hours at the Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi for investigation by the police on the basis of her
participation in a strike against labour exploitation (while she was based in Jordan).
Following release, in Viet Nam, N.T.L supported a number of repatriated human trafficking
survivors to file a legal complaint against the Hanoi-based labour export company who
trafficked N.T.L and others into bonded labour in Jordan. Following lodging the legal
complaint N.T.L received numerous verbal and physical threats to her life, including from
local police. In response, in search of protection, she moved to another city in Viet Nam.
In her new area of residence she was not issued with a household registration and had
difficulty in obtaining employment. She was also unable to register her marriage or the
birth of her child, because she did not have a household registration. She has since fled
Viet Nam and has been recognised as a refugee by UNHCR.
24. The Government of Viet Nam does not fully meet the minimum standards for the
elimination of human trafficking.40 However, it is making various efforts to do so.41
25. For example, it is significant that Viet Nam’s domestic law recognises the vulnerability of
stateless persons to human trafficking.42 That is, the Law No. 66/2011/QH12 on human
trafficking prevention and combat states that “victims who are Vietnamese citizens or
stateless persons permanently residing in Viet Nam may depending on the cases specified
in Articles 33 thru (sic) 38 of this Law enjoy the following regimes: Support to meet
essential needs and for travel expenses; Medical support; Psychological support; Legal
aid; Support in general education and vocational training; and initial difficulty allowance,
support in loan borrowing”. 43
26. The effective implementation of the recommendations in the 2018 Trafficking in Persons
report to Viet Nam is imperative to ending human trafficking in Viet Nam, including human
trafficking of stateless persons. These recommendations include:
26.1.
“develop and train officials on implementing guidelines for Articles 150 and 151
of the new penal code, with a focus on identifying and investigating forced labor
and internal trafficking cases”;
26.2.
“vigorously prosecute all forms of trafficking and convict and punish traffickers,
including in cases involving forced labor or complicit officials”;
26.3.
“strengthen efforts to monitor labor recruitment companies and enforce
regulations prohibiting the imposition of recruitment fees”;
40
U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report (June 2018)
https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/282798.pdf; U.S. Department of State, above n 38.
41
Ibid.
42
See also Tien Le, Human Trafficking in Vietnam: Preventing Crime and Protecting Victims Through Inter-Agency
Cooperation (2017) <https://eprints.qut.edu.au/110537/1/Tien%20Hoang_Le_Thesis.pdf>.
43
Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Combat (Vietnam) No. 66/2011/QH12 [International Labour Organisation
Trans (Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Combat (No. 66/2011/QH12) (29 March 2011) <
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/91653/106409/F-1429920306/VNM91653%20Eng.pdf>].
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