Representatives attend the project launching ceremony. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

HÀ NỘI — A new training curriculum on counter-trafficking and victim protection has been developed for frontline border officers.

The curriculum, which includes the latest laws, criminal trends, and case files, will be distributed to various Border Guard stations as part of a two-year project to strengthen Việt Nam's land and sea borders against human trafficking and related cross-border crimes.

Launched on Wednesday, the project is overseen by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Department of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (DDCCP) under the Việt Nam Border Guard Command, with funding from the US Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

The curriculum will support 16 training workshops for over 600 Border Guard officers responsible for counter-crime and immigration control across Việt Nam.

Equipped with technical tools provided by the project, officers are expected to immediately apply their enhanced skills to tackle complex trafficking in persons (TIP) cases and other cross-border crimes, as well as to better protect and support victims.

The initiative also aims to foster cross-border collaboration between the Việt Nam Border Guard and regional counterparts, providing a platform to share effective strategies, skills, and practical experiences in investigating and prosecuting cross-border crimes.

Additionally, the project highlights training in communication skills for frontline officers to enhance community engagement activities, with the goal of promoting safe migration and reducing irregular migration among vulnerable border communities.

International Organisation for Migration's Chief of Mission Park Mi-Hyung gives a speech at the ceremony. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

IOM's Chief of Mission Park Mi-Hyung said: "Facilitating safe and orderly cross-border human mobility for migrants while maintaining border security and supporting border guards' engagement is one of the critical components in IOM's mandate."

"Trafficking in persons is a complex global problem that requires a coordinated response. This project is a significant part of IOM's work to support the Government of Việt Nam not just to strengthen its border security and management of migration flows, but also to contribute to the comprehensive effort under the National Programme on Human Trafficking Prevention and Control 2021-2025 and the National Implementation Plan for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, of which Việt Nam is an active member," she said.

As Việt Nam's economy picks up speed after the pandemic, the number of Vietnamese people migrating to work overseas, hoping for a better income and a better life, is increasing.

Taking advantage of people's needs, migrant smugglers and human traffickers increasingly use online platforms to recruit, defraud, coerce and exploit victims into working at online scam centres spanning jurisdictionally complex areas in the Southeast Asia region.

As stated in the US Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, since mid-2022, more than 4,100 Vietnamese nationals exploited by online scam syndicates have been repatriated, and more cases are being exposed.

Ryan McKean, Director of INL Việt Nam, said: “The US commends Việt Nam on its upgrade to Tier 2 in the annual US Trafficking in Persons Report. Capable frontline officers are essential to the fight against trafficking in persons and this project supports Việt Nam Border Guard officers with training and equipment to do this critical task.”

The Việt Nam Border Guard plays an instrumental role in the fight against TIP and the provision of protection and support for trafficking victims.

Overseeing 5,036km of land borders and 3,260km of coastline, the Border Guard is at the forefront of cross-border crime prevention and control.

They are very often the first – and sometimes only – law enforcement officers with whom a trafficking victim may ever come into contact.

Senior Colonel Vũ Xuân Đại, Deputy Director of the DDCCP, stated: “International cooperation in preventing and combatting organised and transnational crime, and particularly trafficking in persons, is extremely necessary.”

“We have effectively implemented this task in the last few years, and will continue to conduct approved cooperation activities, aiming to enhance our collective effort to prevent and combat human trafficking crimes in the near future,” he said. — VNS