Law Enforcement Officers Join Forces to Combat Child Sexual Exploitation
Twenty three Police officers from South, South East and North Asia, Australia and the Netherlands will be in Hanoi for the following three weeks for the 40th Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program (ARLEMP), with the theme of Transnational Child Sexual Exploitation.
ARLEMP is a long-term partnership between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security through the General Department of Police (GDP), the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and RMIT International University in Vietnam. Originating in 2005, ARLEMP has become a flag-ship program for emerging Police managers and leaders in the region. Over 750 Police have graduated from the course since its inception and are working together to combat transnational crimes in our region.
This ARLEMP welcomes a new partnership with the National Police of the Netherlands (NPN). Similar to the AFP, the NPN are committed to promoting cooperation between police agencies, searching for the best practises, supporting information exchange and working together to combat transnational crime.
On the new partnership, Chief Constable Frans Heeres of the National Police of the Netherlands remarked, “Combating child exploitation features high on the global law enforcement agenda. Close cooperation with South East Asian countries is essential in tackling this cross-border issue. ARLEMP is an excellent instrument to practice what we preach”.
At the Opening Ceremony this morning Mr Layton Pike, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission from the Embassy of Australia in Vietnam, told the ARLEMP audience, “Only through the establishment and maintenance of mutually beneficial partnerships, built on high levels of cooperation, collaboration, communication and importantly trust, can we realistically challenge those that engage in crime to harm our societies and our children.”
The course, which is being held in Hanoi from 31 May to 17 June, will be the first course in Vietnam to focus on up skilling law enforcement managers and leaders on the specific areas of online child sexual exploitation, child trafficking for sexual exploitation, and sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism.
Chief Constable Frans Heeres of the National Police of the Netherlands, and Australian Federal Police Manager of Victim Based Crime, Commander Glen McEwen, whom is responsible for managing investigations into transnational child sexual exploitation, are also visiting Vietnam this week to participate in a leadership plenary as part of the program.
Talking this morning, Commander Glen McEwen said, “One of the most serious transnational crime threats in the Asia-Pacific region is child sexual exploitation, both via online exploitation through the production, access and distribution of Child Exploitation Material and through abuse perpetrated by Travelling Child Sex Offenders”. Chief Constable Frans Heeres added, “It is our most basic duty to protect the innocent. As crime is no longer restricted to our borders, the exchange of information and the cooperation between police forces around the world is of the up most importance to disrupt it.”
Major General Nguyễn Phong Hòa, Deputy Director General, General Department of Police, said that, "Child sexual exploitation is an outrage to any community regardless as to where it occurs, particularly as children are the future of our countries. Along with policies and action plans delivered by the Government, it is up to all of us as global partners in law enforcement to work with our communities to eradicate this heinous crime collaboratively."
The opening of ARLEMP was officiated by Major General Hòa. ARLEMP 40 will host participants from Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the Netherlands, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
Media contact: Ms. Ha Pham, Tel+84 4 37740204, e-mail: [email protected]