Decision 358/QD-TTg plan on implementation of Memorandum on anti-human trafficking cooperation

DECISION

Promulgating the plan on implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 131/NQ-CP of October 24, 2018, on the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

In consideration of the proposal of the Minister of Public Security in Report No. 54/TTr-BCA-C02 of March 5, 2019.

DECIDES:

Article 1.To promulgate the plan on implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which was signed on November 21, 2018, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Article 2.This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3.Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and heads of related agencies and units shall implement this Decision.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

PLAN

On implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 358/QD-TTg
of April 2, 2019)

I. PURPOSES AND REQUIREMENTS

1. Purposes:

To identify specific contents and progress of performance of tasks, and assign responsibilities to ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-human trafficking cooperation between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (below referred to as the Memorandum of Understanding) in order to promote intensive and extensive cooperation between concerned Vietnamese agencies and competent agencies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (below referred to as the United Kingdom) in effectively implementing anti-human trafficking plans and programs between the two countries.

2. Requirements:

The implementation of the plan on implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding shall be associated with the implementation of programs and plans related to the prevention and combat of crimes and human trafficking. Ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees assigned to assume the prime responsibility for, or coordinate with one another in, performing the tasks specified in this plan shall actively and proactively formulate programs and plans and organize the implementation thereof, thereby ensuring the effective coordination among agencies and units in the performance of tasks and prompt solution of arising problems.

II. KEY CONTENTS AND ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The Ministry of Public Security

- To assume the prime responsibility for implementing this plan and advise the Prime Minister and the Government’s Steering Committee on Crime Prevention and Combat on forming an interdisciplinary working team to implement the Memorandum of Understanding; formulating plans and strategies and organizing the prioritized cooperation between the two countries’ functional agencies in effectively implementing the Memorandum of Understanding; periodically and alternately holding meetings between the two countries’ officials to assess results of the cooperation in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding and discuss the plan on prioritized coordination in the coming time or organize unscheduled meetings to exchange opinions on other issues.

- To organize the effective performance of basic professional jobs, follow up on the situation, focusing on investigation and collection of information on localities, key routes and rings as well as organizations and individuals suspected of committing acts of human trafficking or illegal migration to the United Kingdom, for prompt update or modification of such information; and intensify the management of immigration, especially in localities where many people are trafficked or illegally immigrate to the United Kingdom, in order to promptly detect and prevent the crime of humans trafficking and stop the trafficking in illegal immigrants to the United Kingdom.

- To receive and verify citizens’ crime reports and denunciations, information and documents provided by the press or transferred by agencies, units, social organizations and functional agencies of the United Kingdom in order to detect and initiate for investigation criminal cases or matters showing signs of transnational human trafficking crime and illegal immigration involving victims from Vietnam and the United Kingdom or groups of transnational human trafficking-related criminals in the territories of the two countries. Regarding complicated or transnational human trafficking cases, to take the initiative in reporting to and proposing competent authorities to send officers to the United Kingdom for timely coordination in investigating these cases, arresting criminals and rescuing and repatriating victims.

- To receive, verify and identify victims of human trafficking or persons suspected of being trafficked from the United Kingdom to Vietnam andvice versa; to take measures to protect victims, children accompanying victims and their relatives in the course of victim receipt, verification and identification in accordance with the laws of the two countries and this Memorandum of Understanding.

- To assume the prime responsibility for the coordination among domestic sectors and localities or between functional Vietnamese agencies and relevant agencies of the United Kingdom and other countries and international organizations in exchanging information, setting up hotlines and identifying focal points for coordination in the verification, investigation, arrest, extradition, transfer, pursuit and handling of human trafficking offenders and related persons; and rescuing, receiving, verifying, identifying, helping and protecting trafficked victims in the territories of the two countries.

- To assume the prime responsibility for the coordination between the two countries’ functional agencies in mutual cooperation and assistance in organizing training, drills, seminars and sharing of professional knowledge, experience, equipment and facilities in order to increase the capacity for law enforcement in the prevention, investigation and handling of human trafficking cases and protection of victims.

2. The Ministry of National Defense

- To direct the Border Guard and Coast Guard forces to actively coordinate with concerned agencies and local administrations in disseminating the law on anti-human trafficking in border areas and on islands in order to raise the people’s vigilance; to intensify border and sea patrol and control, tightly manage security and order in border areas, on islands and at sea so as to promptly detect and prevent human trafficking and transporting illegal immigrants for trafficking in the United Kingdom.

- To receive and verify crime reports and denunciations; to investigate, detect and arrest criminals; to collect documents and evidences for the initiation of criminal cases; to conduct investigations according to its competence and rescue, receive and help trafficked victims in border areas, maritime areas and on islands related to victims from Vietnam and the United Kingdom or to groups of transnational human trafficking criminals operating within the two countries’ territories.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications

- To directly carry out, and direct provincial-level Departments of Information and Communications to closely coordinate with Communication and Education Commissions of provincial-level Party Committees in localities where there are many illegal immigrants or people trafficked to the United Kingdom in, including information about anti-human trafficking at monthly local press briefings.

- To direct and guide the press agencies in creating and maintaining pages and columns specialized in anti-human trafficking and increase the time volume for anti-human trafficking broadcasts and news reports in the mass media and system of grassroots institutions, particularly focusing on activities on the World Day against Trafficking in Persons (July 30).

- To direct enterprises providing telecommunications and Internet services in delivering messages and information about anti-human trafficking in various forms; to coordinate with other agencies in controlling and preventing illegal human trafficking by means of the Internet; to organize public communication about anti-human trafficking in the mass media.

4. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

- To provide support to victims trafficked from the United Kingdom to Vietnam andvice versa, provide accommodations and support to victims in accordance with law, ensuring safe and effective reintegration into the community for victims or people at risk of becoming victims. For victims who are children or children at risk of becoming victims, functional agencies should discuss with and help them receive special treatment and care during the process of protection, repatriation and completion of legal procedures in their best interest.

- To amend and supplement or promulgate according to its competence or submit to competent authorities for promulgation legal documents on policies to support trafficked victims, to meet practical requirements.

- To provide a set of documents to guide line referral and provision of support for community integration for trafficked victims; to organize training in case management skills (to manage every trafficked victim from the time he/she is received until he/she successfully reintegrates into the community) in supporting victims for grassroots officers; to publicize the national switchboard for child protection, including counseling and helping trafficked victims, with the emergency telephone number of 111.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

- To direct Vietnamese representative missions in the United Kingdom and other relevant countries to well perform the protection of citizens, particularly trafficked victims or persons suspected of being trafficked to the United Kingdom.

- To intensify assistance for domestic functional agencies that cooperate with functional agencies of the United Kingdom in promptly investigating criminal cases, eliminating human trafficking rings in the two countries, discovering, rescuing, verifying and carrying out necessary procedures to repatriate trafficked victims to their home countries.

- To closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and other competent agencies in setting up hotlines in exchanging information, verifying, investigating and rescuing trafficked victims under this Memorandum of Understanding.

6. The Supreme People’s Procuracy and Supreme People’s Court

To closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of National Defense in the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal cases of human trafficking, ensuring no criminals are left unpunished and no innocent people are unjustly judged; to select key criminal cases for mobile trial in accordance with local conditions and circumstances, ensuring basic principles of criminal procedure, respecting the human rights and citizens’ rights and lawful interests of proceeding participants; to build the capacity of prosecution and trial bodies in the human trafficking prevention and combat.

7. The Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union

To organize activities to implement the strategy for communication for behavior change in the community, particularly forums, dialogues, seminars, opinion exchanges, consultations and talks, among others, directly in the community, focusing on areas where there are many illegal immigrants or victims trafficked to the United Kingdom in order to disseminate and educate about the law on anti-human trafficking and other relevant issues such as immigration, marriage and child adoption involving foreign elements; to organize anti-human trafficking law knowledge and communicator contests.

8. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, participate in the implementation of this plan.

9. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall direct and organize the implementation of this plan in their localities; integrate the implementation of this plan with the local programs on anti-human trafficking and socio-economic development tasks, and supervise and appraise the implementation of this plan in their localities.

III. FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Funds for the implementation of this Decision shall be included in regular expenditure estimates of ministries, sectors and localities, and may be mobilized from the fund for the prevention and combat of crimes, international aid and other lawful sources in accordance with law.

IV. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility for advising the Prime Minister and the Government’s Steering Committee on Crime Prevention and Combat on monitoring, inspecting and urging the implementation of this plan.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, related agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall include results of the implementation of this plan in their biannual and annual reports on the anti-human trafficking work for submission to the Ministry of Public Security for summarization and reporting to the Government and Prime Minister.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC