Despite political will, law enforcement agencies lack the skills, knowledge, and resources to understand and respond to the evolving complexities of human trafficking. The government increased efforts to protect victims but identified significantly fewer trafficking victims, particularly of labor trafficking, than in the previous reporting period. human trafficking is underreported, underdetected, and thus underprosecuted. Traffickers also choose their victims from among the massive numbers of people displaced by armed conflict and natural disasters, who in their desperate attempt to find safety and protection are particularly vulnerable. Law enforcement officials cooperated with foreign counterparts to investigate Thai traffickers and victims abroad, and foreign nationals involved in trafficking in Thailand. Some of those victims are right here in Ohio, and among them are the most innocent members of society — children. NGOs reported concerns over the lack of appropriate options for foreign children whose families were complicit in their trafficking or whose identities could not be established. The Ministry of Tourism distributed more than 315,000 brochures discouraging sex tourism to businesses and tourism professionals and organized trainings for 800 local government officials, tourism sector workers, students, youth, and civil society organizations on prevention of child sexual exploitation in the tourism industry. Aside from these two international legal regimes, Southeast Asia in 2015 adopted the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The government issued administrative orders to suspend business operations for nine workplaces for 10 to 30 days. Others were in the recovery period, chose not to work, were too young to work, or were receiving educational training in shelters. Victims and activists may have been deterred from reporting, and some officials may have been hesitant to pursue investigations of exploitation due to risks of facing criminal defamation charges brought by unscrupulous employers. Forced labor in the fishing industry has been widely reported in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand. While the number of migrant workers entering Thailand through formal government-to-government migration systems increased, greater usage of this mechanism continued to be impeded by lack of information, lengthy processing times, difficulties in changing employers, and high costs tied to corruption on both sides of the border. 2015. The country’s Karen, Shan, Akha, and Lahu women are trafficked for sexual exploitation in Thailand, while Kachin women are sold as brides in China. In one case, the government sentenced a boat captain to four years imprisonment and ordered him to pay 450,000 baht ($13,800) in restitution to the victims. 21st Century Sex Slaves ★ Documentary Human Trafficking ★ HD National Geo Doc Discover. TATIP included teams of first responders dedicated to screening potential victims, gathering evidence, conducting operations, interrogating subjects, and analyzing digital evidence. MELY CABALLERO-ANTHONY is associate professor and head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The data demonstrated many changes from the previous year while confirming some of our previous notions about the horrific crime. Instances of trafficking, migrant smuggling, abduction, and extortion of migrants occur as migrants move between Thailand and neighboring countries. Human trafficking has surpassed the illegal sale of arms; Trafficking will surpass the illegal sale of drugs in the next few years; Drugs are used once and they are gone. What is being done to fight human trafficking? The government issued regulations to increase oversight of NGO-operated shelters and provide access to governmental financial support. Thailand has enacted several laws against human trafficking. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage. Trafficking in the fishing industry remains a significant concern. Geneva. The government required all judicial branch officials to report all trafficking-related cases into an integrated case database. It increased funding for migrant labor management and anti-trafficking efforts to 3.6 billion baht ($110.4 million) in fiscal year 2018 from 3.2 billion baht ($98.2 million) in fiscal year 2017. These include the 2008 Anti Trafficking in Persons Act, [87] the 1997 Anti Trafficking Act,. Nepal has long been used for human t Report. Thailand is also a transit country for victims from China, North Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Burma subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and countries in Western Europe. The government continued efforts to reduce costs for Thais in overseas guest worker programs, but excessive fees incurred by some Thai workers to obtain employment abroad made them vulnerable to debt bondage or exploitative conditions. In an effort to improve the quality of trafficking prosecutions across the country, the government operated a sub-unit within the OAG trafficking division to provide guidance and mentoring for provincial law enforcement, prosecutors, and other court officials. Credible reports indicate some corrupt officials protect brothels and other commercial sex venues from raids and inspections and collude with traffickers. Armed conflict makes children even more vulnerable. Prosecutors also worked with NGOs to prepare victims to provide testimony. In early 2018, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) established the Thailand Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task Force (TATIP), composed of law enforcement, social workers, and NGOs, to increase coordination of sex and labor trafficking law enforcement efforts. Thailand has comprehensive anti-trafficking laws and policies—some of the best in Southeast Asia. The government reported investigating 302 trafficking cases (333 in 2016), initiating prosecutions against 638 suspected traffickers (493 in 2016), and convicting 466 traffickers (366 in 2016) in 2017. Exploitation is driven by poverty, uneven development, official corruption, gender discrimination, harmful traditional and cultural practices, civil unrest, natural disasters and lack of political will to end it. This document (pdf) complements the international anti-trafficking framework. Tesfay, Netsanet. Animal … In addition, the government employed 60 Burmese and Cambodian language coordinators for port-in-port-out (PIPO) inspection centers, an increase from 30 in 2016, and MOL employed 74 interpreters. CCCIF, the Department of Fisheries, DLPW, and other relevant agencies developed a manual on SOPs for labor inspections to be conducted after the government reauthorizes Thai vessels to operate outside Thai waters. MSDHS trained and registered 67 additional interpreters in 2017, bringing the total number of available interpreters to 251. In Southeast Asia and elsewhere, nontraditional security threats have two defining features: they are transnational and complex. 2018. The government-funded trainings focused on anti-trafficking laws for more than 2,600 police, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials. 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