INL, IOM and UNICEF launch partnership to strengthen justice for children in Vietnam

On June 14, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the United States Department of State, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced a three-year partnership to support Vietnam’s government in strengthening systems to better protect children from violence whilst effectively tackling human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Speaking at the event, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers said that the programme puts the safety and protection of girls and boys from abuse, exploitation and trafficking at the top of the agenda.

“Our goal in coming together is to strengthen justice for children and facilitate a strengthened protective net and support system around children and their families in the communities where they live,” she said.

For her part, Park Mihyung, Chief of Mission at the International Organisation for Migration in Vietnam, stressed that the effective prevention and combat of human trafficking and migrants smuggling requires the institutionalisation of staff capacity building with sufficient resource allocation to ensure all staff are trained to conduct their tasks in a victim-centred and trauma-informed manner.

The three-year project aims to achieve its objective through a three-pronged approach, including improving legal and policy framework for protection of minors in contact with the law, strengthening the capacity of law enforcement, and enhancing the access of child abuse victims to timely and quality protection services.