HUMAN TRAFFICKING

UN envoy probes situation here

By KANATHIT SRIHIRANYADEJ

WANNAPA KHAOPA

THE NATION

UN Special Rapporteur voices concerns over immigrant labour

A representative of the UN human-rights agency visited the Immigration Bureau and Labour Ministry yesterday to discuss the situation of human trafficking in Thailand.

Thailand has been placed on the Tier-2 Watch List for a second consecutive year, as per the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Annual Report 2011 that was released in Washington on June 28.

Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCR), visited the immigration bureau to witness how human-trafficking victims are treated by police and if the behaviour is in line with international standards, Immigration Commissioner Pol Lt-General Wiboon Bangthamai said.

Wiboon said since there have been lots of reports of human trafficking in Thailand, the country has been experiencing trade blocs, adding that Japan and Laos were also on the Tier-2 Watch List.

While at the Labour Ministry, Ezeilo paid special attention to the smuggling of illegal aliens into Thailand, though she doubted if this could be considered human trafficking, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary Jeerasak Sukhontachart said.

He added that the ministry had demonstrated the actions it takes against human trafficking. Since Thailand does not support the smuggling of humans, it has tried to solve the problem by having illegal alien workers register with the ministry so they can enjoy the same wages and benefits as other Thai workers.

"If this group of alien workers had been trafficked, their employers would not have had them registered with us. Also, the authorities try to crackdown on illegal immigrants along the country's border and have them deported. Thailand also has measures preventing them from being abused," Jeerasak said, adding that these points had been made clear to Ezeilo.

Jeerasak said Ezeilo had also expressed concerns over the registration fees taken from alien workers, the immigrants working in the fishery business and urged the officials to inspect different work places.

The Special Rapporteur said she would look into all forms of human trafficking, including sexual and labour slavery. "We want the governments and non-governmental organisations to work together to address human trafficking. We need public-private partnerships," Ezeilo said. Her report on the subject would be presented to the United Nations next year.

Her mandate is to take action on violations committed against trafficked persons and in situations where their rights have not been protected. She visits countries to study the situation in situ and formulate recommendations to prevent and or combat trafficking and protect the rights of its victims.

Ezeilo, who is in Thailand until August 19, will be meeting relevant agencies, including victims in Tak, Chiang Mai, Samut Sakhon and Songkhla.

Her next visit will be to Australia in November.

Watch a video interview with her on www.nationmultimedia.com

-- The Nation 2011-08-11

more likely they did some probing in patpong and got an std