By Suriya Patathayo for the Nation on 10 May 2018,<\/p>\n
THAILAND is in the process of preparing the country\u2019s first official guidelines for police to handle human-trafficking cases.<\/p>\n
The draft guidelines, which are based on information gathered from experts during a workshop early this year, are now ready as the government is treating the anti-human trafficking mission as an urgent national agenda.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, a forum was held for police to receive feedback on the draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have convened the meeting as we wish to listen to the opinions of people familiar with legal proceedings for human-trafficking cases,\u201d Pol General Tamasak Wicharaya said yesterday in his capacity as the head of the police force\u2019s Children, Women, and Family Protection Centre.<\/p>\n
At the forum senior police officers were joined by Martin Reeve from the Australia-Asia Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP) project, which is supported by the Australian government.<\/p>\n
AAPTIP has helped Thailand with preparing the draft guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aim to provide solid guidelines so that police can work smoothly with public prosecutors in bringing culprits to justice,\u201d Reeve said. \u201cThe guidelines aim to ensure efficient legal enforcement and transparency in legal proceedings where human-trafficking cases are concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
The draft guidelines have already taken into account common obstacles that police often run into when solving human-trafficking cases.<\/p>\n
Drafters have also identified key success factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guidelines would become an ultimate manual and standard for police to efficiently deal with human-trafficking cases. With the guidelines, proceedings by the National Police Office will be in line with international standards,\u201d Tamasak said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.nationmultimedia.com\/detail\/national\/30344988<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"