Thailand's tough fight against human trafficking

The Royal Thai Government has stepped up efforts to combat human trafficking and the proliferation of scam centers. However, the latest U.S. report on human trafficking highlights the challenges Thai authorities face in completely eliminating the phenomenon.

• Thailand remains at Tier 2 in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, showing improvement in investigations and prosecutions but still failing to fully meet the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking.
• Positive steps include increased investigations and prosecutions of trafficking, as well as the identification and referral of more victims to support services.
• The report highlights ongoing challenges, such as the need to better identify and protect trafficking victims exploited by online scam operations, combat corruption and official complicity, and ensure consistent, quality services for victims across the country.

The 2024 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report maintains Thailand in Tier 2 for the third consecutive year, noting improvements in investigations and prosecutions. Positive steps include an increase in trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and victim identification, but criticism remains over the treatment of trafficking victims exploited by online scams.

The report recommends proactive measures to combat government complicity, better protection of victims, and more vigorous anti-trafficking efforts. Thai authorities aim to achieve Tier 1 status and stress the need to combat the rise of the scam industry and online trafficking operations.

The report also said that Thailand, along with Vietnam and Malaysia, will remain on the Tier 2 watch list until they have fully met the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking.

While some countries, such as Singapore and the Philippines, manage to move up to Tier 1, those ranked at Tier 3, such as Brunei, risk being subject to international sanctions such as restrictions on foreign aid or loans from multilateral development banks.

The results are not entirely discouraging for the Thai authorities, however. The report highlights the considerable efforts made in the fight against trafficking, including the drastic increase in the number of investigations and prosecutions, as well as in the identification and care of victims.

These positive results were previously presented in the Royal Thai Government's National Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts for 2023, which highlighted key measures taken during the year, including “a more agile, integrated and victim-centric nationwide implementation of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM); vigorous prosecution of human trafficking crimes, even involving complicit officials; and the provision of comprehensive assistance and protection to victims“.

Thailand's Three Ps Policy (Prosecution, Protection and Prevention)

Thailand's three Ps policy (prosecution, protection and prevention) has allowed agencies to work more closely together, ensuring a better response to trafficking. But as the government itself says, these results would not have been possible without the intervention of bilateral and even multilateral policies with neighboring countries.

For example, Thai authorities have cooperated closely with Burma in prosecuting illegal labour. No fewer than 525 Thais have been repatriated in the space of a year as victims of trafficking. In terms of protection and prevention, Thailand has received support from foreign organisations such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as international coalitions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The report released by Thai authorities also highlighted shortcomings in efforts to prevent human trafficking and even included recommendations from the recent U.S. report in its future action plan. These recommendations include measures to punish officials accused of complicity in human trafficking.

The US report recommends, for example, harsh prison sentences. Finally, the rest of the efforts must focus on the victims and their care. Rather than unfairly penalizing them for illegal acts committed as a direct result of trafficking, authorities are advised to consider their well-being by providing them with treatment and care that is appropriate to the trauma they have experienced.

If Thailand continues on this path and puts more emphasis on the recommendations, it will be on track to reach Tier 1 status next year, as Varawut Silpa-archa, the Minister of Social Development and Human Security, hopes. The long-term goal, of course, is to get off the list of countries affected by human trafficking.