Chalerm wants Thailand off watch list for human trafficking

[bangkokheat]

4 years on the list, too little too late i say, all those people that have and are still suffering because of greed, how do you give these people back whats been taken away from them, and what, now the government is reacting because of pressure from the US and how much financial damage thailand will suffer because of sanctions, and not because of civil liberties, I am surprised thailand has been allowed to get away with this as long as they have

The whole business of say fisheries is set up on the basis that it has to be done as cheaply as possible. To insure that all the labour on the boats and processing are paid correctly the legal minimum will inevitably push prices up and Thailand will lose business because of it, no doubt.

Since when did companies give a d**m about paying properly when they weren't forced to? Thailand has flown too close to the sun for too long.

aside from the suffering, i think to try and understand how much more the fish would cost you would have to work out the average catch rate er hour, how many workers you have, the difference between what they are aid now and what they should be aid, i suggest that fish may not need to go u much at all, the low wages are more about greed IMO

[johnlandy]

Wanna be out the list ? easy .... stop human trafficking ... but when you see those cheap labor from Burma, Laos or Cambodia working for peanuts in some Thai factory I guess the out of list is not for tomorrow.

Exactly stop the abuse and the practice and they might get off the list.

The way they keep referring to these clowns (in this case as Police Captain) when he to my understanding is a politician always has me whacked. They love titles but of course it is TiT

[Thai at Heart]

4 years on the list, too little too late i say, all those people that have and are still suffering because of greed, how do you give these people back whats been taken away from them, and what, now the government is reacting because of pressure from the US and how much financial damage thailand will suffer because of sanctions, and not because of civil liberties, I am surprised thailand has been allowed to get away with this as long as they have

The whole business of say fisheries is set up on the basis that it has to be done as cheaply as possible. To insure that all the labour on the boats and processing are paid correctly the legal minimum will inevitably push prices up and Thailand will lose business because of it, no doubt.

Since when did companies give a d**m about paying properly when they weren't forced to? Thailand has flown too close to the sun for too long.

aside from the suffering, i think to try and understand how much more the fish would cost you would have to work out the average catch rate er hour, how many workers you have, the difference between what they are aid now and what they should be aid, i suggest that fish may not need to go u much at all, the low wages are more about greed IMO

Well that is all possible. But at the end of the day, when the boats are staffed with underpaid imported workers, and the factories are staffed with underpaid imported workers (not forgetting that the 300 baht a day is only a few months old), if all of these combined wages increase, it is inevitable that the final product will increase in price.

I have no idea about relative shrimp pricing in the world, but I have little doubt that part of the success of Thai seafood around the world is linked to low costs.

[rubberduck]

Thailand

The Situation

Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. It is a destination-side hub of exploitation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, for both sex and labor exploitation.

Source

Migrants, ethnic minorities, and stateless people in Thailand are at a greater risk of being trafficked than Thai nationals, and experience withholding of travel documents, migrant registration cards, and work permits by employers. Thai men who migrate for low-skilled contract work and agricultural labor are subjected to conditions of forced labor and debt bondage as well.¹

Although the networks that traffic foreigners into Thailand tend to be small and not highly organized, those who traffic and enslave Thai victims abroad tend to be more organized and work in more formal networks; often collaborating with employers and, at times, with law enforcement officials, and have been found to hold Thai and foreign passports.² Many Thais are lured by labor recruiting agencies and are forced into involuntary servitude or sexual exploitation because of the high debt owed to the agencies.³

The majority of Thai trafficking victims are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, and China for both sexual and labor exploitation. Thai victims have also been repatriated from Russia, South Africa, Yemen, Vietnam, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Thai nationals are also known to be trafficked to Australia, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.⁴

Transit

Thailand is a transit country for victims from North Korea, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Burma destined for third countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, Western Europe, South Korea, and the United States.⁵

Destination

The majority of the trafficking victims identified within Thailand are migrants from Thailand’s neighboring countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, but also come from farther away such as Uzbekistan and Fiji. These migrants are forced, coerced, or defrauded into labor or commercial sexual exploitation. They are often fleeing conditions of poverty, or in the case of Burmese migrants, which make up the bulk of migrants in Thailand, from military repression. Conservative estimates have this population numbering in the tens of thousands of victims.⁶

Trafficking victims in Thailand are found employed in maritime fishing, seafood processing, low-end garment production, and domestic work. Children from neighboring countries are forced to sell flowers, beg, or work in agriculture or domestic service in urban areas. Evidence suggests that the trafficking of men, women, and children into these sectors represent a significant portion of all labor trafficking in Thailand.⁷

Child prostitution also remains a problem. According to government officials, academics, and NGO representatives, children (both boys and girls), especially among migrant populations, were sometimes forced, coerced, or lured into prostitution.⁸

Internal Trafficking

Thailand is a country with internal trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation, and labor trafficking. Ethnic minorities and women and girls from the northern Hill Tribes are especially vulnerable due to their lack of citizenship.⁹ UNESCO officials assert that lack of legal status is the single greatest risk factor for trafficking or other exploitation of highlanders.¹⁰ There is also an issue of rural-to-urban trafficking, where ethnic Thais are trafficked from the relatively poor areas of Chiang Rai, Phayao and Nong Khai to urban and tourist areas.¹¹

Sex tourism remains a problem. According to the Thai Government, there are no laws that specifically address sex tourism. However, the criminal code, laws on prostitution, and laws combating trafficking in persons contain provisions to combat sex tourism. While it is widely believed there are fewer incidences of Thai citizens forced into prostitution today than in past years, children from poor families remain vulnerable, and there are some incidences of Thai parents who force their children into prostitution. The 1996 Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act imposes heavy penalties on whoever procures, lures, compels, or threatens children under 18 years old for the purpose of prostitution.¹²

Child labor is still present, particularly in agriculture, the garment industry, seafood processing, fishing-related industries, and the informal sector. Within the country Thai men are trafficked into the fishing and seafood industry.¹³

Read more at http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/thailand

Edited July 9, 2013 by rubberduck

[gemini81]

Thailand

The Situation

Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. It is a destination-side hub of exploitation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, for both sex and labor exploitation.

Source

Migrants, ethnic minorities, and stateless people in Thailand are at a greater risk of being trafficked than Thai nationals, and experience withholding of travel documents, migrant registration cards, and work permits by employers. Thai men who migrate for low-skilled contract work and agricultural labor are subjected to conditions of forced labor and debt bondage as well.¹

Although the networks that traffic foreigners into Thailand tend to be small and not highly organized, those who traffic and enslave Thai victims abroad tend to be more organized and work in more formal networks; often collaborating with employers and, at times, with law enforcement officials, and have been found to hold Thai and foreign passports.² Many Thais are lured by labor recruiting agencies and are forced into involuntary servitude or sexual exploitation because of the high debt owed to the agencies.³

The majority of Thai trafficking victims are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, and China for both sexual and labor exploitation. Thai victims have also been repatriated from Russia, South Africa, Yemen, Vietnam, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Thai nationals are also known to be trafficked to Australia, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.⁴

Transit

Thailand is a transit country for victims from North Korea, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Burma destined for third countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, Western Europe, South Korea, and the United States.⁵

Destination

The majority of the trafficking victims identified within Thailand are migrants from Thailand’s neighboring countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, but also come from farther away such as Uzbekistan and Fiji. These migrants are forced, coerced, or defrauded into labor or commercial sexual exploitation. They are often fleeing conditions of poverty, or in the case of Burmese migrants, which make up the bulk of migrants in Thailand, from military repression. Conservative estimates have this population numbering in the tens of thousands of victims.⁶

Trafficking victims in Thailand are found employed in maritime fishing, seafood processing, low-end garment production, and domestic work. Children from neighboring countries are forced to sell flowers, beg, or work in agriculture or domestic service in urban areas. Evidence suggests that the trafficking of men, women, and children into these sectors represent a significant portion of all labor trafficking in Thailand.⁷

Child prostitution also remains a problem. According to government officials, academics, and NGO representatives, children (both boys and girls), especially among migrant populations, were sometimes forced, coerced, or lured into prostitution.⁸

Internal Trafficking

Thailand is a country with internal trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation, and labor trafficking. Ethnic minorities and women and girls from the northern Hill Tribes are especially vulnerable due to their lack of citizenship.⁹ UNESCO officials assert that lack of legal status is the single greatest risk factor for trafficking or other exploitation of highlanders.¹⁰ There is also an issue of rural-to-urban trafficking, where ethnic Thais are trafficked from the relatively poor areas of Chiang Rai, Phayao and Nong Khai to urban and tourist areas.¹¹

Sex tourism remains a problem. According to the Thai Government, there are no laws that specifically address sex tourism. However, the criminal code, laws on prostitution, and laws combating trafficking in persons contain provisions to combat sex tourism. While it is widely believed there are fewer incidences of Thai citizens forced into prostitution today than in past years, children from poor families remain vulnerable, and there are some incidences of Thai parents who force their children into prostitution. The 1996 Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act imposes heavy penalties on whoever procures, lures, compels, or threatens children under 18 years old for the purpose of prostitution.¹²

Child labor is still present, particularly in agriculture, the garment industry, seafood processing, fishing-related industries, and the informal sector. Within the country Thai men are trafficked into the fishing and seafood industry.¹³

Read more at http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/thailand

Well, looks like our 'big talker little doer' Chalerm won't get all that off the list in 7 days!

Just one aspect is the massage parlors; most of the girls in the fishbowls aren't even Thai nationals. Can't imagine that most of them are registered, except for the higher end parlors.

Edited July 9, 2013 by gemini81

[upena]

Chalerm said he would rid tourist areas of "mafia-like" influences in 90 days about one year ago and then did nothing. I guess he can do nothing a lot faster now that he is not Deputy PM

[gemini81]

Chalerm said he would rid tourist areas of "mafia-like" influences in 90 days about one year ago and then did nothing. I guess he can do nothing a lot faster now that he is not Deputy PM

He's still alive and in politics, so until he kicks the bucket, the 'mafia-like' presence will remain

[mrtoad]

Initiative measures are welcome. Hope for fruitful results.

Unfortunately Chalerm's track record does give a lot of hope.

[klauskunkel]

He is back!!! He stopped pouting and is back, hard at work. Thank you, God, thank you! I was so worried, I would never hear from him again. Please give us our Daily Chalerm!!!

[drdoom6996]

Only Seven days to solve problems now?

Chalerm must be really trying to impress and get himself off the naughty step.

+1

[Halion]

Actually, he may just have found his calling in life. If ever there was a wounded lion who can make a name for himself over something this is it.

He commands the coppers pretty much. he obviously isn't the sort to sit behind a desk, and would love nothing more than to have his smiling mug on the front page for actually achieving something. Many of the problems lie with long established companies on the other side of the political line in agri-business.

If Thailand wants to get off the list, they actually have to come up with something concrete. He might just get something done, you never know.

Wounded Hyena would be a better analogy than comparing this bufoon and bully to the king of beasts.

To achieve success in such a project it would require skills that are simple not evident in Thailand and that Chalerm has neither the understanding nor ability to engender. Going off half cocked as is his norm, will only allow for him to claim some sucess in specific areas in an industry that encompasses the whole country. Yet he claims to get it under control in7 days using the highly trained and dilegent forces of the RTP. Chronically Delusional would be a good epitaph for this man.

[mrtoad]

He is back!!! He stopped pouting and is back, hard at work. Thank you, God, thank you! I was so worried, I would never hear from him again. Please give us our Daily Chalerm!!!

He is the main man - only Chalerm can save Thailand

[LuckyLew]

To review his work

Bring Thaksin homw - FAIL

Get rid of drugs in Thailand - FAIL

Peace in the south - FAIL

O for 3 so far

Soon to be 0 for 4

Chalerm = FAIL

[ggold]

Actually, he may just have found his calling in life. If ever there was a wounded lion who can make a name for himself over something this is it.

He commands the coppers pretty much. he obviously isn't the sort to sit behind a desk, and would love nothing more than to have his smiling mug on the front page for actually achieving something. Many of the problems lie with long established companies on the other side of the political line in agri-business.

If Thailand wants to get off the list, they actually have to come up with something concrete. He might just get something done, you never know.

Not in a million years, this lot have shown how incompetent they are, they can't even cook the books right, so something this complicated doesn't stand a chance of getting off the ground!

[CIHUAHUA]

It is just like mice, they hide deeper so the cat can't find them. The answer is in the morality of the people. Taking Thailand off the list should not be the main reason; it should be stopping human abuse.

[Briggsy]

It has been documented over and over how the Thai police are deeply involved in and heavily profiting from human trafficking. There is no chance of any cultural change here.

Laos, Cambodians and Burmese are viewed as untermenschen by Thai authorities and thus abuse including the most inhumane varieties, such as selling minors into sexual slavery will continue for as long as they can get away with it.

Note, Chalerm's aim was just to get Thailand off the list, not to deal with the underlying lack of morality.

[Thai at Heart]

Actually, he may just have found his calling in life. If ever there was a wounded lion who can make a name for himself over something this is it.

He commands the coppers pretty much. he obviously isn't the sort to sit behind a desk, and would love nothing more than to have his smiling mug on the front page for actually achieving something. Many of the problems lie with long established companies on the other side of the political line in agri-business.

If Thailand wants to get off the list, they actually have to come up with something concrete. He might just get something done, you never know.

Wounded Hyena would be a better analogy than comparing this bufoon and bully to the king of beasts.

To achieve success in such a project it would require skills that are simple not evident in Thailand and that Chalerm has neither the understanding nor ability to engender. Going off half cocked as is his norm, will only allow for him to claim some sucess in specific areas in an industry that encompasses the whole country. Yet he claims to get it under control in7 days using the highly trained and dilegent forces of the RTP. Chronically Delusional would be a good epitaph for this man.

Well you see, if all he has to do is stand in ports and wait for boats to pitch and liberate crew, that really is a piece of p**s.

It is the easiest photo op known.

[culicine]

Only Seven days to solve problems now?

Chalerm must be really trying to impress and get himself off the naughty step.

Maybe he means seven days in a biblical sense

[hellodolly]

When he told the police to fix the problem within 7 days, did he wave his magic wan while giving the order. Because unless he does have a magic wan, it won't get fixed in 7 days but it may make the police laugh for 7 days.

But hopefully some good will come from his attention towards this terrible problem, although it will probably be a short attention span.

It will probably slip his mind in between the third and the fourth dose of ear medicine.

[mrtoad]

I am sure the Ministry of Labour is going to be performing all sorts of miracles in the next three months with the arrival if Chalerm.

[Jay Sata]

I wonder if his friend in Singapore has another car he wants to loan him to get to work?

[Phatcharanan]

He commands the coppers pretty much. he obviously isn't the sort to sit behind a desk,

Shame he hardly ever made it down South when not behind his desk.

Actually I always thought he was under the desk drinking ear med.

[Phatcharanan]

Edited July 9, 2013 by Phatcharanan

[Phatcharanan]

Edited July 9, 2013 by Phatcharanan

[hgma]

stopping the HT trade is done@home.

seriously, in case of laos where i am quit familiar with, people are disconnected from real life in the rural areas

Telling myths and stories is a day time job, and it doesn't take much to convince parent's to send there children abroad.

Staggering truth is that few of them, really take action when their children wine up in brothels and boats, citing Bho Hoe-Bho Wouw translated as everything we don't know we don't talk about.

poverty is the culprit eradicate poverty and one has half of the problem fixed

[arthurboy]

Maybe Police Captain Chalerm might like to have a chat with the senior executives and owners of (Thai company) KSL Group http://www.kslgroup.com/index.html and ask them about this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/09/tate-lyle-sugar-child-labour-accusation

The British sugar giant Tate & Lyle has imported large volumes of sugar from Cambodia through a supplier that is accused of using child labour and being complicit in expropriating land and inflicting violence on local people.

Tate & Lyle – which is the EU's largest cane sugar producer and whose ingredients are used in a wide range of foods around the world – , has used the Thai KSL Group since 2011 for its supplies from Cambodia. However, KSL is alleged to have been complicit, along with the Cambodian government, in the eviction of people from their land, arson and theft.

I wonder if this news will be broadcast or published by the Thai media?

Urgent memo to Police Captain Chalerm: It's now six days and counting...

Edited July 10, 2013 by arthurboy

[jackr]

his priority is to get Thailand of the US’s watch list for human trafficking

Surely the priority is to stop human trafficking?

[lostmebike]

Please, please stop!

[GrantSmith]

What's the Immigration Ministers take on this, I wonder?

But the Lerm's keeping himself busy in his electorate, his BiB's are regularly doing checks on taxis and song taews seeking out "illegals"

Good for him, a feel good story, give him a bit of a lift, poor bloke just lost the cushiest job in the cabinet. He's picked up his toys and put them back in the cot.

Such a stand up guy...

Hahahaha dammit Lerm, you rarely fail to please!

[joepattaya1961]

On a US watch list........for God sake.

Let's ask Snowden what he thinks about the case.