Commissioned by the Independent Anti-Trafficking Slavery Commissioner, the report paper ‘The Impact of Vietnamese MSHT and OIC on the UK’ published by the National Crime Agency, assesses the extent to which both modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) and organised immigration crime (OIC) involving ethic Vietnamese organised crime groups (OCGs) and Vietnamese nationals impacts the UK. It also It considers the risks and harms faced by Vietnamese irregular migrants.
The report summarises that greatest risk of physical harm to Vietnamese irregular migrants and victims of trafficking in is transit to the UK – though recent evidence from 2019 and 2020 has shown that Vietnamese irregular migrants are at risk of exploitation and other harms both on route to and on arrival in the UK. It is through the creation of debt bondage through the artificial inflation of costs of travel by facilitators, the report states, that is the most significant defining factor in the exploitation of Vietnamese irregular migrants to the UK from Vietnam
The paper also reflects on the impact of the deaths of Vietnamese nationals at Grays, Essex in October 2019 on the intent of prospective migrants seeking to reach the UK. Southwell & Partners managing director, Philippa Southwell, has provided commentary on this case on LBC Radio (here), Channel 4 (link), Sky News (link) and for the Thomson Reuters Foundation (link).
Please find the full executive summary here.
