Mekong countries commit to fighting human trafficking
Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said
Vietnam was proud to be an active member of the Coordinated Mekong
Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT).
Vietnam has fully implemented international commitments and actively
taken part in regional and international forums, including a commitment
on fighting human trafficking crimes with Mekong sub-region
countries, he said.
The deputy PM said Vietnam has
issued many important legal documents relating to human trafficking
prevention, such as the Law on Children Protection, Care and Education,
the Labour Code, the Law on Marriage and Family, the Law on Gender
Equality, the Law on Residence and the Law on Vietnamese Employees
Working Abroad.
Especially, the National Assembly of Vietnam
adopted the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention in 2011. The Vietnamese
Government has issued many legal documents relating to the issue,
including decrees and instructions against human trafficking crime, the
national programme against human trafficking crime for the 2005-2010 and
2011-2015 periods.
Phuc stressed that Vietnam has
joined the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and
ratified the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the
Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women. The
country has signed a number of agreements on legal assistance and
cooperation on crime and extradition.
He also spoke highly of
the efforts of member countries, the positive coordination of the
Secretariat and the support of international organisations against human
trafficking crime in the Mekong sub-region countries.
Participants at the event approved an action plan for the 2012-2013 period.
Ministers and representatives of six member countries -- Vietnam,
Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and China -- pledged to
combat human trafficking with the theme “Sustained Unity and Cooperation”.
COMMIT member countries signed a Joint
Statement, committing to countering slavery in any form, sharing
experiences, preventing human trafficking and continuing consultation
and bilateral and multilateral cooperation among Mekong sub-regional
countries./.