Vietnam-New Zealand cooperation for a future where people can move safely for work without the fear of human trafficking
WVR - According to Mr. Ben Quinn, New Zealand irregular migration liaison officer, Vietnam and New Zealand are working together towards a future where people can move safely for work without the fear of human trafficking.
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| Mr. Ben Quinn, New Zealand irregular migration liaison officer. (Source: New Zealand Embassy) |
On July 16-18, in Hanoi, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the New Zealand Immigration Management Agency co-hosted the Disruption Working Group - Joint Period of Action 2023-2024 and the annual meeting of the Working Group on dismantling illegal migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks (Working Group) within the Bali Process framework on people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime.
Participating in cooperation activities between New Zealand and Vietnam in the field of migration over the past year, Mr. Ben Quinn, New Zealand irregular migration liaison officer, shared with The World & Vietnam Report his impressions of Vietnam's efforts to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.
Could you touch on the outcomes of the Bali Process Disruption Working Group’s Joint Period of Action 2023-2024?
Increased interagency cooperation has been a key outcome of our combined efforts. Without the sharing of appropriate information New Zealand and Vietnam would not be able to identify the perpetrators who are facilitating the irregular movement of migrants to New Zealand.
New Zealand is working to keep Vietnamese citizens safe when they are in our country. We want migrants to have strong and obvious legal pathways for migration into New Zealand so they can arrive and effectively contribute to the country.
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| The Disruption Working Group - Joint Period of Action 2023-2024 and the annual meeting of the Working Group within the Bali Process framework on people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime. (Photo: Xuan Son) |
What strategies were implemented to achieve those outcomes?
Information sharing, face to face meetings and agreements for cooperation are key to achieving the outcomes.
Earlier this year, Minister of Public Security HE Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang visited New Zealand while he was Deputy Minister, and the topic of Bali Process cooperation was on the table. He met with the Head of New Zealand Police, and Immigration New Zealand, where both sides were open to a formal memorandum of understanding between Immigration New Zealand and Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security.
At lower levels, agency meetings and communications have happened to allow for information to be shared.
How do you feel about Vietnam's efforts in combating human trafficking and people smuggling?
Vietnam has a different environment for human trafficking and people smuggling than New Zealand. Our main risks are different but, we work to mitigate these risks with an eye to a future where people can move safely for work without the fear of trafficking and exploitation.
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| Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang and New Zealand Police Chief Andrew Coster on March 2024. (Source:MPS) |
What do Vietnam and New Zealand need to do to promote the outcomes in Joint Period of Action 2023-2024 and further promote cooperation in preventing human trafficking and people smuggling in the region?
The Joint Period of Action work is just the start of what we can achieve in this field. Our countries will continue to work to formalise the sharing of information between Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Public Security so that perpetrators can be held to account and that workers can travel safely and legally from New Zealand to Vietnam and feel safe when they arrive in out country.
Thank you!
| "Vietnam has a different environment for human trafficking and people smuggling than New Zealand. Our main risks are different but, we work to mitigate these risks with an eye to a future where people can move safely for work without the fear of trafficking and exploitation", Mr. Ben Quinn, New Zealand irregular migration liaison officer. |
