Viet Nam shows strong commitment to fighting human trafficking
VGP - A seminar themed “United for change: Leaving no one behind in the fight against trafficking in persons” took place in Ha Noi on July 28.
Delegates attend a seminar themed “United for change: Leaving no one behind in the fight against trafficking in persons”, Ha Noi, July 28, 2025 - Photo: VGP
The event saw the participation of nearly 250 stakeholders from across Viet Nam's counter-trafficking community, including representatives from government agencies, United Nations bodies, international organizations, cybersecurity experts and youth leaders.
The event served as a platform to spotlight emerging trafficking trends, strengthen law enforcement and international cooperation, promote the use of technology to disrupt trafficking networks and reaffirm the importance of victim-centered approaches.
The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is observed globally on the 30 July to raise awareness of a crime that affects not only the victims but entire societies. This year's theme, "Human Trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation," underscores the need to dismantle trafficking networks through coordinated law enforcement and justice sector responses while ensuring that survivors are fully protected.
As Viet Nam prepares to host the signing of the Ha Noi Convention, the first-ever global treaty dedicated to addressing cybercrime, it marks a pivotal moment in international cooperation against cyber-enabled crimes, including human trafficking, said Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator.
"Together, we must strengthen our commitments to protecting trafficking victims, especially vulnerable communities and children and to dismantling organized exploitation in the digital age", she emphasized.
IOM Officer-in-Charge in Viet Nam Mitsue Pembroke praised the country's leadership in promoting safe migration and preventing human trafficking, particularly through the revision of the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Combat in 2024.
This is a remarkable milestone for Viet Nam and reflects its strong commitment to tackling this crime. The revised law lays a stronger foundation for addressing increasingly complex trafficking trends, which are exacerbated by socio-economic challenges, she stated.
In recent years, trafficking in persons has grown increasingly complex across the Asia–Pacific region. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asia has witnessed a sharp rise in scam compounds operated by transnational criminal syndicates engaged in sophisticated online fraud.
According to IOM's Regional Situation Report on Trafficking in Persons into Forced Criminality in Online Scamming Centers in Southeast Asia, the number of trafficking victims forced into criminal activities who received IOM's support tripled, from 296 in 2022 to 978 in 2023./.
