DPM Prawit Wongsuwan chaired two committees aiming to elevate Thailand’s anti-human trafficking efforts and strengthen law enforcement, especially on prosecuting complicit officials, while reiterating the victim-centric approach.
March 9, 2023. Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, Deputy Prime Minister, chaired the 1/2023 meeting of the Anti-Human Trafficking Committee and the 1/2023 meeting of the Committee to Coordinate and Monitor the Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts at the Five Provinces Forest Charity foundation via video conference.
The Committee on Anti-Human Trafficking acknowledged the progress of the establishment of Victims Identification Center (Don Mueang), of which the electronic system is being developed, including the host server computer and high-speed fingerprint reader. The Meeting also considered the draft Progress Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts covering the period of January to March 2023, to be submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.
Following was the Committee to Coordinate and Monitor the Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts which acknowledged the work under Child Safe Friendly Tourism projects and agreed to establish a subcommittee to monitor the court ruling enforcement, to be chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS).
After the meetings, Pol Gen Thammasak Witcharaya, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, mentioned that DPM Prawit had stressed his willingness to work with international partners to elevate Thailand’s anti-human trafficking efforts to meet the international standards and emphasized victim-centric and trauma-informed approaches. In an effort to eliminate human trafficking and be internationally recognized, he reiterated that all agencies also need to further strengthen their work with NGOs and international organizations and law enforcement must be strong and strict. All offenders must be prosecuted, especially the complicit government officials.
