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)