Thailand Serious about Combating Human Trafficking and Protecting Victims

(17/01/2013)

All related government agencies in Thailand are actively working together in combating human trafficking and protecting victims of trafficking in persons. Minister of Social Development and Human Security Santi Promphat said that the Ministry had stepped up campaigns against human trafficking by educating the people, especially its volunteers, to help fight the problem in each community. It has also opened a hotline – 1300 – in all 77 provinces to receive complaints and information about trafficking in persons, so that prompt action could be taken to tackle the problem and assist victims. Mr. Santi stated that the Ministry Social Development and Human Security has provided assistance to the victims, on a humanitarian basis, regardless of their nationalities, in the forms of shelters, healthcare, occupational training, and finance. Regarding news reports about the Thai fishery industry’s involvement in human trafficking, Mr. Santi said that the Government had set up a working group to be on the lookout for human trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers, especially in seven target provinces. These provinces include Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao, Rayong, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, and Sa Kaeo. The Ministry Social Development and Human Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, and the Royal Thai Police on 16 January 2013 joined hands in organizing a study tour of diplomats from the American and Pacific region and the European Union to visit a frozen food factory and shrimp peeling facility in Samut Sakhon province. This factory had been referred to in foreign news reports as receiving raw material from a shrimp peeling facility that used child labor and employed workers who did not possess work permits, and the shrimp peeling facility was accused of engaging in human trafficking. Furthermore, the United States has placed Thailand in the Tier 2 Watch List for three consecutive years in the Trafficking in Persons Report of its Department of State, which could affect Thailand’s image. The image of Thailand’s exports into the American market could also be affected, especially seafood products, which have been determined as products that involve the use of child labor and illegal foreign workers, and human trafficking. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul cited the study visit to Samut Sakhon as part of the Thai government’s efforts to promote cooperation between Thailand and the international community on eliminating human trafficking. It would show the Thai public and the international community the importance attached by the Government in addressing this challenge and the commitment to making progress on its efforts. He pointed out that the allegations in both domestic and foreign media about the Thai fishery industry’s involvement in human trafficking would have repercussions on the country’s reputation and could possibly harm the industry. He said that the Thai government had approved a fund of 5.1 million US dollars for its comprehensive Anti-Human Trafficking Plan for the 2013 fiscal year. Moreover, Thailand is working closely with neighboring countries, especially Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, in the prevention and suppression of human trafficking, as well as the protection of victims. It has also sought cooperation with some countries and international organizations to tackle the problem. Meanwhile, the Thai Frozen Foods Association has announced its readiness to accept any request made by embassies and concerned organizations to visit any of its members’ factories. These factories see it as an opportunity to show their good labor practices that their factories have adopted. It is also an opportunity to prove that their factories are free from either forced or child labor.