KOICA, Support Project for Protection and Resettlement of Returning Migrant Women in Vietnam

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA held a kickoff ceremony on the 6th at the Women's Development Center in the West Lake area, located northwest of Hanoi, Vietnam, for the "Vietnam Capacity Building Project for Supporting Socially Vulnerable Women and Households Due to Migration," the organization announced on the 10th.

The event was attended by representatives from KOICA Vietnam Office, the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), the implementing agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as related agencies including the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice.

With rapid economic growth, Vietnam has seen active cross-border population movement, increasing cases of migration and returnees, which are transnational issues. This indicates a growing number of nationals requiring special social support beyond traditional state protection systems.

However, aside from legal provisions supporting migrant workers, the legal framework protecting vulnerable groups related to migration within Vietnam, such as returnee migrants after international marriages, remains insufficient, and it is difficult to accurately grasp their scale and needs.

Accordingly, KOICA is introducing for the first time the concept of establishing a policy system for the safe and orderly return of overseas migrant female workers and marriage migrant women. It will begin a precise survey on the scale of migrants and their support needs in five regions: Hanoi, Haiphong, Haiduong, Can Tho, and Hau Giang.

This project will be carried out with a budget of 1 million USD until 2021, focusing on △raising stakeholder awareness to improve the policy support environment △proposing a roadmap for policy and program development △strengthening the capacity of the Women's Union to respond to returnee migrant women's issues △establishing and operating a one-stop support center for returnee migrant women.

In particular, this project focuses on providing the Vietnam Women's Union, the main agency responsible for women's human rights and protection in Vietnam, with multilayered capacity-building opportunities regarding returnee migrant women's issues, beyond just system or infrastructure development.

Jo Han-duk, head of KOICA Vietnam Office, expressed gratitude, saying, "Our project partners, the Vietnam Women's Union and the International Organization for Migration, spared no cooperation and effort to bring this project, first conceived in October 2017, to the kickoff ceremony and full-scale launch."

He added, "March 8 marks the 112th International Women's Day this year," and stated, "We hope that Vietnamese migrant women, who have been left in policy blind spots due to return and migration, will receive safe and systematic support through this project."

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