Government delegations from China and Vietnam, accompanied by
officials, teachers and students, communication workers, community
members and the media launched a joint communication campaign on
Friday to combat human trafficking in their border areas.
The trafficking of girls over the Vietnam-China border has been
a problem since the two countries normalized relations in 1989. In
recent years evidence indicates that the girls have been getting
younger and more are being sold into prostitution, rather than as
wives as in the past.
The two countries began jointly tackling the problem in 2001,
when UNICEF offices in both countries worked with their government
counterparts to increase cross-border collaboration. Both
enforcement and legislative measures have been strengthened and
aligned more closely with international conventions and
standards.
In 2002, 141 Vietnamese girls were rescued and repatriated in
Dongxing city alone, compared with just 15 in 2001. The number of
traffickers arrested rose from seven to 33 in the same period.
Border liaison offices have also been set up in both countries
to exchange information and experiences at regular monthly
meetings.
The new campaign is designed to help educate vulnerable women,
children and parents to protect themselves and also to change
social and cultural attitudes that contribute to trafficking.
UNICEF Regional Director Mehr Khan, speaking at the launch of
the campaign in Dongxing, on the Chinese side of the border, called
the bilateral cooperation the most active in the Asia-Pacific
region.
On the importance of the communication campaign, Khan said,
"Women and children must be valued as people with rights, not
commodities for trade."
All-China Women's Federation Vice Chair Huang Qingyi said, "The
trafficking of women and children is a serious violation of human
rights. It is a complicated problem that has to be tackled
bilaterally to achieve substantial results."
The anti-trafficking communication campaign has been jointly
developed on both sides of the border. It aims to develop an
integrated series of messages that extend from advocacy and social
mobilization to program communication at the community level.
(China.org.cn June 4, 2004)