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The event was co-chaired by Major General Nguyen Thanh Son, Vice Director of the Foreign Relations Department (Vietnam) and Mr. Manuel B. Felix, Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of the Philippines.
The ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP), especially women and children, was ratified by the Vietnamese Government in 2016 and came into effect on March 8, 2017.
The establishment of a focal point system of national ACTIP representatives, a mechanism in charge of monitoring the implementation of the ACTIP, was initiated by the Philippines, the host of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC).
The Philippines will organize national-level consultations with each ASEAN country, creating opportunities for national agencies to contribute ideas and popularize the Bohol Action Plan on anti-human trafficking in the 2017-2020period.
The MPS of Vietnam as Vietnam’s SOMTC representative, in a coordination with the Philippines and the Asia Foundation organized the Workshop on the Establishment of a Focal Point System of National ACTIP Representatives with the participation of some 50 delegates from various ministries, branches and agencies of Vietnam responsible for human trafficking.
Speaking at the event, Major General Nguyen Thanh Son highlighted that the situation of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, has become more complicated in the region and the world with an increase in degree of seriousness and number of cases.
The issue critically undermined human rights and caused various consequences to all aspects of the social life. This has required agencies of a country and countries to promote cooperation in the fight against human trafficking.
He also appreciated the significance of the workshop and affirmed that Vietnam as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the period 2020-21 and the ASEAN Chair in 2020 will effectively implement the ACTIP Convention in the time to come.
