-Madam, we are witnessing an unprecedented era of human mobility and its challenges. How do you assess this issue?

According to the latest IOM World Migration Report, there are 281 million international migrants worldwide, representing 3.6 percent of the global population. Asia has seen a dramatic increase in international migration over the past two decades, with more than 40 percent of the world’s migrants originating from the region.

During the 2017-2023 period, labor migration continued to be the main form of migration in Vietnam, with nearly 860,000 workers going to work abroad under contracts, most concentrated in Japan, Taiwan (China), and South Korea.

Migration for study abroad has also increased at a similar rate; although there are no exact figures yet, the estimated number is currently over 250,000 people. The proportion of Vietnamese female migrants is on the rise. The flow of foreign migrants to Vietnam is also quite diverse, most notably labor migration with 475,198 foreigners granted work permits from 2017-2022.

Migration continues to be an important issue for all people and governments, influencing policies in business, trade, health, education and other areas. While the need and benefits of migration are becoming clearer and more urgent, challenges, constraints and risks remain in how people, communities and countries perceive and respond to it.

Ms. Mitsue Pembroke, Acting Chief of Mission of IOM. Photo: Pham Ly

- How do you evaluate when Vietnam announces the 2023 Migration Profile ?

The publication of the Migration Profile 2023 is significant because this is the third migration profile that we have worked on together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. The first migration profile was launched in 2011, the second in 2016, and it has been 7 years now. The Migration Profile is a handbook that helps us better understand the trends and the challenges that remain around this issue.

Over the years of working on migration records we have seen the importance of using concrete information and evidence to help Vietnam formulate policies.

It can be seen that the Vietnamese Government has achieved very clear goals and results in formulating policies to support migrants.

IOM, as a partner of the Government of Vietnam, has great confidence in the efforts of the Government of Vietnam. The preparation and publication of the migration profile will help Vietnam go further in implementing the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), of which Vietnam is one of the most active countries in implementing this agreement.

- What projects has IOM currently implemented in Vietnam to support migrants?

Individuals migrate for a variety of reasons, primarily in pursuit of better economic and educational opportunities, to respond to challenges such as natural disasters, climate change and conflict.

However, in the process of migrating abroad, migrants face certain challenges. For example, in some countries, migrants may be exploited for their labor, their personal documents may be confiscated, and they do not know how to deal with these problems.

Therefore, there is a need to raise awareness among migrants about their rights and the information they can access.

Nowadays, most migrants are very young. They use social media a lot. This is also one of the reasons why we are actively using social media to provide information about safe migration through our community communication project called “Think Before You Go”. This project is to help migrants to recognize the signs and risks in each migration route, at the same time understand the benefits in the migration process and the information needed to migrate safely.

In addition, one of the other activities that IOM has been implementing is promoting inter-sectoral coordination. Currently, IOM not only coordinates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but also coordinates with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and other ministries, departments, agencies and organizations in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. Typically, in the recent past, we have coordinated with ministries, departments and agencies of the Vietnamese Government to successfully rescue and support the reintegration of human trafficking cases in Cambodia.

Thank you very much!