{"id":2284,"date":"2017-02-02T15:19:40","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T15:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/?p=2284"},"modified":"2017-02-02T15:52:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T15:52:44","slug":"thailands-country-report-on-anti-human-trafficking-response-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/2017\/02\/02\/thailands-country-report-on-anti-human-trafficking-response-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Thailand\u2019s Country Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Response 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On 2 February 2017 H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, as Chairman of National Sub-Committee on Public Relations and Legal Affairs under the Policy Committee on Human Trafficking and Illegal Fishing, met the members of the Thai and foreign media correspondents in Thailand at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and give a briefing on Thailand\u2019s Trafficking in Persons 2016 Country Report, which documents the Royal Thai Government\u2019s ongoing commitment to its \u201czero tolerance\u201d policy against human trafficking.\u00a0 The Foreign Minister was joined by Mrs. Napa Setthakorn, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security; Pol. Gen. Tamasak Wicharaya, Advisor (Level 10)\/Deputy Director of Center for Children, Women, Family Protection and Anti-Trafficking in Persons; and Pol. Lt. Gen. Kriboon Suadsong, Commissioner, Office of Police Strategy; Mr. Songsak Saicheua, Director-General, Department of American and Pacific Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; as well as Mr. Sombat Nivesrat, Deputy Director-General, Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour.<\/p>\n

The Report features Thailand\u2019s efforts and key development in combatting human trafficking along the five strategic dimensions or 5 Ps namely: Policy, Prosecution, Protection, Prevention and Partnership.\u00a0 The summary of key achievements is as follows:-<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Policy<\/u><\/p>\n

Combatting trafficking in persons remains a national agenda.\u00a0 In 2016, the Royal Thai Government has translated its commitment to \u201czero tolerance\u201d policy against human trafficking into action through several measures and implementations.\u00a0 The Government substantially increased the overall anti-human trafficking budget, up to 23.88 percent compared to FY2015, to provide sufficient resources to support actions in all key areas.\u00a0 The Government also intensified legal reforms, improving existing legislations and drafting new ones.\u00a0 The Government developed a 24-point Action Plan encompassing the elements of all 5Ps.\u00a0 An Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on Increasing Effectiveness of Human Trafficking Prosecution was set up to coordinate law enforcement authorities to enhance effectiveness in prosecution.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prosecution<\/u><\/p>\n

Improved quality and speed of legal proceeding was due to better coordination between the police, prosecutors, the court of justice, and other law-enforcement agencies.\u00a0 The work of special units in anti-trafficking, established for example in the Office of the Attorney-General and the Court of Justice, and the utilization of Inter-agency Database System helped enhance prosecution efficacy.\u00a0 The Government also tackled head-on the economic incentives of traffickers by utilizing other regulations, including anti-money laundering and administrative powers, to complement anti-human trafficking efforts.\u00a0 Throughout the year 2016, the Government\u2019s anti-human trafficking measures focused on changing the human trafficking trade from a low-risk, high return attraction into a high-risk, no return proposition with a high cost of punishment.\u00a0 Significant achievements and progress made in 2016 were the increased number of human trafficking cases uncovered, investigated, indicted and convicted.<\/p>\n

In 2016 the Royal Thai Police uncovered and investigated 333 cases and the Office of the Attorney-General indicted 301 cases, or an increase of 5 percent and 19.92 percent respectively compared to those in 2015.\u00a0 The number of convicted offenders in 2016 was 268, which rose 30.7 percent in comparison to 205 in 2015.\u00a0 Assets seized from traffickers increased by 307 percent to 22 million USD compared to 2015.\u00a0 Criminal and disciplinary actions were also taken against 45 government officials since 2013, including 10 police officers in 2016.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Protection<\/u><\/p>\n

The Government adopted a victim-centered approach and focusing on protecting vulnerable groups.\u00a0 The government strengthens protection services and improve rehabilitation, care and welfare provision for TIP victims by equipping victims with skills necessary for embarking on new life path and reintegration into their respective communities, as well as developing rehabilitation plan aimed at empowering victims and protecting re-victimization.<\/p>\n

Key highlights in 2016 included greater employment opportunities for victims, with 196 victims offered jobs inside and outside shelters or an increase of 350.1 percent from only 47 victims in 2015.\u00a0 Migrant trafficking victims and witnesses were allowed to stay in Thailand for up to 2 years.\u00a0 The efficiency of victim identification was enhanced through a consistent use of the new Guideline by all relevant agencies.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prevention<\/u><\/p>\n

Thailand in 2016 strengthened its labor and migrant workers management system to help eliminate legal loopholes in laws and regulations, and reduce vulnerabilities for migrant workers, women and children. This included the introduction and enforcement of new law regulating migrant labor recruitment agencies while reducing the costs and time for migrant workers to enter Thailand, and the requirement of compulsory secondary identification documents in fishery sector, such as the Seaman Book (for Thais) and Sea Book (for migrant workers).\u00a0 In 2016, Thailand also ratified the ILO\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Convention No. 187, and the ILO\u2019s Maritime Labor Convention (MLC).<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Partnership<\/u><\/p>\n

To address the transnational nature of human trafficking, the Government has deepened and broadened its partnerships with all stakeholders, including foreign governments \u2013 particularly neighboring countries \u2013 the private sector, international organizations, and civil society organizations \u2013 domestic and abroad, including with neighboring countries and regional cooperation.\u00a0 Key achievements included Thailand depositing the Instrument of Ratification of the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP), enhancing its cooperation with partners under the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP) and the Bali Process.\u00a0 In addition, the Government also deems the United States a significant partner in countering human trafficking and continued to work closely with various U.S. agencies, particularly in law enforcement, such as Homeland Security Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation.\u00a0 Thai government agencies have also been in close touch with a number of local and international news agencies in order to exchange views and ensure the accuracy of information and same understanding of trafficking in persons issues.<\/p>\n

Thailand is committed to the prevention and suppression of human trafficking while taking a holistic approach to tackle the problem in a comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable manner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0Source:\u00a0Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u00a0of Thailand<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 2 February 2017 H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, as Chairman of National Sub-Committee on Public Relations and Legal Affairs under the Policy Committee on <\/span>Continue Reading<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mfa-press-releases","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2284"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2288,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284\/revisions\/2288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}