export laborers who were ‘helped’ to seek work overseas through cut-throat ‘commissions.’ Right now it is estimated that up to 500,000 Vietnamese guest laborers are working in more than 40 countries, with the top destinations being Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the former Soviet Bloc countries and Middle East countries. More and more ‘guest workers’ have found themselves exploited, abused and bankrupted”. ...read more - 01/01/2010
Published 2010. States that organised criminal networks, largely Vietnamese, have come to dominate the UK cannabis market in recent years and discusses the trafficking of children from Vietnam and South East Asia into the UK. ...read more
- 01/05/2009
Published May 2009. The two organisations raise serious concerns about the violations of women’s human rights, in particular the prevalence of sex trafficking. ...read more
- 23/02/2009
The OHCHR reported on the implementation of international human rights obligations that “grave violations of women's rights persist in Viet Nam, despite legal commitments taken by the Government to promote gender equality. Abuses include domestic violence, violations of reproductive rights, prostitution and trafficking of women and girls – often with the connivance of Party and Police officials”. ...read more
- 02/02/2007
“18. The Committee welcomes a number of measures, including the Ordinance on the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution, bilateral and multilateral agreements and the Action Plan for the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Girls, but is concerned about the persistence of trafficking in women and girls and the exploitation of prostitution, both within the country and to other countries. The Committee is also concerned about the low rates of prosecution and conviction of traffickers and of others who exploit the prostitution of women. The Committee also notes with concern reports that trafficked women and girls face problems in enjoying their citizenship rights when returning to Viet Nam, as well as in conveying citizenship to their children born abroad. It is also concerned about reports that rehabilitation measures, such as administrative camps, may stigmatize girls and young women victims of prostitution and deny them due process rights. In addition, the Committee is concerned about the lack of systematic data collection on the phenomenon of trafficking and exploitation of prostitution.
19. The Committee urges the State party to consider ratifying the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementary to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and to intensify its efforts to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls, including by enacting specific and comprehensive legislation on the phenomenon. The Committee further calls upon the State party to increase its efforts at international, regional and bilateral cooperation to address more effectively the causes of trafficking, and to improve its efforts to prevent trafficking through information exchange. The Committee urges the State party to collect and analyse data from the police and international sources, prosecute and punish traffickers and ensure the protection of the human rights of trafficked women and girls. It urges the State party to pursue a holistic approach aimed at addressing the root causes of trafficking and improving prevention. Such efforts should include measures to improve the economic situation of women and girls and to provide them with educational and economic opportunities, thereby reducing and eliminating their vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers. It should also facilitate the reintegration into society of women and girls who are victims of exploitation and trafficking, including children born to Vietnamese women abroad, by ensuring that they are neither criminalized nor penalized and fully enjoy their human rights. It should also enhance rehabilitation, social integration and economic empowerment programmes”. ...read more
News Reports
- 22/03/2010
Radio Free Asia, Trafficked Workers ‘Live in Terror’
The article provides case studies of women trafficked from Vietnam to Europe and the dangers to which they are exposed such as violence and sexual abuse and being chased by police in Europe. The article also details the debt bondage situations that arise out of trafficking networks. ...read more
- 19/03/2010
Radio Free Asia, “Mercy on No One”
The article tells the story of a Vietnamese woman who was trafficked to France and Germany and was sexually abused by her traffickers. ...read more
- 24/01/2006
BBC, Vietnam-China Trafficking on the Rise
The news item reports the number of trafficking victims from Vietnam to China doubling and that “analysts warn that China could replace Thailand in the next few years as the region's trafficking hub” and most of the girls were being trafficked for sexual exploitation. ...read more
- 19/07/2005
Pacific News Service, In the World of Human Trafficking, Vietnam Remains a “Supply Country”
The article provides an overview of the cross-border trafficking mechanisms employed by traffickers. Most women are trafficked for sexual exploitation and some for forced labour. The article also provides some explanation for the widespread phenomenon such as rising population pressures, corruption and disillusion from Vietnamese people themselves. ...read more
Background Materials
- 24/01/2011
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2011: Vietnam
The report states: “Vietnamese courts remain under the firm control of the government and the Vietnam Communist party, and lack independence and impartiality.” ...read more
- 26/05/2010
Amnesty International, the State of the World’s Human Rights: Vietnam, 2010
- 11/03/2010
US Department of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Vietnam
Comments on the judicial system as well as trafficking and violence against women and children. ...read more
- 16/06/2009
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2009: Vietnam
The Vietnam report is at p. 299. It is ranked at Tier 2. ...read more
- 04/06/2008
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2008: Vietnam
The Vietnam report is at p. 260. It is ranked at Tier 2. ...read more
- 12/06/2007
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2007: Vietnam
Vietnam is ranked at Tier 2. ...read more
- 05/06/2006
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2006: Vietnam
Vietnam is ranked at Tier 2. ...read more
- 03/06/2005
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2005: Vietnam
Vietnam is ranked as Tier 2. ...read more
- 14/06/2004
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2004: Vietnam
Vietnam is ranked as Tier 2 Watch List ...read more
Further Resources
- 01/03/2011
Accessed 01/03/2011. This resource provides an overview of human trafficking in Vietnam. It explains that the country is both a source and a destination country for trafficking and considers some of the causes for trafficking. The resource then looks at the government response to human trafficking in terms of prosecution, protection and prevention. The link contains numerous links to reports on trafficking to/from Vietnam, including report on “Six Asian Countries Cooperate in Fight Against Human Trafficking”. ...read more
- 01/03/2011
Patt, Prof. Martin, Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – Vietnam
Accessed 01/03/2011. This website contains references to various other articles on Vietnam and trafficking. Some of the articles look specifically at trafficked women and others at trafficked men. The website also holds links to various press releases covering trafficking cases and highlights key passages from human rights reports. It contains links to country reports of human trafficking, modern day slavery, contemporary slavery, debt bondage, serfdom, forced labour, forced marriage, transferring of wives, inheritance of wives, and transfer of a child for purposes of exploitation. ...read more
- 01/03/2011
ActionAid, Human Trafficking in Vietnam
This website provides an overview of the number of persons who have been trafficked to and from Vietnam. It also outlines the type of human rights violations trafficking may take, in particular with regards women. ...read more
- 01/03/2011