Thailand improves anti-human trafficking efforts

[webfact]

Thailand improves anti-human trafficking efforts
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, June 10 -- Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have joined forces to enhance the anti-human trafficking capabilities of Thailand as the country has been placed on the United States' Tier 2 human trafficking watch list for four years in a row.

Opening a training course on care for human-trafficking victims by the DSI and the UNODC this morning, Pol Gen Chatchawal Suksomjit, deputy national police chief and acting DSI director-general, said Thailand remained in the Tier 2 list containng countries which tried to solve human trafficking but remained under close watch for the crime.

As Thailand has been in the Tier 2 list for four years without persistent attempts to tackle human trafficking, it might be moved to the Tier 3 of the countries that did not bother to solve the problem, Gen Chatchawal said.

Illegal immigrants wanted jobs in Thailand, he said, so they were vulnerable to human trafficking.

Thai authorities have tried to solve the problem but reports of the outcomes from their attempts have not satisfied the US .

Accordingly the DSI joined forces with the UNODC to enhance the efficiency of relevant authorities and their investigations and modernize their database.

UNODC received US$500,000 from the US to fund a project to improve anti-human trafficking operations in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Justice granted US$200,000 to sponsor the project. The training course launched today is part of the project worth US$700,000 or Bt22 million. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-06-10

[coma]

More good news. People traffickers are a particularly seedy strain of human beings. And the trade is rife here in Thailand, along with Malaysia and Indonesia. The later almost turning a blind eye to the asylum seeker problem.

[Oryx816]

Seems like law enforcement here has worked more in the last 2 weeks than in the past few years!

[terryp]

human trafficking is also a code word to include prostitution........harsh reality check....until ALL (male, female, trans) prostitution is sorted out in Thailand the Country will never be taken off the list

Edited June 10, 2014 by terryp

[winstonc]

Seems like law enforcement here has worked more in the last 2 weeks than in the past few years!

actually it seems that anyone in a government job is doing more in 2 weeks than ever before..who needs elections..just reforms..

[Loles]

Better later than never.

[UbonRatch]

Thailand and a UN office joining forces?

Was there a press dinner, or something similar?

[Roadman]

A few questions.

Is Tarit there for the DSI or is he now a gone burger?

Was the US cash handed over prior to the coup or is the US not really that unfriendly to Thailand?

At least the UN has the sensibility to see the wood among the trees in assisting and helping for improvement. Well done to them and the Junta for removing the deadwood from these organisations. Hopefully progress can be made on this issue which is a blight on Thailand.

[chainarong]

This will only go as far as the training stage , once out in the field the old way's will rear there ugly head and business as usual will be the order of the day , unless specialist people are seconded to the DSI as permanent members , after six months they will be un able to remember the training course or where they were held. 3/10

[lomatopo]

Seems like law enforcement here has worked more in the last 2 weeks than in the past few years!

It is amazing that the masses are placated with a few headlines.

First of all, this was a press event. Second, it kicked off a training course. Nothing has actually been accomplished.

This problem has been around longer than the despised red menace, and those who really benefit may not want it to be addressed.

[UbonRatch]

"Thai authorities have tried to solve the problem..."

My ass have they. They've done nothing but cover up.

When have the fishing owners, as one example, based in Samut Sakhorn, ever been truly investigated and shut down? NEVER!

All hush hush as the authorities are all on back-handers.

I'll believe an inch of this when we see a second arrest after the first arrest... which will come.. just to give some coverage that something is being followed, even though they haven't got a clue what or how to do anything about it.

[greg71]

Was the Thai navy involved with the talks i wonder ? .

[coma]

Seems like law enforcement here has worked more in the last 2 weeks than in the past few years!

Fact.

[coma]

human trafficking is also a code word to include prostitution........harsh reality check....until ALL (male, female, trans) prostitution is sorted out in Thailand the Country will never be taken off the list

And don't forget the children as well.

[Basil B]

Well acknowledging there is a problem is a start.

[Basil B]

This will only go as far as the training stage , once out in the field the old way's will rear there ugly head and business as usual will be the order of the day , unless specialist people are seconded to the DSI as permanent members , after six months they will be un able to remember the training course or where they were held. 3/10

To be honest the DSI needs disbanding and replacing with a more better organisation that is intent on prosecuting criminals instead of those who oppose the Shinawatra's and the PTP.

[dcutman]

The U.S. State Dept trafficking in persons report comes out next week. I doubt this class or the recent coup will help in being upgraded to tier 2. Certainly Yinglucks govt did very little to nothing in her shortened 3 year term to combat trafficking. So now she and her cabinet are off the hook, and the Junta gets the blame.

It will be interesting to see how General P. handles being downgraded to tier 3 (should that happen). The fishing industry as well as the fruit juice industry are gonna be a bit edgy as these exporters could possibly loose (Bt billions) a lot of business.

[englishoak]

UNODC received US$500,000 from the US to fund a project to improve anti-human trafficking operations in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Justice granted US$200,000 to sponsor the project. The training course launched today is part of the project worth US$700,000 or Bt22 million

Wonder how much Thailand is investing as its a Thai problem or if its a case of, if you care about it, you pay for it and we'll spend it.

[Emptyset]

Guardian article relevant to the topic at hand: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour

[UbonRatch]

Guardian article relevant to the topic at hand: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour

and the article reckons half a million slaves within the Thai border.... :O

[taony]

Thailand is not going to do anything. They are just happy that $500,000 from outside is going to be spent here. FDI for the win! !!

-*I typed this myself*-

[kimamey]

A few questions.

Is Tarit there for the DSI or is he now a gone burger?

Was the US cash handed over prior to the coup or is the US not really that unfriendly to Thailand?

At least the UN has the sensibility to see the wood among the trees in assisting and helping for improvement. Well done to them and the Junta for removing the deadwood from these organisations. Hopefully progress can be made on this issue which is a blight on Thailand.

As far as I know Tarit has gone. Maybe this is seen as humanitarian so the US is able to help.

[ggt]

This info was taken from US FBI files....

"Each year, more than 100,000 American children are trafficked. Human Trafficking is the second most prolific crime in the U.S."

The US does not exactly have...shall we say "clean hands"...when doling out demands that other countries cleanup their act...

[englishoak]

Guardian article relevant to the topic at hand: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour

Yes it is a hot topic right now, CP are the largest supplier of Prawn in the world to the likes of wallmart or tescos or costco etc and are using plausible deniability to pretend they dont know about the slavery and claim its a thing of the past. They are lying

Truth is they dont care at least and are aware but dont spot check thier suppliers or care. Either way the fishing captains are basically trafficking and using people as slaves and routinely murdering and torturing them when they feel like it.

Its a disgusting shme on the Thai nation and complicit with Burmese traffickers and from Cambodia but in the main sad to say its the Thai fishing fleet that take advantage to the full.

Its not hard to fix witha bit of effort and in the meantime people should realise when they eat product of Thailand Prawn they are supporting this .. vote with your pocket and things will change.

[pahang]

A few questions.

Is Tarit there for the DSI or is he now a gone burger?

Was the US cash handed over prior to the coup or is the US not really that unfriendly to Thailand?

At least the UN has the sensibility to see the wood among the trees in assisting and helping for improvement. Well done to them and the Junta for removing the deadwood from these organisations. Hopefully progress can be made on this issue which is a blight on Thailand.

As far as I know Tarit has gone. Maybe this is seen as humanitarian so the US is able to help.

The chameleon is gone.

At least 17 top police have been transferred over the past week, according to NCPO documents seen by Reuters. The purge includes top officers of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), including DSI chief Tarit Pengdith.

Tarit declined to be interviewed for this article.

Reuters - June 5, 2014

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSKBN0EG03320140605?irpc=932

[parmo2]

A grant from USA means that the immigration dept, will have to provide proof that they have done something, so they will stop a number of innocent single women travelers from entering the country while the real trafficked will find it easier , their gangster traffickers having bribed officials to get the right papers beforehand,

Expect many more hysterical scenes at airport

[wandasloan]

A grant from USA means that the immigration dept, will have to provide proof that they have done something, so they will stop a number of innocent single women travelers from entering the country while the real trafficked will find it easier , their gangster traffickers having bribed officials to get the right papers beforehand,

Expect many more hysterical scenes at airport

Rare to see a post this nonsensical. It is completely fact-free, with not a word that's correct. But beyond that it is hysterical both in production and in the reaction it should get. Deserves a special place in the Official ThaiVisa Museum Of Risibility.

A grant from the USA is a grant, and has no unwritten conditions. The US (and Thailand and the region and the world) have no bone to pick with immigration or single women travellers entering Thailand. The problems are fishing boats, canneries, fruit farms, illegal exits by people-packed ships, on and on.

Yes it is a hot topic right now, CP are the largest supplier of Prawn in the world to the likes of wallmart or tescos or costco etc and are using plausible deniability to pretend they dont know about the slavery and claim its a thing of the past. They are lying

Truth is they dont care at least and are aware but dont spot check thier suppliers or care. Either way the fishing captains are basically trafficking and using people as slaves and routinely murdering and torturing them when they feel like it.

Its a disgusting shme on the Thai nation and complicit with Burmese traffickers and from Cambodia but in the main sad to say its the Thai fishing fleet that take advantage to the full.

Its not hard to fix witha bit of effort and in the meantime people should realise when they eat product of Thailand Prawn they are supporting this .. vote with your pocket and things will change.

Well, rather obviously it is hard to fix, since no government, no regime, no coup authority, no elected MPs, no foreign sanctions, no foreign complaints, no shaming of Thailand in the world rankings of slavery and no foreign boycott has fixed it even a tiny smidgen.

It is, indeed VERY hard to fix, even with quite a bit of effort, every single "bit" of which has failed abysmally. Perhaps more effort will fix it, right? Any suggestions of what that effort should be?

And bear in mind that the shrimp-freezing industry is actually a pretty small (if profitable) part of slavery in Thailand.

.

Edited June 11, 2014 by wandasloan

[parmo2]

There is already such a regime in Philippines sponsored by USA. I read 1000 single women are stopped each month at manila airport. They are supposed to have various papers employer , invitations notarised by Philippines embassy etc etc but this is not mentioned on any government website.

Being feminist American government they are not interested in trafficked males , the majority of the trafficked humans for cheap labour like the shrimp fishermen.

But the real trafficked people by gangsters always have the "correct" papers, of course.

Edited June 11, 2014 by parmo2

[Bernard Flint]

This is probably why visa for thais have tightened,making sure the sponsor has adequate funds.

1 farang i knew, told his gf that he owned a taxi business,later she found out he was on the dole but driving a taxi for a few quid, you couldnt make it up.He wanted her to work in a massage parlour because she was a masseuse in a legit place.

The list goes on and on

[wandasloan]

There is already such a regime in Philippines sponsored by USA. I read 1000 single women are stopped each month at manila airport. They are supposed to have various papers employer , invitations notarised by Philippines embassy etc etc but this is not mentioned on any government website.

Being feminist American government they are not interested in trafficked males , the majority of the trafficked humans for cheap labour like the shrimp fishermen.

But the real trafficked people by gangsters always have the "correct" papers, of course.

Stop it! Two posts and both completely free of facts. You have brought here a new magnitude of "total nonsense."

This is probably why visa for thais have tightened,making sure the sponsor has adequate funds.

Actually visas for Thais are constantly getting looser. Japan dropped the necessity of a visa entirely, for example. Rules applied at individual embassies for individual people are hardly the stuff that facts are based on.

1 farang i knew, told his gf that he owned a taxi business,later she found out he was on the dole but driving a taxi for a few quid, you couldnt make it up.He wanted her to work in a massage parlour because she was a masseuse in a legit place.

And yet someone made it up. Either you did or the taxi driver did, that's for sure.

The list goes on and on

Are you threatening all of us?

.

.

Edited June 11, 2014 by wandasloan