Vietnam Women's Union

They presented their messages at a forum to highlight coordination to prevent and combat the trade in children and women that took place in Ha Noi on Aug. 28.

The forum, co-organised by the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) Central Committee, the All-China Women Federation, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), brought together 120 children from Ha Noi and six northern provinces, and Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China.

VWU Vice President Nguyen Thi Oanh said that children need to take an active part in the fight against the trade in women and children by helping uncover crimes related to the trafficking of women and children, and contributing to their families' efforts in assisting victims to reintegrate into the community.

With experiences drawn from programmes to combat the trade in women and children, the UNICEF Resident Representative in Vietnam Jesper Morch spoke of the value of children's contributions in the process of developing plans to deal with the problem.

He said UNICEF expected that the opinions and wishes of children would be considered in national and local action programmes, strategies and policies on combating criminals and protecting and assisting victims.

UNICEF Vietnam and UNICEF China will continue to support relevant agencies of the two countries in solving the scourge of cross-border trade in women and children, the UN official said.

At the forum, children participants shared knowledge and understanding of the fight against the trafficking of women and children and expressed desires for children victims to enjoy the same opportunity for studying and being cared for.