Exclusive: U.S. to upgrade Thailand in annual human trafficking report - sources

[webfact]

Exclusive: U.S. to upgrade Thailand in annual human trafficking report - sources
WASHINGTON/BANGKOK | BY JASON SZEP, MATT SPETALNICK AND ANDREW R.C. MARSHALL

WASHINGTON: -- The United States has decided to remove Thailand from its list of worst human trafficking offenders, officials said, a move that could help smooth relations with Bangkok’s military-run government.

The upgrade, confirmed to Reuters by a U.S. official in Washington and a Bangkok-based official from an international organization with direct knowledge of the rankings, would mark a rare boost for U.S.-Thai relations. Ties between the countries have flat-lined since the Thai military seized power in a 2014 coup that Washington strongly condemned.

It also comes as President Barack Obama works to forge a united front among wavering Southeast Asian countries against China’s pursuit of its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Bangkok has protested publicly to Washington that it should be removed from the lowest ranking on the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which is due to be released on Thursday.

Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-humantrafficking-thailand-idUSKCN0ZE2NH


-- Reuters 2016-06-29

[canuckamuck]

Congratulations Thailand on becoming "not the worst human traffickers in the world".

[thesetat2013]

Until I see a report released by the USA this news is just propaganda. Thais make so many claims about what others say and do yet, for the most part, are never proven or substantiated by the respective country or agency that makes it hard to believe. Should it be true then perhaps Thailand's efforts on combating this problem are finally yielding some results.

[The stuttering parrot]

To late for the chicken lady as reported in another story today.

I suppose they will get some mileage out of this on Friday .

[taichiplanet]

so, upgraded from 'worst' to 'almost worst'.

[arrowsdawdle]

Until I see a report released by the USA this news is just propaganda. Thais make so many claims about what others say and do yet, for the most part, are never proven or substantiated by the respective country or agency that makes it hard to believe. Should it be true then perhaps Thailand's efforts on combating this problem are finally yielding some results.

Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.

[FireMedic]

I'll wait for the report to come out.........

[theguyfromanotherforum]

UK gets downgraded, Thailand gets upgraded......

[robblok]

Until I see a report released by the USA this news is just propaganda. Thais make so many claims about what others say and do yet, for the most part, are never proven or substantiated by the respective country or agency that makes it hard to believe. Should it be true then perhaps Thailand's efforts on combating this problem are finally yielding some results.

Its from Reuters, not really a Thai propaganda machine.

[sanukjim]

Do they mean from the rating of"very poor" to "Poor".?

[Catoni]

Looking at the map from the U.S. Department of State ...Human Trafficking in the world for sexual exploitation or forced labour..

The Muslim countries and Russia seem to be the worst... With South America trying to catch up... The socialist country Venezuela being the worst country in South America for Human Trafficking..

Among ALL the Muslim counties...not ONE Muslim country rates Tier 1 level.... most of them are above Tier 2... to the Tier 2 Watch List..and many are the worst..... Tier 3.

Is is something about Islam ? ? China is pretty bad also....

And ...notice the difference between South Korea,.... and "Dear Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-Il's North Korean worker's paradise. Striking ! ! !

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/which-countries-are-the-worst-for-human-trafficking/

At last Thailand is now going to come up a notch because at least they are making an effort to improve enough that the world can see the effort.

[nakhonandy]

UK gets downgraded, Thailand gets upgraded......

In human trafficking?

[webfact]

2016 TIP Report to upgrade Thailand’s status



BANGKOK: -- The United States has decided to remove Thailand from its list of worst human trafficking offenders, a move that could help smooth relations between Washington and Bangkok’s military-run government.

According to Reuters, Thailand’s upgrade was confirmed by a U.S. official in Washington and a Bangkok-based official from an international organization with direct knowledge of the rankings.

The status upgrade in the new 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report to be released soon would mark a rare boost for U.S.-Thai relations.

According to Reuters, ties between the countries have flat-lined since the Thai military seized power in a 2014 coup that Washington strongly condemned.

It also comes as President Barack Obama works to forge a united front among wavering Southeast Asian countries against China’s pursuit of its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Bangkok has protested publicly to Washington that it should be removed from the lowest ranking on the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which is due to be released on Thursday.

The report is expected to cite improvements in Thailand’s efforts to combat human trafficking, especially in its vital multibillion-dollar seafood industry, the U.S. official said.

The upgrade would put Thailand on a so-called “Tier 2 Watch List” and remove it from the rating for countries with the worst human-trafficking records, known as Tier 3.

The report organizes countries into tiers based on trafficking records: Tier 1 for nations that meet minimum U.S. standards; Tier 2 for those making significant efforts to meet those standards; Tier 2 “Watch List” for those that deserve special scrutiny; and Tier 3 for countries that are not making significant efforts.

Thailand was downgraded to the lowest ranking in June 2014 just weeks after the military seized power.

Thai officials were incensed last year when Malaysia was upgraded from Tier 3 but Thailand was not, and even human rights advocates agreed that Bangkok had made a greater effort to curb human trafficking than Kuala Lumpur had.

In this year’s report, the State Department has opted to keep Malaysia at the higher ranking it received last year, according to the U.S. official.

State Department spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the tier rankings: “We will not comment on the contents of this year’s report until after the report is released,” he said.

The junta has repeatedly vowed to crack down on human trafficking, particularly in its multi-billion-dollar seafood industry.

Thailand is the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, and much of the labor the fishing industry employs comes from neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Thailand recently reformed its anti-trafficking laws and introduced a system to track fishing vessels, part of what it called “comprehensive and irreversible” measures to clean up its supply chain and curb illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

But rights groups say millions of migrant workers remain vulnerable to abuse in the fishing sector and other Thai industries. Investigations by news organizations and rights groups have exposed widespread trafficking and abuse, sparking fears of a consumer backlash in the West against Thai-sourced seafood.

The Obama administration has been unsettled by China’s warming ties with the Thai junta, which has sought to counterbalance the cooling of its traditionally strong U.S. relationship, U.S. officials say.

A Reuters investigation published last August found that senior diplomats repeatedly overruled the State Department’s anti-trafficking unit and inflated the grades of 14 strategically important countries, including Malaysia. The State Department denied any political considerations but U.S. lawmakers raised questions about the report’s credibility and called for reforms.

The TIP report matters to Thailand’s generals not only because the U.S. appraisal could affect a key industry. The junta, widely criticized at home and struggling to kick-start a sluggish economy, also is keen to boost its record for tackling issues that previous, civilian governments did little about.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/2016-tip-report-upgrade-thailands-status/


-- Thai PBS 2016-06-29

[carstenp]

Well, i will be the first to congratulate Thailand for its hard work then.

I looking forward to read the rapport later, because it seems like you have done something right.

[connda]

The general says that TPP is a good idea.
US upgrades Thailand.

Coincidence?

[elgordo38]

UK gets downgraded, Thailand gets upgraded......

After reading the article I am even more convinced that anything of a serious nature in the end is solved because of political maneuvering not because of any improvement. OBama is working desperately to leave the WH with a outstanding legacy which will be his resume for his next 6 figure job. Fast forward to him being age 60 he will be double, triple dipping in the pension system while Social Security for the average American will no doubt be facing cutbacks.

[toenail]

The government ( military) has taken initiative to solve this problem. Of course,Parayut would rather not have the human trafficking stories published /exposed by local & international newspapers. -But Freedom of Speech has its benefits, helps to solve the problem once exposed. If there was censorship on social issues in Thailand, then nothing would be done. R

[theguyfromanotherforum]

UK gets downgraded, Thailand gets upgraded......

In human trafficking?

In everything

[Srikcir]

The general says that TPP is a good idea.

US upgrades Thailand.

Coincidence?

The general says that TPP is a good idea

It would be a turn around for Prayut who appeared lukewarm to TPP despite support by Somkid and Thai enterprise sector.

But in a recent the keynote speech at Nikkei Forum 22 International Conference on the Future of Asia (2016) in Tokyo, Somkid said that Prayut confirmed the country's readiness to join the TPP, and a committee chaired by Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn has been set up to prepare for the move, ie., work out measures to provide help and justice to people if Thailand becomes part of the TPP.

No direct public statement from Prayut as yet and the committee's timeline is controlled by Prayut. This gives Prayut opportunities to get China to counter offer, ie., for Thailand's tacit approval of China's claim of soverignty over the South Chine Sea.

Coincidence indeed.